‘Humiliation’: Woman ‘yelled’ at by airline for refusing to change seat for ultra-Orthodox man
'A United crew member yelled at me that the flight to NYC won’t take off because of me after I refused to move,' Neria Kraus said.
A female passenger on a United Airlines flight from Israel to New York said she was yelled at by a flight attendant after she refused to accommodate an ultra-orthodox passengers’ request for her to change seats because he didn’t want to sit next to a woman.
Neria Kraus, who works as a reporter for Channel 13, said she was “humiliated” and felt discriminated against by the airline and the ultra-orthodox passengers.
“A United crew member yelled at me that the flight to NYC won’t take off because of me – after I refused to Ultra Orthodox passengers’ request to change my seat. I was told the flight might touch down in Egypt and it would be my fault. What a humiliating event for me as a woman,” Kraus tweeted.
United Airlines responded to her tweet, saying: “Hi there, Neria. We deeply apologise for this interaction and would like to look into this further. When you have a moment, please DM your confirmation number and further information about this situation.”
The man who Kraus claimed asked her to move seats told a different version of the story after they landed, saying he only asked her to move seats so that his son could sit next to his friend.
A @united crew member yelled at me that the flight to NYC won’t take off because of me – after I refused to Ultra Orthodox passengers’ request to change my seat. I was told the flight might touch down in Egypt and it would be my fault. What a humiliating event for me as a woman.
— Neria Kraus (@NeriaKraus) August 15, 2023
“First she was friendly, but I had a cap on and when I took it off she saw my yarmulka she started asking if I wanted her to move because she was a woman. She started screaming ‘discrimination’,” the man said afterwards.
טוב גבירותיי ורבותיי כתבת חדשות 13 נריה קראוס סיפרה אתמול ש״חרדים רצו שהיא תעבור מקום בטיסה בגלל שהיא אישה״, היא צילמה את האדם הזה שהוא בעל משפחה ואדם מאד מוכר בברוקלין, הציוץ שלה הגיע למעל מליון צפיות וגם להחברים שלו שנדהמו ופנו אליי במשך כל היום, ״אין סיכוי, הבן אדם הזה מארח… pic.twitter.com/KkC4M1aYKP
— daniel amram – דניאל עמרם (@danielamram3) August 16, 2023
Kraus refuted the man’s claim, calling it a “lie” and that they “explicitly stated that they did not want to sit next to me.”
“Every time a woman complains about exclusion, she is attacked as being against Judaism. Gross lie There is no connection between the humiliation of women and Judaism. Who saw a hat or no hat on the man’s head. Gross lie, slander and complete fake,” she added.
The issue of ultra-orthodox men not wanting to sit next to women on flights to and from Israel has become an increasingly frequent phenomenon.
The incident on United Airlines came a day after a group of teenage girls were asked to sit in the back of a bus in Israel in order not to offend ultra-orthodox passengers with their clothes.
Prime Minister Netanyahu condemned the incident after the video of the bus driver’s offensive behaviour went viral in Israeli media.
“Israel is a free country in which no one will restrict who can use public transportation, and no one will dictate where she or he will sit,” Netanyahu said.
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