Houston Chronicle

Critics push Israel’s El Al to address prejudice

-

JERUSALEM — Israel's national carrier El Al says it will take a firmer stand against what critics say is discrimina­tion after the airline moved two female passengers under pressure from ultra-Orthodox travelers.

El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin said in a statement this week that he had ordered that “any traveler who refuses to sit next to another traveler will be immediatel­y removed from the flight.”

The statement comes after the airline moved two female passengers last week after male ultra-Orthodox travelers refused to sit next to them. Similar incidents have previously been reported.

The latest incident sparked criticism from NICE, an Israel-based software company, which said it would not fly with El Al until it stopped the practice.

The company said “we don't do business with companies that discrimina­te.”

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States