This letter may seem negative but if we don’t discuss this now then when?
First a fact about the El Al drama this past Friday: The El Al captain blatantly lied to the entire flight. At 11:40, it was clear that if the flight departed then then plane would be landing in Tel Aviv close to – or on Shabbos. Many Frum passengers began demanding to be let off the flight. In order to get them to sit down the pilot announced that the plane would return to the gate. Instead of doing this, he instead taxied to the runway and took off. This has been documented in many letters and posts popping up all over the Internet.
1. El Al should stop lying. Somehow they always manage to get away with it.
2. El Al should take responsibility for the things they do wrong. Somehow it’s never their fault.
3. Literally spreading the fake news about Chareidim getting Physical because of Shabbos, and Filing False Police Reports in Israel is Disgusting SHAME ON YOU! People are not stupid and even more so the so-called “charedim” (Jew’s who keep Shabbos), not taking the blame is one thing but to wrongly change the story and blame the charedim as a scapegoat is unacceptable. SHAME ON YOU!
(Fyi; a reporter from an Israeli newspaper called “Yisrael Hayom”, was on the flight and said, that the only physical encounter he saw on the flight was actually of a steward who tried to physically hit his camera out of his hand. “Once he found out that I was a reporter, he begged for mercy, so, for now, I won’t publicize the video, said the reporter)
4. Do not Take credit for the amazing work Chabad has done. Just because they are nice enough to help any Jew at any given time, it totally does not excuse you for lying to the Us that we will make it to Israel on time, aside for the other dozen lies you knowledgeably said.
5. Compensation by EL Al is non-existing. Most people who fly with El Al and for whatever the story may be Deserve a compensation from the airline, Leave it up to the Israelis to flip story on you and somehow you owe them. Amazing!
6. Hey, remember?
An El Al flight from New York to Tel Aviv finally landed at Ben Gurion Airport Monday morning, nearly 27 hours after its scheduled departure from JFK Airport, following an emergency landing and 15-hour stay on a tarmac in Goose Bay, Canada?
7. We clearly already know from that story that besides for security you have nothing to offer, and try to blame bad weather for why your stewards were late, it does not buy you a pass to lie.
Since El Al is so perfect, they have exactly enough planes for their daily flights.
Wait, so if something happens?…..
Yes exactly!!!
It means you can be stuck in Canada for 15 hours. WAIT WAIT and of course it’s not El Al’s fault, “it’s the planes and the Charedim”.
G-D forbid El Al will take a loss by renting a temporary plane or booking people on other flights, that will fall under the category of “compensation” and as far as El Al goes it does not exist.
8. Aside for American Airlines that fly for El Al on Shabbos they have no “Mutual Aid” for cases like this. All for your same greedy reasons. Since they desperately needed the plane in Israel on Sunday if they were to have mutual aid they could have dropped off the passengers who preferred not to fly and book them elsewhere.
9. No, Don’t be fooled El Al couldn’t care less about you. Remember this story in 2017?
10. January 2007 – YWN Report on the Chareidi ban on El Al after Chillul Shabbos?
At a special meeting held on Monday at Yeshivas Mesivta Rabbi Chaim Berlin in Brooklyn, members of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel of America signed on to a declaration by Gedolei Yisroel in Eretz Yisroel regarding a p’sak prohibiting flying on El Al.
Participating in the Brooklyn meeting were R’ Yaakov Perlow Shlita (the Novominsker Rebbe and Rosh Agudas Yisroel), R’ Aharon Schechter Shlita (Rosh Yeshivas Chaim Berlin), R’ Avrohom Chaim Levin Shlita (Rosh Yeshivas Telshe Chicago), R’ Shmuel Kamenetsky Shlita (Rosh Yeshivas Philadelphia) R’ Aharon Feldman Shlita (Rosh Yeshivas Ner Yisroel) and R’ Simcha Bunim Ehrenfeld Shlita (the Mattesdorfer Rebbe).
To conclude: Unfortunately the only language El Al’s seems to speak is the Hard way. I really hope that one day these people will learn their lesson “A’aD Mossay”.
Enough is enough!
I couldn’t believe when I read on dansdeals how El Al is getting away without compensating the passengers on the Goose Bay Drama, so this time I won’t be shocked if they get away with it, But I definitely Hope they don’t.
From Dans Deals:
Reader Question: Does El Al Owe Compensation For The Flight 8 Diversion?
El Al Responds: No, We Do Not
Update: El Al has told customers that they will not be paying out the mandatory Israeli delayed flight compensation for Flight 8 as the flight left on time and was diverted due to uncontrollable circumstances.
Of course, that’s highly debatable as seen below and in the comments. However Israel doesn’t have the equivalent of a DoT that enforces actions against airlines, so seemingly the only other option would be through the legal system.
El Al says that they will pay for out of pocket expenses. I’d assume that includes roaming charges, missed hotel reservations, etc.
YD – New York
LISTEN TO IT: EL AL PILOT SAYS “WE APPRECIATE IF WE CAN (HAVE CLEARANCE) TO DEPART AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, OTHERWISE THE PASSENGERS ARE GOING TO CONTINUE MAKING PROBLEMS (DEMANDING TO BE LET OFF THE PLANE INSTEAD OF POSSIBLE CHILLUL SHABBOS”
NOTE: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of YWN.
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15 Responses
Yaakov,
Even assuming everything you wrote is 1000% true, the fact is that frum people booked a no- safety net thisclose- to Shabbos flight.
You’re screaming because you got caught with your fingers in the cookie jar… Please don’t pull a sanctimonious
red herring deflection. .. Nobody here is dumb.. What were frum children taught about leaving from anywhere to anywhere early to avoid chillul Shabbos ??
“He doth protest too much.”
There is a solution to this problem… DON’T FLY TO ISRAEL ON THE SHABBAT. This is pure insanity on the part of the Frum Jews. Getting angry at the airline and its crew is INSANE. You are acting like idiots and profaning the Name of our G-d. It is not the responsibility of the airline or its crew to make sure you observe the Shabbat… THAT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. Cursing people out, becoming violent, acting like idiots is insane and totally unacceptable. Nothing in life goes as planned and no flights throughout the whole United States hardly ever leave on time. That is why YOU DON’T FLY ON A PLANE DURING THE SHABBAT OR ANYTIME NEAR THE SHABBAT. USE YOUR DANG BRAINS AND STOP BLAMING OTHER PEOPLE FOR YOUR OWN INADEQUACIES.
Go to the Torah of G-d’s Words …. You are not to work on the Shabbat, you are not to kindle a fire… you are to give that time to Him. That means you don’t fly on a plane to another country near or during His Shabbat. That is your responsibility not the airline or its crew.
Supply & Demand!!!!:- As long as there is demand for flying on Thursday nite cutting it close to Shabbos, there’ll be flights supplied. When we Frumies stop demanding Thursday nite flights coming in @ last moment before Shabbos, there’ll stop having such flights supplied. So it is up to we Frumy’s not to place El Al in an impossible situation. Follow/conform with Halocho, and plan to arrive into Lod Airport ample time before Shabbos.
First of all stop flying Thursday evening especially on the short shabbosim. Every year there is at least 1 disaster with them. It’s like playing Russian roulette. Happened to me many years ago on the 6pm flight and I reached home 20 minutes before Shabbos. If people stop taking these chances maybe elal will schedule earlier flights on Thursday.
Perhaps EL AL should have no flights leaving from the united states on friday morning so that this issue wont happen.
simple solution. stop flying with el al until they get their act together. I will be flying with United. Also, in general, people should not fly on any airline close to Shabbos.
Granted people have taynes against elal. What about the taynes the aibershter has against people who play Russian roulette with shmiras shabbos?
So, don’t fly El Al.
THIS IS WHY NO FRUM JEW SHOULD FLY EL AL!!
Its been discussed over and over but why don’t the Chareidim simply start their own airline and fly only Sunday through Thursday. This way they could have gender separated seating (women in the upper deck or cargo hold only), meals with only top-of-the-line Chasidiseh hashgacha, shiurim on the entertainment systems, special flight plans that assure Kohanim they never fly over kevorim and a mini- mikvah on the new generation of larger wide-bodied jets
There has been allot of talk about this topic and at this point continued talk will only accomplish one thing and that is ill will between those who observe the Torah and those who don’t. I remember forty years ago when I was a child we took a family trip on Friday going somewhere for Shabbos. The trip was a 3.5 hour trip and we left with plenty of time to spare. We had car trouble which was not anticipated and we ended up back home for Shabbos arriving with only minutes to spare. My father told us he made a mistake traveling on Friday something he never did again after that. Common sense would have been not to take a flight so close to Shabbos, they made a mistake. No matter how devoted the airline says they are to being Shomer Shabbos if they are not Shomer Shabbos in their hearts there is always an element of risk.
Starting a chareidy airline would not work because Geadohadorah and his/her cohorts would be quick to take them to court for discrimination etc.
David…..like the buses from BP to Monsey??? Actually, I suspect the majority of frum El Al customers would celebrate anything that would remove the relatively small percentage of Chareidi passengers who seem to account of the large percentage of disruptions on El Al flights, whether based on gender seating issues, being told to sit down at certain points in the flight, questions over the plumbas/seals on meal served, or complaints over the movies shown. Indeed, many would be willing to contribute to subsidies to keep this small cadre of chronic troublemakers off their flights.
Stop the narishkeit already and ADMIT that ElAL is NOT Shomer Shabbos AT ALL! They are mechalel Shabbos at every turn. Every time that “mogen dovid” flies over some city on Shabbos, no matter where EVEN in EY, they give a big #$%@^$# you to Torah, Mitzvos, and ESPECIALLY Shabbos Kodesh.
I wont even touch flying them to EY on a Thursday!