Published: 27 August 2020
Last updated: 4 March 2024
A BRITISH-ISRAELI WOMAN is suing EasyJet, the British low-cost airline, for demanding that she give up her seat on a flight from Tel Aviv to London to accommodate an ultra-Orthodox man and his son who refused to sit next to her because of her gender.
Melanie Wolfson, who moved to Israel 13 years ago and lives in Tel Aviv, is demanding 66,438 shekels ($19,515) in compensation from the airline, according to a suit filed last week on her behalf by the Israel Religious Action Centre – the advocacy arm of the Reform movement in Israel.
The 38-year-old plaintiff, a professional fundraiser, is also demanding that EasyJet stipulate in its guidelines for employees that they are prohibited from asking women to switch seats because of their gender and that they must defend their rights to sit in their assigned seats.
According to the suit, Wolfson had paid an extra fee for an aisle seat on a flight to London that took off October 10. An ultra-Orthodox man and his son were already sitting in the row when she arrived.
As soon as she sat down, the son got out of his seat, climbed over to the row behind, presumably to avoid physical contact with her, and proceeded to look for a male passenger who would be willing to change seats with her. A few minutes later, he returned, and the father asked Wolfson to switch seats with a man a few rows ahead.
FULL STORY EasyJet sued for forcing Israeli woman to give up seat for ultra-Orthodox men (Haaretz)
Photo: Ultra-Orthodox men stand in front of the EasyJet check-in counter, 2017 (Eyal Toueg)
