El Al, known throughout the world as Israel’s national carrier, though it has been privatized in recent years, flew on the Sabbath last week after a workers’ strike at Ben Gurion Airport paralyzed the airline industry.
The strike halted flights from numerous international airlines, causing companies to cancel flights and passengers to leave without their luggage. Departures and arrivals of other flights were delayed by hours, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue as passengers canceled tickets and changed their plans.
Rabbinical leaders from all sectors of the religious population responded immediately by calling for a boycott of the airline. Hareidi religious rabbis overseas also ordered their population to cancel pre-existing tickets, leading to a steep drop in flight bookings.
The harsh reaction prompted senior El Al officials to request a meeting on behalf of the airline’s CEO, Israel Borovich, with representatives from the Rabbinical Committee for the Sanctity of the Sabbath.
The two parties have been meeting for several days, according to Ynet, in an effort to create a list of recommendations regarding the airline’s service. The Committee is expected to issue a public statement regarding the situation on Wednesday.
United Torah Judaism member Rabbi Avraham Ravitz spoke with Army Radio on Tuesday about the growing boycott of El Al due to the airline’s Sabbath flight.
Until now, there has been a quiet agreement between the Hareidi religious community and El Al to avoid desecrating the Sabbath and holidays. Last week’s Sabbath flight was seen by rabbinic leaders as a betrayal..
“It was simply foolish of them,” he said. “It is not even like they did it for the money. They were warned in advance that this one flight would offend and alienate a whole sector and they chose to do it. We have preferred the company because we had an agreement regarding the Sabbath. They violated the agreement. It is that simple.”
Ravitz insisted that although El Al had been privatized, its Sabbath observance policy has nonetheless remained a symbol of the Jewish nature of the State of Israel.
UTJ Knesset member Yaakov Litzman blamed the government for the Sabbath desecration. Litzman threatened to bring a no-confidence motion against the government together with fellow UTJ Knesset member Moshe Gafni.
In a further exacerbation of the already-strained relations between the hareidi community and the airline, Army Radio reported Tuesday that non-kosher sandwiches were served on a flight from Moscow to Israel last Thursday. The kosher food brought from Israel reportedly spoiled due to the long stay at Moscow’s airport that was due to the strike.
El Al responded to the report, by claiming that passengers were informed the sandwiches distributed on the flight were not kosherl The company added that fruit was distributed for those who observe the kosher dietary laws.
The company declined to comment on the growing groundswell against the airline in the hareidi sector.