Passenger Sues El Al After Orthodox Jewish Man Takes Her Seat To Avoid Sitting Next To A Woman

A Florida woman is suing Israel's El Al airlines, apparently in an Israeli court, for gender discrimination after a flight steward on her flight to Israel moved her to a less desirable seat further back in the plane.  As reported by Israel Hayom, Digital Journal and Arutz Sheva, Debra Ryder boarded a flight in New York and found that her assigned seat was already occupied by an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man who had moved to it to avoid sitting beside a woman passenger who was next to him in his original seat.  The man refused to move back, and a crew member asked Ryder to instead take the man's assigned seat so the flight could take off.  Ryder had chosen her original seat so she could be near a rest room to facilitate her taking medications. The seat change also resulted in her not getting the vegetarian meal she had pre-ordered. Ryder is asking for NIS 50,000 ($12,500 US) in damages .