From the COLlive inbox:
“As a human being I can grasp the psychological impulse that might lead a person of faith, especially one who feels embattled by the secular world, to try to impose his will on others. But as a secular feminist raised in a mixed-faith household, I was infuriated by those signs…”
These appeared in an op-ed on the opinion section of the Al Jazeera America website on Friday, but they weren’t addressing the murderous ISIS terrorists or the oppressive regimes in the Middle East.
On the target of the writer was non other than “ultra-Orthodox”…. Jews.
Seems like a major hurdle to world peace is frum men not wanting to sit alongside strange women on an airplane and tznius signs in Crown Heights.
The writer, Raina Lipsitz, says that “Last summer in Crown Heights, a racially and ethnically mixed neighborhood in Brooklyn, signs went up urging residents, guests and visitors to ‘Please dress modestly’ as ‘This is a Jewish neighborhood’.”
Her specific problem with that? “Besides being false — Crown Heights is home to Orthodox Jews, but the majority of its residents are non-Jewish blacks of West Indian and African-American descent — the signs struck me as hubristic.”
Islamic terrorists gunning down planes seems like a minor problem compared to a statistic that even she admits is “a relatively small number of flights” that have been disrupted due to a few men insisting on observing their faith.
To be clear, rabbis have clearly ruled in the past that such disturbances are a violations of G-d’s name (“chilul hashem”). Israel’s Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said that praying in a minyan on an airplane is forbidden if it robs others passengers of their sleep or interferes with the duties of the flight crew.
Lipsitz goes on to say that “On large commercial airlines serving massive, diverse customer bases, there’s certainly no such thing as a Jewish flight (or a Muslim or a Catholic one, for that matter).”
Only, she forget to mention denounce the flight regulations of many Arab countries forbidding entrance on board of a passenger with Israel nationality – even from a place the writer called “a pluralistic nation such as the United States and a city as diverse as New York.”
The writer concludes the article by calling, “Airlines and other businesses that depend on women’s money should not tolerate it.”
Because tolerance ends when it comes to the Jews – the religious ones, specifically…
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Maybe he was on one of those long flights with part of the flight happening during the dark night hours. The fact that we have become so desensitized to tznius doesn’t make this passenger an overzealous extremist. Flip the scenario: Would you want your pretty teenage daughter being forced to sit next to a strange man on an overnight flight? BTW, Al Jezeera,I don’t recall this same writer addressing the fact that female passengers in burkas make male (and probably female) passengers alongside them feel mighty uncomfortable and understandably insecure. My guess is if you’d ask them, they’d opt to… Read more »
Anti-Semitism also incuded Arabs…they are ‘Semites’ from ‘Shame’ son of ‘Noach.’ More clear: anti-Jewish, or Yisroel, Israel. These ‘feminists like Raina Lipsitz won’t be known for their research or honesty…don’t waste your time with their writings. These articles are an insult to the writer, her family and country. ‘Stupid America?’
Saudi Airlines has separate seating on its airlines, as well as family seating, because men do not want their wives sitting next to other men.
Why would a woman want to sit next to men, other than her husband? Why would a parent want their daughter sitting next to a strange man?
sorry – this article is ridiculous. There is absolutely no excuse for these men’s behavior.
With all due respect did they also mention that the Muslim women cover everything.but their eyes and when flying they won’t let a man touch them only a woman and they also would not sit next to a man on the plane just that if you aren’t Jewish all is legitimised. Plenty people ask to switch places on the flight is that considered a chilul Hashem- most definitely NOT it’s considered normal yet if it’s a frum man it’s extremism,chilul Hashem etc. There is nothing wrong with asking for modesty in a Jewish community even if there are non Jewish… Read more »
Who do these people think they are to go around talking bad about us frum Jews like its their responsibility to say what is wrong with us!!!? We have things we do and that is not thier business unless we harm anyone!!!!! All these crazy people should just realize how silly they are being!!!
Self hating Jew that she appears to be. I think women should learn from her to be proud about tsnius. Ipcha Mistabra–take the counterintuitive approach. This is a call for the women of our community to go back to the timeless core value of tsnius. We don’t NEED anyone to put up signs,because modesty is really part of the internal psychological makeup of HUMANITY. When we forget and there’s a vacuum, who makes a noise? It’s the enemy in an abaya and her liberal, naive American (Jewish) abetters. Start hearing your inner, still, small voice, abide by Hashem’s Torah out… Read more »
Anytime a Muslim says anything negative about Jews, theres an issue. Point blank, Al Jezeera saying we’re the problem is a joke. Thats like McDonalds calling Subway out on the obesity problem in America.
This is a comment, commenting on a comment in an oped on collive, who is commenting on a comment in an oped in the aljazeera.!! Any comments?
I’m pretty sure the issue of Islamic terrorism is “conflated” with Jewish extremism is because Ms. Lipsatz’s article appeared on Al Jazeera – A Muslic-Arab sponsored website. And when A Muslim-Arab site accuses JEWS of misogynistic/terroist behavior – well that’s RICH.
What does Islamic terrorism have to do Jewish extremism? Why are you conflating two separate issues? Not mentioning Islamic terrorism does not detract from the central argument, namely, that Orthodox men do cause disturbances on airplanes, and harass women who they deem immodest. These are not points of contention; they are facts. Attempting to dismiss these legitimate grievances by claiming that there are even worse actors in the world, is a non sequitur.
She’s not comparing these men to Terrorists. 2 wrongs don’t make a right. What these men do is wrong. Extremism is unhealthy whether in judaism or in Islam