Israeli court stands up for woman in airline gender seat swap case

A court has told El Al that it can no longer ask women passengers to switch seats if ultra-Orthodox Jewish men object to sitting next to them, an Israeli advocacy group said Thursday. A case for damages from the carrier was brought by 83-year-old Renee Rabinowitz, who was asked by a flight attendant, after boarding a flight from Newark to Tel Aviv in 2015, if she would agree to move. The airline has said it tries to accommodate ultra-Orthodox men, who cite religious beliefs in seeking to avoid close proximity to women other than their wives, but never pressures female passengers to accede to a seat swap request. Rabinowitz did agree to move to another seat but later sued El Al, arguing she had felt "deep humiliation", the Israel Religious Center, which represented her, said. <br/>