Airline seat-switching outcry: Jewish leader calls for understanding

A leader in Toronto's Jewish community called for understanding in response to a controversy CBC News reported about yesterday, in which a woman travelling on a Porter Airlines flight refused to move to another seat toaccommodate an ultra-Orthodox man.

• Seat change request sparks controversy
• Air travel and religion don't always mix

Prior to takeoff,Christine Flynn, 31, was asked to switch seats by the crew of a Porter Airlines flight from Newark, N.J., to Toronto on Monday. The man had made his seat changerequest through gestures to Porter staff.

After Flynn refused to move, theman switched to another seat and the flight departed as normal.

In an interview with CBC you can listen to here, Flynn said she was offended that a man asked her to move because of her gender. She was also angry the man didn't try to communicate his request to her directly.

The story triggered a massive response from the CBC.ca audience, with more than 3,200 comments posted on the original story.

Some saidFlynn should have switched seats to avoid the conflict; others argued she did the right thing by refusing to move.

On Thursday,CBC Radio's Metro Morningshowinterviewed Yacov Fruchter, director of community building and spiritual engagement with the Beth Tzedec congregation, about the controversy and the issues raised by the incident. It isn't the first time an ultra-Orthodox Jew has refused to sit next to a female passenger.

'Shomer negiah' no touching

Fruchterexplained that only a minority of ultra-Orthodox Jewswho are themselves a minority among Jewsbelieve men should avoid all physicalcontact with women they're not related or married to.

"There is a concept called shomer negiah, which literally means to refrain or to keep from touching," Fruchter said.

Fruchter agreed the man's refusal to engage Flynn didn't help the situation.

"He didn't give her the opportunity to feel like there was a chance for a dialogue and an opportunity for understanding and to me, that's the real issue here."

Fruchter said he has no problems with the way Flynn or the Porter in-flight crewhandled the situation.

He was concerned about some of the online reaction, with some of those commentinghurling invective at the man who requested the seat change.

"This is a learning opportunity," said Fruchter. "People want to jump to conclusions."

Like Flynn,Fruchtersaid the man should have made arrangements with the airline prior to travelling.