More Irritation
Reader comment on item: El Al, "Goy" Airline?

Submitted by Friedman (United States), Jan 1, 2007 at 11:30

This is not the first time that the ultra-Orthodox have acted in defiance of rationality with hostility towards a modernized Israeli culture. Judging El-Al to a higher standard and then causing them to exit the airline industry makes no sense, especially considering the negative impact to the Israeli economy.

But some of the ultra-Orthodox put their personal religious outlooks, despite being less than 1/10 of Israel's Jewish population, over the economy, as most do not work and request government stipends. I feel Israel faces a threat that eclipses its religious bankruptcy and religious tolerance. Boycotting places the conflict between religious and secular Jew ahead of Israel's well-being and conflicts with outsiders (Muslim terrorists).

The ultimate danger of the ultra-Orthodox forcing El-Al into a "goy" airline is it increases the divide between religious and secular by placing the secular in the category of non-Jewish. Tensions are already high between the two because of the disengagement and Atzmona fiasco.

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