Israel – Haredi airline passengers are being advised to hang a new type of mehitza – a halachic barrier to separate the sexes – around the top of their airplane seats, to shield their eyes from immodest neighbors and in-flight movies.
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The Rabbinical Council for Public Transportation, which is also representing the haredi community on the issue of gender-segregated “mehadrin” buses, is now placing advertisements in haredi newspapers encouraging the community to purchase the traveler mehitzas.
The new mehitzas, made of white nylon, stick onto the fabric of the airplane chair using Velcro and can be arranged to make a protective “shield.” The mehitza goes around the head and is mostly in front of the passenger’s face, protruding only a little to the sides. Its designer, who asked that his name not be published, declined to share pictures and his design details, but said the mehitzas were “airy” and did not bother anybody.
“They’re very nice,” said Rabbi Shimon Stern, spokesman for the Rabbinic Council for Public Transportation. “Very cute. It’s very practical.”
The mehitzas are designed to be portable and fit into a small box, which passengers can bring on the plane.
The airplane mehitzas come in the wake of other recent steps by the haredi community to avoid immodesty, such as the mehadrin bus lines and separate-sex sidewalks in Jerusalem’s Geula neighborhood.
Stern said the main reason for the latest recommendation was to enable haredi passengers to block out in-flight movies. Television sets are banned in haredi communities, and movies are forbidden. In aircraft with large movie screens, it is difficult to avoid watching the films.
Stern said that before the issue of the new mehitza was raised, the council had been in talks with El Al Airlines to create seating areas with no movies, but the results had been unsatisfactory. The council is also publishing a list of flights that do not show films.
A favorite airline is United Airlines, which had to drop its in-flight movies for financial reasons.
Separating haredi passengers from their “immodestly dressed” neighbors is another concern. The mehitza is only partial, but Stern said stewardesses were usually happy to arrange seat-swaps.
Stern said the mehitzas were also there to provide passengers with a private space to pray and study Torah.
“You can daven, you can learn,” he said, “It gives you privacy.”
The man who designed the mehitzas on order from the council said they had been used thousands of times and that he had received only positive reactions from customers. According to him, the airplane crew on one flight even asked one of his clients for his mehitza so they could use it for future passengers.
But the mehitzas are still unknown to the larger haredi public. Despite the ad campaign in newspapers, they are only available privately from one source – the designer, who charges only a nominal sum for their use. Passengers can even return the items and get their money back when they return to Israel.
A travel agent in Bnei Brak said she knew of only one client who had mentioned the mehitzas. None of the staff at another travel agency in a haredi neighborhood had even heard of them.
An El Al spokeswoman said that none of the personnel with whom she was in contact were aware of them.
Haredi journalist Mordechai Plaut said he knew that there had been an initiative to help Orthodox passengers avoid in-flight movies, but that he had not heard of the mehitzas.
They are not “in,” acknowledged Stern.
But a rabbi in the community, who also requested anonymity, said that it was only a matter of time before they caught on.
“The whole machine will go into it,” he said, referring to the council’s educational arm, which uses newspaper articles, speeches and posters to reach the community.
The Rabbinical Council for Public Transportation is backed by some of the most senior rabbis – including Rabbi Yosef Sholom Elyashiv, 99, one of the leading halachic authorities in the haredi world – according to haredi observers who say the council’s recommendations are widely respected.
Einat Hurvitz, the legal adviser to the Reform movement’s Israel Religious Action Center who is leading the case against mehadrin buses in the High Court of Justice, said the individual mehitzas were a step in the right direction.
“If it’s not something that is bothering other people, then it is freedom of religion,” she said.
However, she added that it was another example of the extremist direction that haredim were taking.
Is that normale?? I honostly would like to know….if any other religion would do that u would think they’re nuts
“The whole machine will go into it,” he said. What does that mean?
sick! primitive. what cant these board depressing people stress that people increase ahavas yisroel, tzedaka torah things that matter and can make a difference.
i think these guys lost it.
Well this should make a nice sized chillul hashem. These people are the “extremists” of the jewish world
Some of the biggest rabbonim and gadolim of our generation routinely fly without these contraptions and somehow manage to avoid a problem. If this fringe group of fanatics wants to wrap their heads in a dirty towel for the 13 hour flight from EY to NYC, they are welcome to do so. The positive part is that normal people won’t have to see them either.
What a great idea! Wow.
I traveled with the Monsey Trails bus and there was a hole in the mechitza so I went off the bus and took a cab, from now on I will be able to drive the bus!!!
These people need serious Doctors i”m not kidding Iv’e never in my life heard of such things
I have a better solution these people should just not fly en of story.
Just to share a story i witnessed on a flight to Israel with many of these so called frum people on the flight. There was a rosh yeshiva on the flight davening shachris by his place not minyan so one of these people who are obviously more frum then the rosh yeshiva walks over to him & asks him i dont understand how your not davening with the minyan so the rosh yeshiva told him. Minyan is derabonon chillul hashem is deoraysa. now you tell me if these people mean hashem or just their agenda which is to keep their names in the news all day for nothing
the stupidity is over flowing, and does not let up. it like a never ending river just keeps on flowng with stupidity. there are so many issues that we are having as a jewish people and this is what they are worried about , nonsense…
Arup fun zinnen
The U.S. TSA and airlines will NOT allow this because it makes it more difficult to monitor what passengers are doing at their seats. There have been similiar proposals in the past that have been rejected. What happens if some ostensibly frumme yid has a bomb in his underwear like the Nigerian guy and the Shoe bomber and uses one of these devices to make it more difficult to see what he is doing. The laws of Tzinius have no importance when it comes to airline security.
Save the money and the shlepping and just put a paper bag over your head!
How about duct tape?
I too can’t imagine that airlines will allow this. There are security issues as well as blocking the views of those who do want to watch the movie. If someone can’t help but look at the screen or other passengers, wear dark glasses or cover your eyes with a cloth or a bag.
I have a better idea, and one not nearly so stupid…why not carry two eye patches and an i-pod? When you sit down, put the two eye patches on and listen to your i-pod filled with Rabbi Whoever spouting the wisdom of the day.
Nebech we are busy with all type of nonsense there are so many problems with our system and they are busy with plane mehutza if you don’t want to see movies then flip the channel to maps and if somebody wants to look on not so modest woman the mhutza won’t help him like I told u we are busy with nonsense instead of value stuff
I congratulate them on coming up with a creative solution to a problem… albeit a minor problem. However it is impractical and I certainly wouldn’t want to see this on my flights. What if people started using them to hide drug use, or worse to hide while try to blow up a plane? I would be very suspect if I saw one and would be inclined to make my discomfort known to the flight crew no matter who was using it.
I am not sure if this is some kind of Purim joke or not.
Of course gedolim like R Moshe, etc… could not have been very frum since they flew on airplanes without a mechitza!
Only a crazy mind can come up with this idea, maybe the religious fanatics should take high doses of viagra so as to go blind, that way they won’t have to watch a movie on an airplane.
what ever happened to shmiras einayim and lo sosuru achrei einiechem the mitzva it to do it ourselves and not find every way to make money on these narishe zachen. how many of these same frum people cant put bread on there table but he rabonim are forcing them to buy kosher cellphones kosher airplane blinders very soon the new thing will be boxes on wheels so the could walk with out having to control their eyes. it is like opening a can of worms lets stop it before it gets out of control
Sounds like another money making ploy aimed at the charedim alla kosher phone I wonder which Prominent Rebbe is getting kick backs from this one
This is just ridiculous .come on now this is all they worry about relax u guys have much more than this to work on
Does anyone think that the holy Besh’t wrapped a towel around his head before he went on a wagon ride? #4 you are absolutely right, the frum community has more than enough problems, we do not need to waste time with stupidity like this.
I think all these people should stay stay in their locked houses so they can save themselves from all sin………… this one takes the cake…
There is no record in the Gemarah that I’ve ever heard of which talks of separate pathways (no sidewalks at the time) for each gender, or of mechitzas being used in carriages. Today’s Chareidim make up new halachos every day, in direct contradiction of the Gemarah’s advice to take a middle-of-the-road approach.
It’s been said that anyone can declare something assur, and that it takes a real Gadol to declare something mutar. I guess we no longer have any real Gedolim.
Unfortenetly up to this point I would have vihemently disagreed with poster 3 and his Ilk but I must sadly admit that he is 10% right this time and I could have not said it any better myself we’re becoming totely whacko as a frumeh society even more than god himself I remeber I once askt the slonimer rebbeh somthing about shimaras enayim and how to go about it and he said to me yuh ich hub dir gehaysen zien nizhar in dem inyun ich hub dir nisht gehaysen zien meshugah ( free translation) I told you to be stringent in watching your eyes but I haven’t told you to be meshugah
Is this a joke? Maybe an article in the spirit of Purim? I think that anyone who needs such device is a good candidate for medical attention. Because if someone WANTS to glance at the movie and peek at the immodestly dressed, this will make no difference. And if someone is honestly careful at guarding his eyes, than he doesn’t need this! Just look down, take off your glasses, perhaps wear those eye shades they use to distribute.
Or just stay home!
is there no end to our MESHUGAS ?,what a CHILLUL HASHEM.
what has become of the AM NAVON VCHACHOM,
our beautifull religion has been hijacked by a bunch of ignorant savages in the name of FRUMKEIT
is this the biggest problem THAT KLALL YISROEL has?
Please go find a full time job immediately,
the “charadim” especially the once from israel are causing a split between the orthodox. I grew up as a chusid but do not feel any connection to today’s so called charadim that are in the news everyday protesting and wining all the time.
Flippin’ retards!
1st of all, the FAA won’t allow it because as posted above, the airlines need to be able to see what’s happening on the plane.
2nd, it’s gonna be stifling hot under these things.
3rd, there are almost no planes left that use large public movie screens, they’re almost all personal, seatback systems.
4th, I’d love to see how many Haredim will now be ABLE to watch movies because no one can see what they’re doing, which is the major reason most of them don’t watch them now.
5th, they’re frickin’ nuts!!!!!!!!
The above, which is rigorously logical, took me about 10 seconds to think of. But this “committee” couldn’t realize any of thes drawbacks.
Like my father, who’s a very wellknown TC and Mechanech, told me years ago, “These ppl are menuvalim (perverts), and they need to get a real life!”
Its all about gelt. How much are they selling it for?
How much money do the rabbonim who say you have to have it get for their holy moisdus?
Yeah,
Just like braces are asur for women going to the Mikee
Whats next, the rabbis will encourage women to wear bags over their heads so as not to affend men with their beauty?
Its not a new idea i am traveling to an from Israel a few times a year and its very commonly in the El Al flights. in fact i have a picture of someone doing so. they using a blanket from the airline and hanging it on the top of the seat. i know some one woe dos it all the time
Actaully this might catch on everywhere.
there may be an untapped market of passengers who do not like sitting in crowded airliners who would spend money to have their own space on a plane.
If the chredim were smart, they would patent the invention, do market sudies and if positive sell it to the world,
The profits of the venture could be used to relieve some of the crushing poverty that affects many Charedi families
The next thing you know is these nut jobs are going to insist that the pilot should wear one.
I think alot of our people have become deranged, first they make a tzadik out of grossman,a convicted murderer,bacause he supposedly became frum on Death row. Most inmates on death row do become religious and born again.Now I hear they put up signs in Bmg to say mishnayos for him? Now they come up with this crazy idea, I think that someone hijacked the Frum world.
Wow !!! what a great idea, why did it take so long for someone to think of this brainstorm? I advise everyone to travel with the portable Mechitza in order to make a real Kidush Hashem at all times, I will surly do so.
we live in modern times and the Tznius is only going down year by year, month by month, week by week, day by day, hour by hour…… so in order to preserve our Neshomos we must invent new ideas as how to keep on fighting the Yatzer Hora.
I would never have become frum if I knew the direction we were taking. This is sickening.
You know what gets my goat? The fact that the people involved in this, including, apparently, the rabbis, go anonymous when they introduce something like this. Mima nafshach; if you think you’re doing the right thing, you should also be proud to stand behind your idea. And if you (justifiably) think it’s a silly proposition and are therefore ashamed of it, then, um, y’know, don’t do it.
A much cheaper and effective alternative would be to give out brown paper bags at the gate.
This is what happens when your mind is busy with nonsense all day because you have no job
I think the only people making anything on this is the inventor. He will make some money. Otherwise I do not think it is such a good idea because chas v’shalom what happens if you have to get off the plane in a hurry. This contraption is going to be in your way and maybe block your way off of the plane. It will not help you !! It will hamper you!! If you do not want to listen to the movie, bring EAR PLUGS!! If you do not want to see other women buy a sleeping mask!! It will BLACK OUT EVERYTHING!!! It will probably be cheaper and fit in your POCKET!! A lot lighter than a Mechitza!! I hope VIN posts this!!
Another way for somebody to make money.
If you have an issue with women, movies, etc. how do you dare even walk through the airport? Such idiocracy has not been seen since the days of Chelm…
Al eleh ani bochea….
I wonder how long it will take people to notice that people have used the same device on horses for years? Does that mean they’re lowering themselves to the level of farm animals?
“However, she added that it was another example of the extremist direction that haredim were taking. “
To the contrary the reason Charedi are taking such stances is because of the PROGRESSIVE direction that western society is taking! Look at what women and men wear these days! hello!!!!!! forty years ago there was no issue because men and women didnt wear dental floss when they interacted with the general public. The women didnt wear tight fitting blouses with the words, pornstar etc…
I think it is best to just put yourself in a box and have yourself shipped by UPS to your destination.
Number 52
and which great halachik
authority and tosh yeshivah are u?
Mr 52?
Chilul Hashem
means simply put
doing something wrong or injustful, hurtful and damaging to hashem and his am kodosh
so that a gentile sees this
behavour it will create all
or one of the above..
Placing stupid contraptions around our heads or inconviniencing the planes stewards and passengers by davvening near the toilets and in clear view of other non tznius( appropriate for tefillah ) women , is nit just against the fabric of Halacha but stupid , Taliban compatible AND A CHILUL HASHEM TO BOOT!