El AL allegedly ignores sexual harassment on New York-Tel Aviv flight

"The passenger was treated during and after the flight with great sensitivity, the service manager took care of her personally," responded El AL.

The first of Israel's El Al Airlines order of 16 Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets, lands at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel August 23, 2017 (photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
The first of Israel's El Al Airlines order of 16 Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets, lands at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel August 23, 2017
(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
A young woman woke up in a panic when she felt a man was sexually harassing her on an El Al flight from New York to Israel, she told Army Radio Monday morning. When she rushed to ask for help, she said, the crew member did not change her seat, nor that of her alleged harasser, and did not offer to report the incident.
“I was on a flight from New York to Israel,” the woman said. “I woke up with the feeling that someone was rubbing against me. I tried to move the person by force.”
A flight attendant approached at once and said he saw the event. The young woman added that a second flight attendant also arrived, but reacted to the incident with indifference. “I began to cry in despair and she tried to convince me that the whole thing was a mistake,” the woman said.
Another passenger approached her and said he had witnessed what happened and was ready to testify on her behalf.
Other flight attendants told the young woman that if she filed a complaint it would be possible to prosecute the alleged harasser if he was still in the airport.
“I feel like they did not help me, I’ll go to the police, but I don’t think anything will be resolved. But I’m very angry at El Al and how they reacted. I could not go through a day without thinking about it and not doing something,” she said.
“The passenger was treated during and after the flight with great sensitivity, the service manager took care of her personally, and after the flight she was treated by the customer service who offered to accompany her and file a complaint with the police,” El Al said in response.
"The passenger was treated during and after the flight with great sensitivity, the service manager took care of her personally and after the flight she was treated by the customer service who offered to accompany her and file a complaint with the police," El Al said in response.
Yvette J. Deane translated this article.