The Jewish community here is furious over a handbook distributed by the Royal Dutch Airline, KLM, to its flight attendants to acquaint them with the distinctive customs, backgrounds and needs of passengers of different religious groups.
Rabbi Raphael Evers, head of the Orthodox Jewish Seminary in the Netherlands, likened it to “Mein Kampf” and the medieval blood libel because of what he said were gross distortions about the customs and behavior of observant Jews.
According to Rabbi Lody van de Kamp of the Amsterdam Ashkenazic Congregation, it reflects prejudice and lack of knowledge of Jews and Judaism.
“KLM stimulates prejudice against Jews and greatly offends the Jews,” van de Kamp charged in the Dutch Jewish weekly Nieuw Israelietisch Weekblad. He demanded appropriate revisions in the next edition.
KLM, Holland’s globe-girdling air carrier, has promised to make all necessary revisions.
The handbook, titled “Cultures Aboard,” devotes 12 of its 200 pages to Orthodox Jews. It advises female flight attendants that Orthodox male passengers refuse to touch food handled by a woman who is menstruating. Sometimes they will inquire discreetly, or not so discreetly, if she is having her monthly period, the handbook says.
It claims that Orthodox Jews have a sharp sense of social control. “Passengers who didn’t order kosher food (in advance) will just demand it on the spot. They call loudly showing their anger over a mistake made by KLM,” the manual said.
According to Rabbi Evers, he was upset by the KLM handbook because “negative statements, written or oral, have caused millions of victims for our people.” He pointed to errors in references to kashrut and Jewish festivals and to a statement that Jews, unlike Moslems, are allowed to interrupt their prayers.
Flight attendants are told that Orthodox Jewish passengers may want to congregate in the galley to pray and there should be no objection to this request.
But, it warns, sometimes a whole group occupies the galley for a long time, preventing the staff from performing its duties.
“KLM should have contacted the Dutch Chief Rabbinate and the Amsterdam Rabbinate before publishing such absurdities,” van de Kamp wrote. He noted that in the past KLM has always asked the advice of Jewish authorities.
A spokesman for the air line said the handbook tried to give as balanced a picture as possible of the more extreme religious behavior the cabin staff might encounter and how to handle situations with which they may be confronted.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
