EL AL Chairman Amikam Ben-Zvi delivered a heartfelt speech at the Jerusalem Post Washington Conference, asserting the airline’s vital role as Israel’s bridge to the world after October 7. Addressing Israeli officials, American policymakers, Jewish community leaders, and media figures, Ben-Zvi described EL AL as both a symbol and a tool of national resilience, starting by reflecting on the importance of leading the airline that “proudly carries the Israeli flag on the tail of its aircraft, a sight that moves me every time.”
From the early days of the crisis, he said, EL AL made a clear choice: to stay fully operational while many foreign airlines stopped services. “Since the outbreak of the war, EL AL has not stopped its flights... While many airlines halted their operations in Israel, it was clear to us that we would do everything possible to continue connecting Israel to the world while taking calculated risks.” This decision, he emphasized, allowed the airline to carry out missions crucial to Israel’s security and continuity. EL AL transported soldiers, reservists, hostage families, the wounded, bereaved families, and strategic cargo, while maintaining a full commercial schedule. Some rescue missions, he noted, “remain confidential.”
Ben-Zvi also noted the thousands of EL AL employees who make these operations possible, calling them a “mosaic” of Israeli society. He especially admired the more than 600 pilots, most of whom serve in the IDF reserves. “These are the best pilots in the world,” he said, describing how they serve both in the cockpit and on the front lines. He also reflected on the airline’s dramatic turnaround after the COVID-19 crisis.
EL AL’s recovery, he said, started when U.S. businessman Kenny Rozenberg insisted on buying and revitalizing the struggling airline. “We will change the world. We will make a big Kiddush Hashem,” Rosenberg told him, words Ben-Zvi credits with inspiring EL AL’s renewal. What many thought was “crazy,” he said, ultimately became “a great miracle.” He ended with a promise: “EL AL will continue to flourish and fulfill its strategic mission for our country Israel.”
Written in collaboration with EL AL