Founded in November 1948, El Al is Israel’s national airline. The name comes from Hosea (11:7) and means “upward.” Non-military flights using military planes were labelled “El Al” even before the creation of the airline. The most famous of these flights took place in September 1948 when an “El Al” plane was used to bring Chaim Weizmann from Geneva to Israel to become Israel’s first president.
Once the airline was officially formed, it began services to Rome, Paris, London, and Zurich. It currently flies to 36 destinations around the world. El Al has participated in missions rescuing Jews around the world such as Operation Magic Carpet which brought Jews from Yemen to Israel in 1949–1950, Operation Exodus which brought hundreds of thousands of Jews from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the 1990s, and Operation Solomon which rescued thousands of Ethiopian Jews in 1991. El Al, formerly owned by the government of Israel, was privatized in 2005.
Founded in November 1948, El Al is Israel’s national airline. The name comes from Hosea (11:7) and means “upward.” Non-military flights using military planes were labelled “El Al” even before the creation of the airline. The most famous of these flights took place in September 1948 when an “El Al” plane was used to bring Chaim Weizmann from Geneva to Israel to become Israel’s first president.
Once the airline was officially formed, it began services to Rome, Paris, London, and Zurich. It currently flies to 36 destinations around the world. El Al has participated in missions rescuing Jews around the world such as Operation Magic Carpet which brought Jews from Yemen to Israel in 1949–1950, Operation Exodus which brought hundreds of thousands of Jews from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the 1990s, and Operation Solomon which rescued thousands of Ethiopian Jews in 1991. El Al, formerly owned by the government of Israel, was privatized in 2005.
Marvin G. Goldman EL AL Collection
.svg)
