July 19, 1957 Friday afternoon, 3pm
on board aircraft 4xAKE
The picture at the top of this page is my Dad standing at the departure gate of New York’s Idlewild Airport. In 1963 the name of the airport was changed to JFK, after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Letter on EL AL stationary from 1957
My father did not waste any time, already writing his first letter on the airplane, on his way to Israel. Those were the days before “What’sAp” and emails, when correspondence between people required a lot more exertion.  This letter was written on EL-AL stationary given out on the plane. I spoke to the EL AL Museum and the El AL Archives department and they don’t know of anybody else who still has the old stationary. It might even be a collector’s item. However, there is a man named Marvin Goldman of New York, who has collected a huge assortment of EL AL memorabilia and has turned his Mahattan home into a mini EL AL museum.
 
My father’s first trip to Israel was a culmination of several years of a strong Zionist upbringing. The Holocaust and subsequent establishment of the State of Israel were only a decade ago, and most Jewish Americans felt a profound connection to this improbable tale. After a 2000 year exile, the Jews finally had a home of their own in 1948, and my father was eager to see it first-hand.
 
Asides from his strong Zionist sentiments, he wanted to surprise his girlfriend and future wife, Elaine, who had left for Israel earlier that summer on a Young Hadassah tour. Elaine left for Israel on June 30 and my father had not seen or spoken to her for three weeks. In those days it was almost impossible to make an international phone call to Israel.

’’I just finished a delicious lunch”
While most people complain about airline food, my father raved about it. So much so, that in a second letter, he wrote that he had the “most delicious meal he’s ever eaten in his entire life… “


“The plane is very nice and the ride is nice and smooth.“
The plane was an EL AL Constellation, model 4X AKE, with four piston engines. It was purchased by EL AL in 1955. These older planes were very noisy and shaky compared to EL AL’s sleek, modern jet airliners of today. My father was extremely excited to be on his way to Israel for the first time, so no matter how shaky the plane was – for him it was “smooth”.

“Our First stop was Gander Newfoundland”
Gander Newfoundland was an International Airport opened in 1938. In those days, passenger planes needed to stop in Gander to refuel before crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

“Alan even if I tried, I couldn’t smuggle you onto the plane. Every last seat is taken.”
Alan is my father’s younger brother who was 12 years old at the time, and had been eager to join his brother on this trip. As mentioned, the flight was full. As a matter of fact, my father was lucky to get on board – his future father in law, Nick Mirwis, had connections with El Al and was able to get my father a seat at the last minute.

Supporting EL AL
A decade later, when my father became a successful businessman and Jewish activist, he placed the subject of supporting EL AL at the top of his agenda. He realized the importance of EL AL to both the economy and security of the State of Israel. He worked tirelessly to ensure that all Jewish groups fly EL AL as part of an overall effort to support the Israeli economy.

As one of the heads of Young Israel in Staten Island, his first priority was to ensure that the organization he is affiliated with patronize EL-AL exclusively when planning their tours to Israel. In a letter to the President of the National Council in 1969, he wrote: “We were distressed to learn that Young Israel..does all their bookings through Alitalia..we know by now that Israel and world Judaism stand alone. It is Young Israel’s sacred duty to give any and all business to EL AL.” After convincing them to fly EL AL, my father stayed on top of them, insisting they fly EL AL exclusively: “Are we giving EL AL as much business as we can?… I hereby offer the voluntary and free services of my accounting firm to do a full audit of the Young Israel tours”.

His lobbying for EL AL wasn’t limited to Young Israel. Major Jewish organizations such as the Bnai Brith (letter of Aug. 14, 1969), also began flying EL AL exclusively due to my father’s constant lobbying. My father even reached out to the head of the Reform Movement of American Judaism, Alexander Schindler, regarding the use of EL AL flights. At that time, the Reform Movement was flying to Israel with Olympic Airlines, a Greek airline whose government was supporting Yasser Arafat. My father asked Rabbi Schindler: Why wasn’t his movement doing its business with the Israeli company EL AL for its trips to Israel? Rabbi Schindler heartily agreed, and passed a resolution in the Reform movement requiring all trips to Israel be flown by EL AL Airlines. (letter to Schindler, Nov. 28, 1984)