Arkia employees are preparing for a major fight over the planned sale of the airline to R’ Ezra Ungar, a 36-year-old charedi real estate investor from Brooklyn, amid concerns that he intends to shut down the company’s flights on Shabbos and Yomim Tovim if the deal goes through.
According to i24NEWS, the Nakash brothers, who control Arkia, are in very advanced talks to sell the airline, and sources in the group believe the deal could be completed within the coming days. While Arkia has been holding talks with several parties, the report says the most advanced negotiations are now taking place with Ungar. According to the report, if the sale is completed, Arkia would completely stop flying on Shabbos and Jewish Yomim Tovim.
Ungar, who is described in the report as a Vizhnitz chassid who grew up in Monsey and later settled in Yerushalayim after his marriage, was previously linked to the deal in a Kikar Hashabbos report that said the driving force behind the move was not only financial, but also a desire to stop public desecration of Shabbos by an Israeli airline.
That agenda is already drawing strong resistance from Arkia employees, who hold a significant 22.5% ownership stake in the airline through the workers’ union. According to i24NEWS, employees are now organizing and holding urgent consultations as they prepare steps to oppose the sale.
“We already met with the investor a month ago,” Avi Edri, chairman of Arkia’s workers’ committee, told i24NEWS. “We made it clear to him in a way that could not be misunderstood that we will not allow Arkia to be shut down on Shabbos. In response, he told us at the time, ‘If you don’t accept me willingly, I won’t come.’ And now it is happening behind our backs. You simply cannot come to an active airline with a declared agenda of shutting the company down on Shabbos — and he made that absolutely clear to us.”
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
1 Response
The employees having 22.5% ownership of the airline is a major red flag for me. In my opinion, it’s a very bad investment idea.
Hope he’s matzliach be”h.
Look, El Al tripled in value and income since they stopped flying on shabbos the last 5 years
Bravo! Torah Chareidis win again! Stop desecrating Shabbos and Yomim Tovim. Yes! Go do it and don’t look back.
Fight for the right to be mechalel shabbat!! R’L!!!!!!!!!!!
They get 4x pay for Shabbos r”l – it’s all about money! On the other hand exactly because of the high “day of rest” payment and lower occupancy – Shabbos activity is a loss – ELAL has proven this, decades ago.
Shabbos !
They’re fighting for their jobs, not for Chillul Shabbos, as they think (not unreasonably) that the airline will shrink by 20%.
It could be good for the heilige owner (he just has to raise prices, as El Al did), but not good for the workers for whom it’s their parnossah as there will be 20% layoffs.
Not sure how one can buy an airline with stolen $$$$….
Wasn’t there lawsuits against this guy for false investments and stealing money??
Kol Hakavode
I’m sticking with ELAL but certainly this development would bring both קדושת השבת and lower prices along with more seats on ELAL flights!
Barton’s Candy. IYKYK
Just Facts, EL AL never flew on Shabbos
MODERATORS NOTE: That is a lie. They flew on Shabbos, and it caused a massive campaign and boycott of El Al.
This man is raging GANAV.
he robed his partners of HUNDREDFS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. Refuses to come to a din torah.
All the documents are being sent to Arkia now. You THIEF
Guess it’s time to expose Ezra Unger.
The dirt is about to come out 100 mph on this ponzi schemer.
He is reading this. You better start paying back the money you stole. You know EXACTLY what this is talking about.
The amount of dirt on you is astounding. And no folks, this is not a “business dispute”. He admitted he owes the money and
“just needs some time” to pay it back. 4 years later.
Now he’s buying an airline.
SHAME ON YOU