All bagels and breads served on El Al flights departing from New York City are ‘pas yisrael – mehadrin’, since Rosh Chodesh Elul, the daily HaMevaser reports.
Eliezer Shkedi, the director-general of El Al explains the move is yet another step by the airline towards better serving the large mehadrin client base using the airline. Shkedi feels that all Jews, including those who are shomer Torah and Mitzvos should use El Al, which is “an arm of the Jewish People and the State of Israel”.
On flights leaving Eretz Yisrael, only kosher meals are served and one has the option of receiving a glatt/mehadrin meal. Flights from the United States to Israel are under the hashgacha of the OU and mehadrin meals are under the hashgacha of Rabbi Ephraim Teitlebaum, Gavaad of the Volover Chassidus.
While the pas yisrael policy began about a month ago in business and first class, beginning from rosh chodesh it is now airline policy for coach passengers too, on flights from the United States that is.
El Al maintains mehadrin kitchens in seven locals around the world, including Beijing, Bangkok, San Paulo, Toronto, Johannesburg, New York and Paris, using local mashgichim to maintain a mehadrin kashrus.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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10 Responses
Don’t know what’s the real reason behind it is, but it also happens to the best business move ever, just in time to make sure the thousands of Chareidi passangers going to Israel through Elul-Tishrei are going to say El Al meets our needs.
Kosher kitchen does not help in Sao Paulo since they have shut down the route in NOvember
Haven’t yet met a volover chusid
Good news !!!
what good is kosher food to the body when the sould gets tainted with all the other bad stuf shown on teh airline! putting a show of amnon yitzchok or hidabrut will certainly do more good for the passengers then pas yisroel!!
sorry “soul” not “sould”
This is only for the WRAPPED meals, those which come to the passenger sealed. The unwrapped meals on ElAl should not be eaten by anyone to whom kashrus is important. EVEN if they get the meals from a reliably certified location, they dont have simanay kashrus on them and they are heated in the non-kosher ovens on the plane.
yes-its-me
You can listen and watch ‘Kol Haneshemah’ on the radio and tv of ELAL, there are Torah shiurim, chazzanus,and interesting religious coverage of places in Israel. Never was able to access this station on Continental, Delta, Swiss Air, American or any other airline flying to Israel.
Just pack along some granola bars and some vegetables. You’ll undoubtedly have a healthier flight.
If you can afford the trip, you can afford the steak.