Will Israeli airline El Al receive the carrot or the stick?

• Author: MARK FELDMAN
• Published date: 03 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

No doubt vigilant readers of the news media have seen the countless interviews he's given. Or perhaps he has chosen to release his thoughts in written form directly to the public which, without their support, El Al cannot exist. Or he limits his illuminations on the evening TV screens. No such luck, I am afraid. Rozenberg, once known for his strong public speaking role, has stayed silent. Other than his family and a handful of El Al executives, nobody is privy to his survival plan for El Al.

He appointed Avigal Soreq as CEO; his 10-year role in leading Delek Holdings had him residing in Nashville, Tennessee the last decade. To be honest, managing large fuel companies has given him a very strong managerial background, and he has been the face and voice of El Al during the last six months, ricocheting from crisis to crisis. The Israel government played hard and fast with El Al; at times offering a carrot if they would take the severe step and make redundant thousands of El Al employees.

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El Al, like the other Israeli airlines, Israir and Arkia, spent countless hours begging for government assistance from both the Netanyahu and Bennett administrations. Soreq agreed almost immediately to lay off almost 1,900 employees, nearly one-third of their staff, as negotiations with the government proceeded.

Finally in August, the Treasury agreed to give El Al a balloon loan of up to $200 million dollars with no repayment for the first two years. Moreover, they agreed to pay in advance, for 20 years, the cost of El Al's security expenses. They had been footing the bill for 90% of the security costs, appreciating that El Al's security needs dwarfed what other airlines dealt with. Along with their largesse, they required Rosenberg to invest millions more, which to his credit he acquiesced.

Unfortunately, nobody bothered to bring the Histadrut, Israel's all powerful labor union, into the picture. Callously or capriciously, the Histadrut declared a labor dispute a few days after El Al received the good news, threatening that if any of the Israeli airlines dared to initiate more labor layoffs, a strike would be called. For several weeks El Al battled both internally and externally its twin demons: a workforce cognizant of the massive changes required to keep El Al afloat, and management's inability to plan for the short- and near-term...