November 22, 2011 / 25 Cheshvan 5722

New York, NY -- In the first initiative of its kind, El Al Israel Airlines—in partnership with The Jewish Agency for Israel, Stand With Us and Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs— launched, earlier this fall, a program to train pilots and other flight personnel as spokespeople who will advocate on behalf of Israel in order to improve the country’s image in Jewish communities throughout the Diaspora. The first such forum, held by flight personnel will take place on Monday, November 28 at the Rutgers University Hillel.

The El Al Ambassadors’ forum will feature one pilot and five flight attendants, who will screen video about contemporary life, scientific innovation and culture in Israel and then participate in a panel discussing their lives as modern Israelis. The El Al Ambassadors program was created by El Al Airlines, in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel and Stand with Us, in order to give some of Israel’s most universally respected and trusted citizens the opportunity to dispel popular, conflict-driven media narratives of Israel with a picture of the Jewish state as it really is—a diverse, open and globally-connected society with a vibrant democracy and an economy that is producing innovations critical to the future of technology and medicine.

Alon Futterman, the Jewish Agency’s shlichut (emissary) development director and director of the El Al Ambassadors program, recently said, “This project is so unique because of the people-to-people aspect. We believe we need to use our most engaging, interesting and worldly people to share the incredible story of modern Israel and, once again, connect with Jews around the world. We need to empower Diaspora Jews as our advocates at the grassroots level, and who better to inspire them than Israel’s top pilots and El Al?”

What:    El Al Ambassadors Forum
When:   Monday, November 28, 8:00 p.m.
Where: Rutgers University Hillel 93 College Ave., New Brunswick, NJ

About El Al Israel Airlines
El Al Israel Airlines is Israel’s national carrier. In 2010 El Al’s revenues totaled about $2 billion, and the airline flew about 2 million passengers that year. El Al serves about 38 world destinations directly and many other destinations around the globe, through cooperation agreements with other airlines. The Company operates 40 aircraft, 28 of which are self-owned. El Al is also Israel’s leading cargo carrier.
About the Jewish Agency for Israel

Established in 1929, the Jewish Agency was instrumental in the founding of the State of Israel and now works to ensure the future of a connected, committed, global Jewish People with a strong Israel at its center. The Jewish Agency addresses the most pressing issues in Jewish life by working to Inspire Jews throughout the world to Connect with their people, heritage and land, and Empower them to build a thriving Jewish future and strong Israel. The Jewish Agency pursues this goal by bringing young Jews to Israel for life-changing experiences and involving them in social activism in Israel and abroad. More information can be obtained at www.jewishagencyforisrael.org.

About Stand With Us
StandWithUs was founded in 2001 in response to the misinformation that often surrounds the Middle East conflict, and the inappropriate often anti-Semitic language used about Israel and/or the Jewish people worldwide. StandWithUs has offices and chapters in Los Angeles, New York, Denver, Michigan, Chicago, Seattle, Orange County, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, the UK, Australia, and Israel.