An Anonymous Man Bought 250 Plane Tickets for IDF Reservists Headed to Israel

The man purchased tickets for anyone who showed him an IDF call-up notice at JFK.

By Sam Silverman Oct 11, 2023

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Key Takeaways

  • The news comes after 300,000 reservists were called to join the war effort.
  • Several airlines have canceled service to Israel.

An anonymous donor is covering travel costs for IDF reservists returning to Israel.

An orthodox Jewish man reportedly stood by the counter of El Al Airlines at JFK airport on Monday and paid for anyone’s flight who presented him with an IDF call-up notice. He paid for 250 tickets, according to Avi Meyer, the Editor-in-Chief of the Jerusalem Post, who was the first to tweet about the encounter.

RELATED: Israeli Tech Leaders Are Leaving Their Businesses For Battle

The news comes after 300,000 military reservists were called to join the war following Hamas’ attack on Israel last weekend.

The draft is the largest-ever for Israel and includes people under 40 who were previously enlisted and retired, per Fox Business.

RELATED: ‘This Is Personal’: What Business Leaders Around the World Are Saying About Hamas’ Attack on Israel

Most U.S. airlines, including American, Delta, and United Airlines, have suspended flights to Israel, but El Al and other Israeli-based airlines have added flights to help reservists return to the country.

Several Israeli business leaders have left their desk jobs to help in the war efforts, including Itamar Friedman, co-founder and CEO of artificial intelligence startup CodiumAI, per The Wall Street Journal, and Shmuel Chafets, co-founder and chairman of the venture capital firm Target Global, per Bloomberg.

Key Takeaways

  • The news comes after 300,000 reservists were called to join the war effort.
  • Several airlines have canceled service to Israel.

An anonymous donor is covering travel costs for IDF reservists returning to Israel.

An orthodox Jewish man reportedly stood by the counter of El Al Airlines at JFK airport on Monday and paid for anyone’s flight who presented him with an IDF call-up notice. He paid for 250 tickets, according to Avi Meyer, the Editor-in-Chief of the Jerusalem Post, who was the first to tweet about the encounter.

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Sam Silverman

Content Strategy Editor
Sam Silverman is a content strategy editor at Entrepreneur Media. She specializes in search engine optimization (SEO), and her work can be found in The US Sun, Nicki Swift, In Touch Weekly, Life & Style and Health. She writes for our news team with a focus on investigating scandals. Her coverage and expertise span from...

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