Anonymous man buys 250 plane tickets for Israel-bound IDF reservists at JFK Airport: reports
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An anonymous man reportedly purchased plane tickets for Israeli Defense Forces call-ups heading back to embattled Israel at JFK Airport on Monday.
The Jewish man stood near the ticket counter for El Al — Israel’s national airline — and quietly bought tickets for those who showed him their IDF call-up notice, Avi Meyer, editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In total, the man bought 250 Israel-bound tickets, according to an El Al crew member, Meyer said.
El Al spokeswoman Ofri Rimoni said there has been an outpouring of support for reservists, and, after hearing about what had happened, reached out to their employees at JFK to ask what happened.
A Haredi man apparently had come in and paid for reservists’ military gear to be shipped over in cargo, Rimoni told The Post.
Later, another man with credit cards, who appeared to be with some American organization, bought a number of plane tickets for reservists who needed to be in Israel — although it’s not clear how many tickets he purchased.
The airline denied that the Haredi man paid $500,000, as was claimed by some users on social media.
Rimoni emphasized the airline is not legally authorized to accept any donations on behalf of the reservists, but said “there’s a lot of people coming to JFK to our counters and asking to buy tickets for soldiers.”
Follow along with The Post’s coverage of Israel’s war with Hamas
El Al cannot accept the money as a middleman between the reservists and the tickets, she said.
It’s been “beautiful” seeing Americans show up at the airport to help buy tickets, she added.
While most major airlines have been canceling flights to Israel since deadly fighting erupted with Hamas this weekend, El Al and other Israel-based airlines have added flights to get reservists to Israel.
Israeli defense officials announced on Monday they had called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists after the Palestinian terrorist group’s deadly attacks prompted a swift response from the Israeli military in Gaza and the West Bank.
El Al told Reuters Tuesday that, while it is not offering free flights for reservists, it was working to keep prices affordable for those flocking home to defend the country.
Israel-Hamas war: How we got here
2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip more than three decades after winning the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.
2006: Terrorist group Hamas wins a Palestinian legislative election.
2007: Hamas seizes control of Gaza in a civil war.
2008: Israel launches military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fired rockets into the town of Sderot.
2023: Hamas launches the biggest attack on Israel in 50 years, in an early-morning ambush Oct. 7, firing thousands of rockets and sending dozens of militants into Israeli towns.
Terrorists killed more than 1,200 Israelis, wounded more than 4,200, and took at least 200 hostage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to announce, “We are at war,” and vowed Hamas would pay “a price it has never known.”
The Gaza Health Ministry — which is controlled by Hamas — reported at least 3,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,500 injured since the war began.
Reservists flying from the United States are being charged $900; flights from Bangkok cost $650; and flights under four hours from Europe cost $300, a spokesperson told Reuters.
Other Israeli airlines such as Israir Airlines and Arkia were offering additional flights to Israel from cities across the world.
Flights evacuating foreigners were also leaving Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport — the country’s busiest.
With Post wires
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