Three weeks after an El Al pilot compared the current Israeli government to Nazi Germany during a flight, the airline will determine the pilot’s punishment tomorrow (Monday).
Channel 13 News reported that Captain Doron Ginzburg is expected to receive an official letter of reprimand from the company, since he declared his personal political opinion without authorization. He is also expected to be temporarily demoted from his position as the primary pilot, meaning that in future flights he will serve under another pilot.
On Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, Ginzburg shocked his passengers when he stated over his aircraft’s intercom: “Reminding all of us that things like Holocaust are potentially to be occurring in a dictatorship, and we are fighting in Israel to remain a democratic country. Thank you all and have a nice flight.”

El Al quickly released a statement apologizing for the incident, saying: “The El Al company condemns political statements of any kind, by any of its employees as part of their work, and especially on its planes, which cannot be a platform for this type of activity. The company orders its employees to avoid this, especially on such a sensitive and significant day for the people of Israel. This exceptional case, which does not reflect the people and values of the company, will be thoroughly examined by the company’s senior officials.”

“El Al is the airline that carries the Israeli flag on the tail of its planes, and as such reflects the entire mosaic of Israel.”
Ginzburg apologized for his comments saying that he did not “mean to cause any offense.”