Why lots of El Al planes tonight?

[mirrodie]

AT JFK today, I think we saw a total of 4 El Al planes.

one was a 777. We thought they were here due to something going on in Israel.
Any thoughts? the news tonight about a particualr Rabbis death have me thinking that was why.

[K9DEP]

El Al is the "306- day a year airline". Because it does not fly during some Jewish holidays I think this is what happens(making up for lost time/flights/money)

[Mateo]

March of the Living departed I believe Sunday and Monday - Yom HaShoah, Holocaust heroes and martyrs' remembrance Day, is today (Tuesday). The March of the Living is held each year on Yom HaShoah, where North American youths march from Auschwitz to Birkenau to commemorate the Holocaust. The kids then go on to Israel for Yom HaAtzmaut, Israeli independence day, before returning home. There are a number of extra sections to support the March - 4X-ELC was reported in Montreal over the weekend.

Rabbi Teitelbaum, the head of the Satmar movement, did indeed die on Monday, but he died in the morning, and the funeral was Monday evening, so I don't think anyone had any time to put airplanes in position (it's an 11-hour flight from TLV here, and I don't think 11 hours even elapsed between death and burial!). Besides, the Satmars have very few people in Israel - they're highly concentrated in Williamsburg and Kiryas Joel, which is upstate (either Orange or Duchess county), so his death was mostly a New York event.

[Ari707]

Also could have been extra flights for people coming home after Passover

[Matt Molnar]

From my very vague knowledge of the Satmars actually being anti-Israel, I wouldn't expect any mourners coming from TLV anyway.