El Al Airline
El Al AirlineIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Sixty El Al pilots and crew took off Monday on a unique mission to act as pro-Israel emissaries (hasbara") on foreign campuses and in schools and institutions.

Under the slogan "El Al emissaries explain blue and white,” the colors of Israel, pilots, stewards and stewardesses  began training for their new voluntary work in public diplomacy in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles.

El Al director Eliezer Shakdi, who initiated the program, also said that the airline will continue to keep the Sabbath.

“The task of bringing people close to Judaism is challenging, and we cannot ignore the issue of the Sabbath. Although we were pressured after we privatized to fly on the Sabbath, we decided not to do so.”

After discussions with the heads of Agudat Yisrael religious leaders in the United States last week, an agreement was reached to send 400 yeshiva students to Israel and to write a special Torah scroll.