Speeches

Statements by Senior

Embassy Officials

Ambassador’s Brief Remarks at
Boeing 777 Event, Ben Gurion Airport
Monday, August 17, 2007

I am delighted and proud to be here this morning to celebrate with you the first landing of El Al’s newest Boeing 777-200, the Kiriyat Shmona. And what a proud name that is! Together with its sister ship, the Sderot, which recently joined the El Al fleet, the Kiryat Shmona will forever symbolize the courage of the Israeli people, who refuse to be cowed by terrorism!

El Al was created in 1948 as a symbol of national independence. It has now been building bridges between Israel and the United States for over 57 years, first by flying between the two countries and since the late 1950’s by operating Boeing Aircraft. In fact, I daresay that El Al has been one of Boeing’s most loyal customers over the years. In 1961, El Al used a Boeing 707 to set a world record for the longest non-stop commercial flight: from Tel Aviv to New York, 5,760 miles in 9 hours and 33 minutes. Today, 46 years later, it’s still flying that route with Boeing aircraft!

Together El Al and Boeing are working to make this world even smaller. Those who enjoy the comforts of modern planes seldom realize their technological advantages. The plane that we are welcoming this morning offers superior flexibility for long-range flights for medium capacity requirements. Today, passengers demand more point-to-point flights and airlines can easily adjust the Boeing 777’s cabin size to lower their operating costs. This helps explain why, since 1995, the 777 has been the fastest-selling twin-aisle airplane in the world!

El Al has been one of the leading companies in the world in adopting the advanced technology of Boeing for its fleet. El Al already flies next generation 737s, 747s, 757s and 767s. The 777 therefore will be an extraordinary edition to an already state-of-the-art fleet. We look forward to the day when it is joined by the new 787!

I am pleased to witness this fine example of successful US/Israeli cooperation: a great technology company, Boeing, and a great airline, El Al, joining hands to offer the best experience that the aviation industry has to offer its customer. Congratulations to both of you!

Last week I was also privileged to take part in another example of bilateral cooperation when the US and Israel signed a new Memorandum of Understanding that will govern our security assistance relationship over the next decade.

We believe that the new MOU, as we call it, will help guarantee Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge over any would-be opponent in the region and give it the confidence it needs to pursue and to realize its greatest dream of all — peace with its neighbors.

We know that the road to peace will not be easy and is certainly not a day trip of 2 hours. However, let us draw inspiration from Boeing and El Al, whose example of cooperation shows us that, with mutual trust and hard work, two partners can go the distance to achieve their goals together!

Thank you very much. Congratulations and good luck. Mazal tov v’b’hatzlachah!