---
category: Private Organization
location: Tel Aviv, Israel
start: 1948
summary: El Al is the Israeli national airline that played a role in the covert arms
  shipments and financial transactions described by Ari Ben-Menashe in his account
  of Israeli-American intelligence cooperation.
tags:
- Organization
- Private
- Israel
- Transportation
---

El Al is the national airline of [Israel](/places/israel/). It played a role in various covert operations and financial transactions detailed by [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/).

In January 1979, El Al was one of the last airlines to operate flights into [Tehran](/places/tehran/) before the airport closed, facilitating the departure of 48 [Israeli](/places/israel/) aircrews who flew out F-14 jets from [Iran](/places/iran/).[^1]

In April 1980, El Al was involved in the transport of tires sold to [Iran](/places/iran/), with a payment of $14,000 made to El Al for freight and insurance. The tires were flown from [Israel](/places/israel/) to Vienna via El Al, then transferred to Iran Air by [Israeli](/places/israel/) embassy personnel.[^1]

In October 1980, El Al was used to transport [Israeli](/places/israel/) personnel from [Tel Aviv](/places/tel-aviv/) to Orly Airport in [Paris](/places/paris/) for a top-secret meeting concerning the hostage release and arms deals. Later, electronic equipment acquired through a New York operation was usually flown by the [IDF](/places/israel/)'s weekly Boeing 707 flight from [New York City](/places/new-york-city/) to [Tel Aviv](/places/tel-aviv/), or by El Al cargo, before being transferred to [Tehran](/places/tehran/) via Argentinean charters.[^1]

In 1986, El Al was the target of a "black" propaganda operation orchestrated by [Rafi](/organizations/rafi/) to discredit [Syria](/places/syria/). [Nezar Hindawi](/people/nezar-hindawi/) was tasked with planting explosives on an El Al plane, with the intention of causing a public incident. The plot was foiled by [Israeli](/places/israel/) security. Hindawi's girlfriend, Ann-Marie Murphy, was unwittingly used in the plot, and an [Israeli](/places/israel/) security man, disguised as a cleaner, passed her the parcel containing the explosives in the El Al departure lounge.[^1]

In 1988, El Al's first-class lounge at Heathrow Airport was the meeting place for [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) and David Ivry, director general of [Israel](/places/israel/)'s Ministry of Defense, to discuss the sale of C-130s to [Iran](/places/iran/).[^1]

[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.