El Al's destinations

[Chachi]

I have looked on route maps for EL AL and have been surprised that they fly to so many cities in Eastern Europe. These countries were so anti-semitic and many still are. Why is there a desire to visit these cities/countries? They are not big business centers so that can't be the reason.

[BlueJon]

I would say that it's because there are many Eastern Europeans, especially from Russia and Ukraine, who visit Israel every year. Also, probably the biggest reason is because Israelis want to visit the places of their heritage. Many Israelis are of Eastern European descent, hailing from countries like Poland, Hungary, Romania and Russia.

[Chachi]

I was born to Jewish parents and raised Jewish, but I converted to Roman Catholicism after being married for a number of years to a Catholic wife. (Still married to her and will be until death.) I have family that hails from Poland and Lithuania, but I have no desire to visit these countries. Before my Grandmother passed away, I asked her if she would ever like to visit Lithuania, because it was where her parents were born. She looked at me like I was crazy. Visiting Lithuania, for her, would be like visiting a country that hated her parents so much that they moved to America.

Except for recent immigrants from Eastern Europe that have moved to Israel and still have friends in these countries, the only type of person who would want to visit these countries that hated their ancestors would be masochists.