South Africans Make Aliyah at Western Wall

Article on Arutz Sheva Aprill 22, 2009
By Hillel Fendel

Over 85 new immigrants of all ages from South Africa and Zimbabwe arriving in Israel today (Wednesday) will receive their citizenship at a unique group ceremony at the Western Wall on Thursday.

The arrival of the Jewish Agency flight at Ben Gurion International Airport will contribute to the increasing Aliyah numbers from South Africa. Some 340 Jews moved to Israel from the country in 2008, twice as many as in the year before. This flight is the third one bringing South African Jews this year.

South African Jews at Western Wall

The Jewish Agency will hold a special Absorption Day for the new Israelis at the Shalom Hotel in Jerusalem's Bayit V’gan neighborhood on Thursday morning. Representatives of various government and important offices, such as the National Insurance Institute, the health funds, phone companies, the Ministry of Absorption, and others, will be on hand.

At 4 p.m, the new immigrants will receive their ID cards in a unique ceremony at the Western Wall. Such cards are usually granted without fanfare in an Absorption Ministry office.

On hand for the occasion will be Jewish Agency Treasurer and former Meretz MK Haggai Merom, South African Jewry lay-leader Mendel Kaplan, and representatives of the Friendship Fund.

Some 65,000 Jews still live in South Africa, including 45,000 in Johannesburg and 15,000 in Capetown. Some 21,000 South African Jews have made Aliyah since the inception of the State of Israel.

Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion named top Middle East airport

Article on www.globes.co.il March 10, 2009
By Orli Peleg-Mizrahi

Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion named top Middle East airport
This is the second successive year that Ben Gurion Airport has achieved this ranking.
Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport came top in the Middle East region in the Airports Council International (ACI) airport survey. The rankings were announced today. Ben Gurion came second in the world for airports with annual passenger traffic of 5-15 million. This is the second successive year in which Ben Gurion Airport has achieved these rankings.

The ACI survey captures passengers’ perception of the quality of more than 30 aspects of service that they have experienced at an airport. Interviewing covers every day of the week and every month of the year to ensure coverage of all seasons and all peaks and troughs.

For the fourth successive year, the top three performing airports in the world were in the Asia-Pacific Region, with Incheon International Airport in South Korea winning the Best Airport Award. Passenger satisfaction with the new Terminal 3 promoted Singapore Changi Airport into 2nd place this year, with Hong Kong International Airport coming in at a close 3rd place.

ACI director general Angela Gittens said, "Survey results show that overall passenger satisfaction continues to improve year-on-year. This reflects the importance airports are placing on customer satisfaction and the innovation in services that we are seeing worldwide. The program continues to grow which demonstrates that airports care very much about their customers, no matter how tough the economic situation.”

The survey found that comfortable waiting areas, good signage, and clean, readily accessible washrooms are the most important elements to a passenger.