Israel Ministry Of Tourism

Gadhafi's odd plea to Israel

TEL AVIV -- A few weeks ago, when Col. Moammar Gadhafi was still hallucinating that he could cling to power in Libya indefinitely, he sent two unannounced emissaries to Jerusalem. Their mission was simple -- convince Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to lobby on Gadhafi's behalf in Washington. In return, Gadhafi would consider establishing diplomatic relations with Israel and involve Israeli corporations in Libya's reconstruction effort after six months of cruel civil war.

Gadhafi did not know that Netanyahu had instructed all his ministers not to engage in any kind of discussions with the Libyan emissaries. He further instructed that as long as Gadhafi was in Libya massacring his people, no Israeli -- whether government official or private citizen -- should have any contact with Libya.

To the embarrassment of Netanyahu, however, the Libyans met briefly with Tzipi Livni, the former foreign minister and the current chairman of Kadima opposition party. Livni could not deliver anything on behalf of the Israeli government and the emissaries returned to Tripoli empty-handed.

A quick investigation revealed that the two Libyans had a faint acquaintance with Walter Arbib, a former Libyan Jewish entrepreneur who now lives in Toronto.

Arbib is the partner of an Indian businessman who owns the Skylink Aviation, which delivers food and medicine on behalf of international charities to poor and embattled African countries.

Arbib is one of several former Jewish entrepreneurs who, in good faith, try to establish economic relations between Israel and Libya.

When told that the two Libyan emissaries were not welcome in Israel, however, Arbib washed his hands of their bizarre mission.

Arbib's behaviour is not surprising. He and his family came to Israel after the 1967 Six Day War. After the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, Arbib established a small tourism company that tried to promote tourism to both Israel and Egypt. But he was unable to compete with well-established international tours companies and his enterprise failed. In 1988, he moved to Canada and became a partner in Skylink Aviation.

Israel Ministry of Tourism Plans New International Airport for 2014 ...

The Israel Ministry of Tourism has announced plans to build a new international airport in Timma , just 11 miles north of the southern seaside resort town of Eilat in summer 2014. The new international airport will be named after late Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon and will look to accommodate 1.35 million travelers passing through Tel Aviv .

The new hotel will feature light rail to transport travelers to downtown Eilat, as well as long-and-short term overnight parking.

The Israel Ministry of Tourism expects the $422 million airport to spark a 300 percent increase in tourism to southern Israel with an anticipated 1.5 million travelers arriving on domestic and international flights each year. The new airport will replace existing airports Ovda and Eilat .

For more information visit www.goisrael.

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