Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the White House and speaks to Congress this week. His travel to the U.S. is on board Wing Of Zion, Israel’s Air Force One. And this is the first trip abroad using the reconfigured aircraft. Here’s a first look inside while the plane is in its intended operational service.
The 24-year old Boeing 767-300ER previously flew for Qantas and was acquired by the Israeli Air Force in 2016, and converted to VIP configuration in 2019. It was grounded during the pandemic for optics, and successive Prime Ministers chose not to use it.
Several El Al aircraft have been chartered to fly the President and Prime Minister in the past but those lack encrypted communications and El Al pilots have in the past refused to fly Netanyahu as a form of political protest.
Wing of Zion is divided into four sections – the prime minister’s personal area, his senior aides, security and junior staff, and press in the back.
The aircraft features a conference room, communications networks, and surgery room. The interior has wood paneling between sections. Seats are blue with white headrests (reminding me of Lufthansa 15 years ago, to be honest). While pilots are from the Israeli Air Force, flight attendants are permanently assigned to the plane from Arkia Israeli Airlines.
Another first look at Wing of Zion before PM Netanyahu takes off for Washington. pic.twitter.com/VROv36574w
— Lazar Berman (@Lazar_Berman) July 22, 2024
First look at the press section of Wing of Zion, the Israeli prime minister’s new official plane, which will be taking off for Washington in a half hour. pic.twitter.com/dY06o90VmN
— Lazar Berman (@Lazar_Berman) July 22, 2024
First official flight of Wing of Zion with Israel’s prime minister onboard pic.twitter.com/dBWEN1MVIb
— Lazar Berman (@Lazar_Berman) July 22, 2024
PM Netanyahu in the conference room in Wing of Zion ✈️ pic.twitter.com/SgQMW5GRx2
— Lazar Berman (@Lazar_Berman) July 22, 2024
With President Biden dropping out of his re-election campaign, his influence as President drops markedly as well. Kamala Harris and her nascent campaign takes center stage. She called for an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in March, and as a starting point likely underperforms Biden in Rust Belt states and so will need to play to her base in Michigan. That, combined with control of the U.S. House of Representatives a toss up in the upcoming election, makes the stakes for the Israeli Prime Minister’s trip especially high.
Given the pivot point for U.S. – Israeli relations driven by potential electoral results and shifting candidacies, and with the Israeli Prime Minister coming to the U.S., Prime Minister Netanyahu’s rhetoric focuses on unity with America – thanking Biden for his support rather than criticizing, and assuming support from the current administration into the future.
Netanyahu also stresses the important of the two countries presenting a united front."This will also be an opportunity to discuss with him how to advance in the critical months ahead the goals that are important for both our countries – achieving the release of all our hostages >
— Lazar Berman (@Lazar_Berman) July 22, 2024
(HT: Dan R.)
@ Gary — Another politician who belongs in prison for corruption…
Harris called for an end to Israeli military actions which were killing countless civilians. She has no sympathy for Hamas. Let’s get that straight.
Gary is crying because Harris will, finally, put some conditions on Israel and force them to fall in line, if she wins in Nov.
@Gene: Another ridiculous Political Comment from someone who should be banned from this TRAVEL BLOG.
Cool airplane, criminal passenger.
A great man fighting a war against a savage enemy.
@Andy
perhaps you misread. This is not Air Force One, this is the Israeli version…
I love Israel. Netanyahu still bears a lot of blame and is definitely corrupt.
Doesn’t change the fact that the government of Gaza attacked Israel and committed atrocities.
@Andy
“”Cool airplane, criminal passenger.””
According to the New York Times? Who have been so consistently right about so many things in the last year? Sure. Whatever.
Bibi’s a wartime president now, with unprecedented support. Best deal with that.
Hamas and its civilian supporters (you know, 80% of the population of the strip) need to be neutralized, so October 7 can never happen again.
Does the US pay for Wing of Zion’s fuel, operating costs, etc directly or just indirectly?
@Jake-1
Sadly Hamas enjoys 80% support by the civilians in Gaga… a number that’s actually gone up since October.
As we learned in 1938-1945? National Socialists and the electorate that support National Socialists? Are the same thing.
Like Joel once said …
@ TexasTJ — Banned for what exactly? Annoying YOU?
Tom Dually = expert in collecting and processing reliable polling data in a war zone he’s afraid to enter and stay in for weeks on end as an unaccompanied civilian. ROTFLOL
That and Tom Dually must really love trying to talk in Arabic to young children and their desperate mothers while they starve in a place where women and minors were the majority of the population of Gaza at this time last year.
@GUWonder
I am exactly as concerned about the civilians in a war zone as the Brits were with civilians in Germany in 1944. Except, in this case? The civilians actually VOTED to put Hamas in charge.
And they would vote to leave Hamas in charge again today.
Much like the Brits in 1944? It’s a sad, regrettable situation, but perhaps the National Socialists shouldn’t be in charge?
Because Israel said “Check Please” in 2005 and left the Gazans to their own devices.
And their device is “Hamas”. Leaving the Israelis with few viable options to protect their people and the vibrant, successful society they have created.
Meanwhile? I guess we know what the Gazans spent all our aid money on, don’t we?
Hamas could end this tomorrow, and end the suffering. But, if you are intellectually honest, you know they won’t. Because they care about the Gazans exactly as much as the Houthis care and the Persians care.
Hal,
As money is fungible, one way or another the US Government is funding the rogue Netanyahu’s flights in comfort while Hamas and its allies in Gaza keep October 7th hostages under extremely bad conditions extended by Netanyahu’s desire to drag out and increase the destruction of Gaza in order to keep himself in power and out of court long enough for justice delayed to be justice denied to all the people wronged by Netanyahu in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
Britain wasn’t the occupying power of Germany in 1944 and didn’t have the legal duties of an occupying power to protect civilian lives and infrastructure of the occupied people. Israel is the occupying power of Gaza, and the legal rules of the game are different in 2024 than in 1944 because of and following from what the Nazis did, and so your apologist line for the rogue Netanyahu regime’s war crimes and other crimes against international law ignores the different legal playing field applicable in 2024 than in 1944.
Seeing this 767 brings a few tears to my eyes! Too bad it’s not a 747-400 or 777 – probably a bit overkill for Israel.
Quarterbacking here – I think the titles in both English and Hebrew should be much larger and bolder along the side of the aircraft.
I hope this visit doesn’t go “sideways” for Bibi – or that Biden – now that he’s “free” could really ramp up the rhetoric against Bibi and Israel in their meetings.
Hopefully, Trump keeps a lid on the meeting with Bibi – so that those discussions remain private and away from the media/bloggers/leakers until after election day.
SO_CAL_RETAIL_SLUT
Anyone who says “Israel is the occupying power of Gaza” has no idea about what’s happening in Israel and Gaza, about the recent history of the place (like, Israel actually LEAVING Gaza) or political situation in Gaza (like, election there in 2007 which installed Hamas). Such moron would be laughed out of any serious discussion on the topic.
Instead, we have to suffer morons like GUWonder. So sorry, Gary 🙁
Nice airplane,but Absolutely crazy/ Nutzoid politics
Israel is the occupying power of Gaza.
Trump-loving Gennady doesn’t find it dandy to deal with facts, so he’s left to retort with baseless name-calling given his inability to provide compelling evidence to the contrary about Israel being the occupying power of Gaza.
Let’s be real: Israel is the occupying power of Gaza just as much as this Israeli government VIP plane is still a plane.
Tr*mp-loving Gennady doesn’t find it dandy to deal with facts, so he’s left to retort with baseless name-calling given his inability to provide compelling evidence to the contrary about Israel being the occupying power of Gaza.
Apartheid-era South Africa played that “withdrawal game” with the so-called bantustans in lands under the racist South African government’s domination at the time, and yet it was the racist South African government still the dominant power over the peoples in the bantustans within the borders Spur controlled. Israel did much the same with the Gaza bantustan/open-air prison after clearing out Israeli settlers from Gaza and a bit of the West Bank because the Likudniks with Ariel Sharon had a plan in mind to undermine the establishment and international recognition of a Palestinian state on any of the lands under Israeli domination.
I don’t understand some of the arguments here that seem to imply Palestinian civilians who had nothing to do with Oct 7 deserve to be slaughtered because who they voted for 20 years ago? Russian civilians deserve to be murdered because Putin won with 90% vote?
@GUWonder
<<>>
Uh, no. Israel left in 2005. There’s no doubt about that. You are confused.
Gazans put Hamas in charge– they’ve spent the last 20 years preparing to “wipe Israel off the face of the earth”. They attacked. Israel responded.
It could be over tonight if Hamas (ie The Gaza Guvmint) would release the prisoners (including a bunch of North Americans). They refuse and so it continues.
It’s a tragedy, but the Terrorist Enablers have to want it to stop.
The USA has a vested interest in getting our people out, as well. Another fact you conveniently forget.
I love ViewFromTheWing. I also read other industry op-eds like SimpleFlying, ThePointsGuy, and others.
I’m an FAA certificated helicopter pilot, so my perspetive on aircraft is more from the technical systems and ops (and OPSEC) side. I’m also an FF and fortunately no longer fly enough to maintain my 1K or higher medallion status. Still, I love reading and hearing about it.
I also come from Israel, but I’m not here to apologize, explain, debate, nor justify jack. I come here to read about… the view from the wing.
Sometimes it’s hard to separate things, but here there’s no “fine line” between beautiful aircraft and foreign politics and uninformed opiners on either.
It’s a nicely painted B77W. If you’re like me you’re itching for a tour onboard. If you’re here to discuss politics, the Gaza Strip, yada yada, you’re nothing like me, and I wonder why you’re polluting the forums with the crap we can all read on NPR, NBC, FOX, etc.
No, please don’t insult me because I’m Jewish or Israeli or whatever you think genocidal is. Enjoy the pics of the cool bird, and drool with me… because a flight on that would be anything on AA, DL, WN, or UA.
Gary wants engaged readers. I’m not sure by posting pictures of the A/C he was looking for a political discussion.
Cheers.
Contrary to Tom DualLY’s claim, Sharon’s withdrawal of Israeli settlers from harvest blocks and elsewhere in Gaza in 2005 didn’t end Israel’s role as the occupying power with dominion over Gaza. Sharon just made Gaza into one whole bantustan within “the Land of Israel” where before Gaza was a bantustan enclave with sub-enclaves of Israeli settlers within the enclave. Neither Sharon in 2005 nor any Israeli government since has ever so much as claimed that Gaza was its own sovereign Palestinian statelet or sovereign land not subject to Israeli rule.. Instead Gaza was treated by Sharon and later governments as an open air prison with the proverbial Israeli prison wardens encouraging horrible prisoner behavior inside.
About this concept of the Israeli war on Gaza coming to an end if only all the remaining October 7th hostages were freed, the rogue Netanyahu has repeatedly said the war would still continue even after and until Hamas is eliminated. That alone gives the lie to what Tom DualLY would try to sell to the ignorant and indicates the intent of the rogue Netanyahu regime even if there were no longer to be any October 7th hostages in Gaza.
@ Ehud, are you being intentionally ignorant, and do you actually frequent this blog? Politics is interwoven into many of Gary’s post, including this one. If it’s just about an aircraft, there wouldn’t be so many “uninformed opiners” chiming in and disturbing your informed self.
What are the “rust belt” states that are a factor as a swing state in this election?
Given the boost in enthusiasm and money the Democrats got as a result of Biden passing the torch to Harris and the Democrats coalescing around Harris moving up to the top of the Democratic ticket, I would say that the Democrats’ chances to win in swing states is now quite a bit higher than it was at this time last week.
Meanwhile Netanyahu is coming around to do as he always does in the US: to support the Republican headline figures while being feted and assisted by the bulk of politicians across the two big US political parties.
Yea! Can’t wait for my limp wristed representatives to prostrate before their master when he addresses them in congress.
@GUWonder – you’re uninformed and ignorant idiot talking about things you have no idea about.
There wasn’t a single Israeli in Gaza since about 2005. All Israel did was provide water, electricity and medicines to Gaza residents. Who not only elected Hamas killers in 2007, but also actively supported them since. And then they massacred thousands….
I know facts mean nothing to Hamas-loving morons like you, but (maybe) you can read some other sources, or ask people who know. However, all that incomprehensible blather you’re spewing here, tells me you aren’t likely to learn anything.
As usual the pro-Hamas terrorist team gets all of their facts wrong.
Putting that aside it is always great to see Bibi return to the USA. I wonder however if the timing makes sense as Kammie will be focused on her campaign and they are preparing to put Biden out to pasture. I guess maybe it is an opportunity for those who stand with Israel to do so publicly in the capitol, and those who don’t can come out of the woodwork to be counted and pilloried.
I do know one thing – IDF now has the green light to take out all of the Iranian proxies while Biden is lame duck. Expect more fireworks like the ones we saw in Yemen this weekend.
Gennady either fails to understand written English in my comments or acts as if he doesn’t and then has the amusing sense to respond by calling me uninformed and ignorant and an idiot.
As I repeatedly indicated above, Israel’s withdrawal of settlers from Gaza in 2005 by Sharon did not mark the end of Israeli occupying power status over Gaza. Israel has remained the occupying power of Gaza even after the Israeli settlers in Gaza evacuated themselves or were forced to leave the Israeli settlements within Gaza. Israel never stopped managing Gaza much like apartheid South Africa managed the bantustan enclaves within South Africa during the apartheid era.
Hamas and Hamas-lovers have no love for me, but either way it doesn’t matter. If you willfully try to intimidate and kill a civilian population with extreme violence to try to achieve political objectives, you are a terrorist. If you support such actions, you are a terrorist-lover/fan. I despise terrorist actors and terrorist actions whether talking about non-state actors such as Hamas or state actors such as the rogue Netanyahu regime.
Netanyahu and the other Likudniks have repeatedly done what they could do to support Hamas over decades now. Just a few years ago, Netanyahu & Co were even flying Israelis around to make sure Hamas could get more cash and thereby continue to be the inmates in charge of the inside of the open-air prison enclave that remains Gaza under Israeli occupation.
Send this int’l terrorist, baby-killer back !
There is no “pro-Hamas terrorist team” here, unless that is a comment about the fans of the very Netanyahu who lobbied Qatar and other parties to restart funding of Hamas in Gaza after they cut off money to Hamas there.
Perhaps Boraxo remembers when he was in favor of the neo-con-supported invasion of Iraq in 2003 — an invasion pursued under false pretenses which he bought hook, line and sinker or sold as such while being an advocate for that predictably counterproductive war. That invasion of Iraq provided the biggest boost to Iran’s strategic positioning since the fall of the Shah of Iran and the creation of a theocratic Iran. Theocratic Iran is now in a much stronger position across the region than it would have been if not for that foolish war and occupation of Iraq sold and launched on the basis of false premises which Boraxo fell for or exploited at the time.
The greatest strategic partner of Hamas is the alleged Israeli criminal scheduled to address the joint session of Congress tomorrow while he becomes the only foreign leader to have addressed Congress in person more than Winston Churchill. Churchill was a US ally. Netanyahu is a self-serving crook who supports his fellow crook Donald Trump for President.