JERUSALEM (VINnews) – A Brooklyn-based Orthodox Jewish real estate developer is in advanced negotiations to acquire Israeli airline Arkia, according to a report Tuesday by Israeli news outlet Kikar Hashabbat.

The report identified the prospective buyer as Ezra Unger, 36, a real estate developer from Brooklyn’s Borough Park neighborhood.

People close to Unger told Kikar Hashabbat that one motivation behind the proposed acquisition is a desire to end the airline’s commercial flights on Shabbat.

Neither Arkia nor Unger has publicly confirmed the reported negotiations. No purchase price, company valuation or financing details have been disclosed, and it remains unclear how any deal would be financed or whether Unger intends to proceed with the acquisition.

Arkia declined to comment on the reported sale discussions.

If completed, the acquisition would mark the second time in recent years that a major Israeli airline has come under the control of an Orthodox Jewish businessman with New York ties. In 2020, El Al was acquired by Eli Rozenberg, who grew up in the Orthodox Jewish community in Monsey, New York, after purchasing a controlling stake in Israel’s flag carrier.

No official announcement confirming an agreement for the sale of Arkia has been made.