A Brooklyn-based Chassidic real estate investor is in advanced talks to buy Arkia, setting up a potentially dramatic shake-up inside Israel’s aviation market. The prospective buyer has been identified in multiple Jewish and Israeli reports as Rabbi Ezra Ungar, 36, a Boro Park businessman active in New York real estate. The deal has not been signed, and Arkia has declined to comment publicly on the talks.

The story is bigger than a routine airline sale. Arkia is one of Israel’s veteran carriers, and the Nakash brothers have been exploring a sale of control after a difficult period that included wartime losses and a legal fight over Wizz Air’s attempted Israel hub. PassportNews reported that three final offers were placed before Avi Nakash and that the deal was being discussed around a company valuation of roughly NIS 180 million.

What makes this bid explosive is Shabbat. Sources close to Ungar told Kikar Hashabbat that part of the motivation behind the move is his concern over public Shabbat desecration in Israeli aviation and a desire to create a fully kosher, Shabbat-observant airline option. If he succeeds, Arkia could undergo a major identity shift, with reports saying flights on Shabbat and Jewish holidays may be halted.

Arkia workers are already preparing for a fight. Hebrew reports say employees currently hold a significant stake through their workers’ structure, with some reports putting it at 22.5%, while PassportNews reported that under the emerging structure the workers’ corporation would remain involved with about 18.5%. Workers committee chairman Avi Edri told i24NEWS, according to Hebrew media, that employees made clear they “will not allow Arkia to close on Shabbat.”

The sale would also carry regulatory and strategic questions. Earlier reporting on Arkia’s sale process noted that any transaction involving foreign investors would likely require Israeli investor participation under aviation ownership rules. That means even advanced talks do not guarantee a binding deal. But if Ungar’s bid moves forward, it could place another major Israeli carrier under Orthodox Jewish ownership and turn Arkia into a flashpoint over business, religion, workers’ rights and the future of Israel’s skies.