Israeli Couple Stunned by "Welcome to Palestinian Authority" Message at Ben Gurion Airport

Last night, an Israeli couple in their 60s, residing in England, landed at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on an El Al flight from London, only to receive a startling text message from their mobile provider, Vodafone UK. The message, sent around 11:00 p.m., read, “Welcome to the Palestinian Authority,” despite their arrival in Israel. A close friend of the couple shared their reaction, stating, “They were filled with anger. It’s like someone landing in Berlin and getting a message saying, ‘Welcome to Nazi Germany.’” The couple, who were visiting family in Israel, felt the message was not only inaccurate but deeply offensive, given the rise in anti-Israel sentiment being spread by pro Hamas propaganda across social media, pushing for a one sided narrative.

The incident, reported by Ynet, left the couple stunned, as they expected a standard “Welcome to Israel” greeting from a major international telecom provider. The friend emphasized their frustration, noting, “They were shocked to see that, for a global company like Vodafone, landing in Israel is translated as arriving in a completely different entity.” Vodafone has not yet issued an official response, but the error likely stems from misconfigured network settings or a glitch in geolocation systems, which sometimes assign incorrect country identifiers near contested borders. Similar incidents have occurred globally, with telecoms mistakenly identifying locations in disputed regions, such as Crimea or Kashmir.

The couple’s experience comes amid heightened tensions, with a 200% surge in antisemitic incidents in Europe since October 2023, per the Anti-Defamation League, fueling their sensitivity to the message. Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority, overseeing Ben Gurion’s 16 million annual passengers, confirmed no other reports of similar messages that night.