Transport Ministry Official Advised Wizz Air During Negotiations

Documentation surfaced on LinkedIn revealing that Dvir Rubinstein, Director of the Aviation Security Operations Center at Israel's Ministry of Transport, provided professional aviation industry training. One such training session included an employee of Wizz Air while the airline was in negotiations with the ministry to establish a base in Israel. Rubinstein holds a key position in the ministry's aviation security system, responsible for security approvals for foreign airlines. A LinkedIn post showed Rubinstein responding to a participant, "It was my pleasure to meet you and be your coach." An attendee tagged in the post was identified as a Wizz Air employee. In May, Minister Miri Regev announced the freezing of talks after the company repeatedly postponed its return to flying to Israel. Rubinstein provides services to the Ministry of Transport on an outsourced basis and is not a state employee, thus not bound by a conflict of interest agreement. However, external service providers and consultants to government ministries are still required to adhere to conflict of interest regulations. It was recently reported that Rubinstein also runs a private company offering consulting and training to foreign airlines, including flydubai and Emirates, despite his role in their security approvals. The Civil Service Commission stated that Rubinstein is not a state employee and therefore not under their purview. The Ministry of Transport commented that the allegations are being investigated by the relevant authorities. Rubinstein did not respond to inquiries.