Global travel retailer Gebr. Heinemann made an important acquisition at the end of January at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, named after Israel’s first prime minister. The Hamburg-based company bought the shares of James Richardson in the duty-free joint venture retail business JR/Duty Free, which was established in 2017. From a 50:50 JV, JR/Duty Free Israel and all its businesses are now a 100% subsidiary of fifth-generation-run Gebr. Heinemann. The timing was surprising given the continuing bloody war in Gaza, triggered by a deadly Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7. The optics were fuzzy, which prompted Heinemann to point…