Bloomberg Flies To Israel In Face Of FAA Ban To Show ‘It Is Safe’

Former mayor of New York MICHAEL BLOOMBERG is seen in a press conference in Jerusalem prior to a ceremony in which he will receive the Genesis Prize, and an award of one million dollars, which he will later donate. T... Former mayor of New York MICHAEL BLOOMBERG is seen in a press conference in Jerusalem prior to a ceremony in which he will receive the Genesis Prize, and an award of one million dollars, which he will later donate. This is the first year the Genesis Prize is taking place, the project "seeks to recognize individuals who have attained excellence and international renown in their chosen professional fields, and whose actions, in addition to their achievements, embody the character of the Jewish people through commitment to Jewish values, the Jewish community and/or to the State of Israel." as it explained in the website. (Photo by Omer Messinger/NurPhoto/Sipa USA) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Tuesday night that he planned to fly the Israeli airline El Al into Tel Aviv, after the FAA prohibited all US airlines from flying into that city’s Ben Gurion International Airport because a Hamas rocket had landed nearby.

“This evening I will be flying on El Al to Tel Aviv to show solidarity with the Israeli people and to demonstrate that it is safe to fly in and out of Israel,” Bloomberg said in a statement posted to his website. “Ben Gurion is the best protected airport in the world and El Al flights have been regularly flying in and out of it safely. The flight restrictions are a mistake that hands Hamas an undeserved victory and should be lifted immediately. I strongly urge the FAA to reverse course and permit US airlines to fly to Israel.”

Secretary of State John Kerry also flew into Ben Gurion on Wednesday despite the ban. Kerry arrived in the Middle East to try to broker a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas militants.

This post has been updated.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Forget El Al: Bloomberg should allow full disclosure and fly in on Air AIPAC.

  2. Avatar for iann iann says:

    We need something ironic to happen here.

  3. Avatar for jsfox jsfox says:

    Umm the FAA only controls American carriers. So there was no way in hell El Al was going to follow anything the FAA said. Sort of like Netenyahu paying attention to what the US says, never going to happen if it is not in full agreement with what he is saying and doing.

  4. Kerry arrived in the Middle East to try to broker a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas militants.
    

    Someone should remind Kerry of what happened to Count Folke Bernadotte. There is no more hazardous undertaking than trying to interest Israel in peace.

  5. Kerry flew in on a plane equipped with counter measures, and I suspect El Al aircraft also have them (probably the only airline in the world that has them - or needs them).

    Pretty soon the aircraft insurers will demand them on every airliner at a whopping expense to to the airlines, with all passed on to us, and by “us” I mean the taxpayer.

    Thanks again, Israel! Heckofajob!

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

22 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for logicalconsideration Avatar for slbinva Avatar for jsfox Avatar for silas1898 Avatar for hoppy Avatar for daytrader Avatar for fargo116 Avatar for chammy Avatar for adabsurdum Avatar for msny Avatar for jimtoday Avatar for kenstarr Avatar for frankly_my_dear Avatar for iann Avatar for jeffrey Avatar for captaincommonsense Avatar for pine Avatar for smokinthegotp Avatar for AndresDee Avatar for poindexter Avatar for meta Avatar for mdiogu Avatar for pjbobolink

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: