Michael Bloomberg may no longer
be mayor of New York City but he is still able to make resonating statements
regarding national politics and more recently, international issues.
Earlier this week, Michael
Bloomberg flew
to Tel Aviv to protest the FAA flight ban to Israel. He went on to say that “Ben
Gurion International Airport is the best protected airport in the world… It was
an overreaction for the FAA to halt U.S. flights here – and a mistake they
should correct.” The ban followed
the landing of a missile within a mile of the Tel Aviv airport on Tuesday of
this week.
Bloomberg’s
legitimacy stems from his own history leading New York City, his successful business
career and news network, and involvement in numerous philanthropies.
Frankly, people respect and look up to him. If Bloomberg is going
to neglect the FAA travel ban and fly to Tel Aviv to make a statement, well,
people are going to pay attention.
Bloomberg’s decision to act is deeper
than simply opposing the FAA travel ban.
He has a close relationship with Israeli leadership and Israel stood by
the U.S. following the September 11 attacks which occurred not even two months
before he took office. By
extending his support to Israel, he brought attention to their plight
and made a statement of solidarity.
In his support of continued flights to Tel Aviv, Bloomberg asserted that
Israel had a right to defend itself against Hamas, and that cancelling flights
to Israel was in effect handing Hamas a small victory. This is a strong, politically charged
statement for someone whose legacy is predominately based in domestic affairs.
Early Thursday morning the
travel ban was lifted. If the ban
had remained in effect in spite of his safe travels, it would have appeared
frivolous. Maybe Bloomberg’s
actions and the attention he attracted to the situation (his own “celebrity,”
perhaps) had something to do with it, or maybe it didn’t. But his decision to speak out in
support of Israel came at the right time, and put the FAA in a tricky situation
regardless. Similar to our reading
on celebrity diplomacy by Andrew Cooper, Bloomberg’s combination of “buzz and
bite” offers him the power to persuade other elite decision makers in order to
promote a desired end.
Joy, as a native New Yorker, I enjoyed your blog. Also, I am back in NY visiting my family and just spent a couple of days showing my son around Manhattan to include bike riding in Central Park, a Circle Line cruise past the Statue of Liberty, and visiting the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. I agree that Michael Bloomberg is definitely a public figure who has the moral courage to speak his mind and back it up. As far as visiting Israel, he certainly made the FAA travel ban one of the top media topics. Of course, it could be also construed that Bloomberg is pro-Israel because he is Jewish. I believe that Mayors Giuliani and Bloomberg understood the importance of keeping New York safe and business-firendly. However, I think many New Yorkers eventually tired of their egos.
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