Congressman Ritchie Torres (D – NY) is at it again, this time accusing United Airlines of a “thinly-veiled boycott” against Israel for the oddest of reasons.
Congressman Torres Claims United Airlines Is Boycotting Israel Because It Flies Over Israel, But Not To Israel
Last week, I wrote about Torres’ claim that US carriers like American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines were “effectively boycotting or otherwise discriminating against the world’s only Jewish State” by suspending commercial service to Tel Aviv.
His charge was not only baseless but absurd, for reasons I outlined, but of course, he does have an interest in keeping his constituents happy by encouraging more frequent service to Israel, which will put downward pressure on ticket prices. Right now, only Israeli flag carrier El Al offers nonstop service between the USA and Israel.
Now Torres is wondering why United is willing to fly over Israel but not fly to Israel…
“United is willing to fly through Israel but not fly to Israel? Why is it safe to do the former but too dangerous to do the latter? Could it be that United’s selective security concerns are little more than a pretext for a thinly veiled boycott?”
United is willing to fly through Israel but not fly to Israel? Why is it safe to do the former but too dangerous to do the latter? Could it be that United’s selective security concerns are little more than a pretext for a thinly veiled boycott? pic.twitter.com/HGolXBKY0W
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) August 30, 2024
First, there’s a BIG difference between flying over a nation and flying to a nation…again making me wonder how imbecilic Torres is…or whether he is just pandering to the interest groups that line his pockets in full knowledge of the absurdity of his statement.
Is flying over a nation 100% safe? Of course not…just ask the families of the passengers on Korean Airlines 007. But flying at 40,000 feet at almost the speed of sound is quite different than takeoff and landing at an airport that has been the previous target of attacks and that Iran has promised to destroy unexpectedly (good luck with that, Ali Khamenei…).
But wait, there’s more.
United does not even fly over Israel anymore. Take a closer look at a recent Newark – Dubai flight:
As you can see, the flight avoids Israeli airspace, traveling via Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
Here again, is UA164 (EWR-DXB) currently in the air. It avoided Jordan altogether as well:
![a map of the world](https://liveandletsfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/UA164-Flight-Path.png)
So not only is Torres’ statement an illogical false equivalency, it is also factually inaccurate…United does not even fly over Israel right now.
Dear Ritchie, stop pandering.
> Read More: Imbecilic Congressman Accuses US Airlines Of “Boycotting” Israel
They’re using a screen capture of FlightAware without knowing what a “white line” in FlightAware means? Come on!
This is just a textbook case of political pandering. I don’t think Torres cares to know all the facts you’ve laid out. In fact, I bet you he doesn’t really care whether or not U.S. carriers fly to Israel at all. Torres represents the South Bronx in NYC which is known for having a high Jewish population. Saying thinks like this not only affirms support for Israel to his constituents (at a time when fellow younger members of the Democratic Party are known for heavily leaning pro-Palestine), but is also a rather scandalous accusation that gets your name in headlines. Remember, “no such thing as bad publicity.” Headlines like this make your name known to people beyond your constituency, and given our national elections in the United States are basically just nation-wide popularity contests, that can be hugely beneficial. So yeah, this is nothing more than political pandering.
His district, with a medium income of $42,000 is largely Hispanic. The main issues revolve around affordable housing and staggering unemployment. It seems unlikely his constituents are screaming for affordable travel to Israel. This is just my opinion.
@Maryland … districts will enlarge with the hoards of illegal aliens , even though not actual constituents ; districts will be re-drawn to include all of the population , whether legal or not .
@Maryland
Agreed.
@Jay … just two thoughts : Israel doesn’t need airline employees wearing their hamas flag pins , or any other pins ;
and what an airline does is the airline’s business – Israel could care less .
Surely Mr. Torres has more important issues to manage than United’s flying to Israel or not. Mr. Torres represents NY, and United flies from New Jersey, why does he even bother to have an opinion.