A self-serving, myopic Democratic Congressman from New York is accusing US airlines of “effectively boycotting” Israel by suspending service during a time of great uncertainty and reasonable security concerns. We need to call out Ritchie Torres for acting like a petulant and stupid child…
No, US Airlines Are Not “Boycotting” Israel
Let’s first take a look at the letter (.pdf), that Congressman Ritchie Torres (D – NY) sent this week to the CEOs of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.
I am writing to express concern about the suspension of air travel between the United States and Israel. The suspension has been so prolonged and so pervasive that El Al, an Israeli airline, has become the sole carrier offering direct flights from America to Israel. The lack of competition has made air travel to Israel less available and less affordable, putting customers at the mercy of a de facto monopoly that can easily gouge prices with impunity.
Unlike in 2014, when the FAA forbade air travel to Israel (generating considerable controversy at the time), the American airline industry has arbitrarily and unilaterally imposed its own ban on travel to Israel, independently of an order from the FAA. Airlines should be prohibited from effectively boycotting or otherwise discriminating against the world’s only Jewish State. It is one thing to temporarily suspend air travel to Israel on security grounds as defined by the FAA. But to unilaterally suspend air travel indefinitely until mid-2025, as American Airlines has done, has the practical effect of a boycott. Given the arbitrary length of the suspension, one could be forgiven for thinking that the BDS movement had taken over the American aviation industry without anyone noticing, much less crying foul. By what logic and in what universe is it safe for El Al to travel to Israel but too dangerous for American Airlines, Delta, and United to do so? It is worth noting that UAE airlines like Etihad, FlyDubai, and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi continue to fly to Israel without incident.
We are calling on every American airline to restore air travel to Israel and to operate based on FAA guidance in order to prevent the appearance and the substance of discrimination against the Jewish State.
I am calling upon the CEOs of American Airlines, Delta, and United to end the unilateral + indefinite suspensions of air travel to Israel. The operative words here are ‘unilateral’ and ‘indefinite.’
Air travel suspensions should have time limits and FAA approval. Instead of… pic.twitter.com/J1uhKGg98k
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) August 29, 2024
Yes dude, you get your name in the papers for stirring up a brouhahha. And of course, my support for Israel is hardly a secret here. But talk about a tone-deaf and incoherent letter. Does he really believe this or is he simply trying to pander to a base of voters that also does not think critically?
Some thoughts.
- You think United Airlines or Delta Air Lines would leave profit on the table without good cause? Travel to Tel Aviv has traditionally been bread and butter route for these carriers. There is no way they are simply taking part in a “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” (BDS) movement. US carriers have made clear they cannot wait to restore service to Israel, but can only do so WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO.
- It’s not like US carriers can just start and stop service on a dime…and when Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran declare an imminent intention to attack, should US carriers just ignore those warnings?
- Why does El Al continue service? Well, maybe because its aircraft are equipped with anti-missile technology and other deterrents against attacks? Did you not know that, Congressman? Or…wait for it…maybe because the carrier is based in Israel and can either operate or shut down?
- This outrage over airlines “unilaterally” suspending service to Israel is laughable–that’s what airlines do.
- To argue that Delta and United are “effectively boycotting or otherwise discriminating against the world’s only Jewish State” is therefore patently absurd.
Finally, I see that One Mile At A Time has written about this as well and come to a very similar conclusion. I think (and hope) this is an issue everyone can agree on. I honestly don’t know what kind of irrational fools people like Torres are trying to appeal to.
CONCLUSION
New York Congressman Ritchie Torres is out of his mind in suggesting that US carriers are nefariously boycotting Israel. On the contrary, US carriers are itching to resume service to Israel…but will do so only when they feel (and their unions feel) it is safe to do so.
Look, I’d love to see US carriers return…and they will…but let’s not pretend that this is some diabolical conspiracy theory meant to discriminate against the Jewish state. No, it is reasonable security and operational concerns. There is no ulterior motive.
+1 . Excellent article .
Does this politician have any military experience ? “Being careful” is far better than “Being sorry” .
He probably had vanishing bone spurs that prevented him from serving.
Delta is anti-HK for dropping HKG a few years ago. Also anti-Singaporean. Now anti-Israel. It’s also dropping Stuttgart so anti-German.
When this clown finally leaves Congress, will he be anti-American?
He is just an Israel First America Last politician like most establishment Dems and Reps are. When 3% of the population controls a disproportionate amount of wealth, has a disproportionate amount of power and leadership positions in Fortune 500 companies, controls the media (CEO of Disney, CEO of Facebook, founders of Google, leadership of CBS, ABC, CNN, NBC, and etc), and makes up 60% of the cabinet when they are 3% of the population, of course the establishment politicians will shill for them. Who do you think put them into office. They control what we are taught, what we are shown in the media, and what we are allowed to say if we want to work for large companies.
DJT is the one exception. He is 50/50 Israel First/America First but not because he is controlled. The reason the establishment doesn’t like him is he can’t be controlled. He does fall for the propaganda unfortunately but not totally. It’s obvious the Gaza stuff would not have gone on if he were in office because he is anti war and rather seek diplomacy. We see how Kamala has fallen into the Protect Israel at all Costs group. She’s controlled. The only hope for Palestinians is ironically Trump winning and the only hope for Israel as well. Trump smartly pointed out in March that Israel’s actions have ruined the image of Israel in the hearts and minds of most people around the world. There are 1 billion Muslims. If they took action, Israel couldn’t exist. Most of the leaders of these countries are Israel/U.S. puppets. If that ends it’s over for Israel. Kamala is just an extension of the status quo. DJT would end all these wars and military action just by not handing over hundreds of billions in equipment to Israel.
ITS TRUE!! WELL SAID!!!
I read exactly this in Protocols of the elders of zion and also saw a 2 minute YouTube clip about it!!!
@David Arnett’s screed is even more biased and simplistic than this post.
Funny that on one hand, you claim to espouse Christian values, but on the other hand you don’t show restraint in insulting people….imbecilic, irrational fools etc. You can make a point without resorting to name calling
There is a difference between a heartfelt but misguided viewpoint and one rooted in willful pandering. I worked in the White House and I worked on Capitol Hill. I cannot stand politicians like this and they need to be called out – that is what accountability looks like (act like a brat, be treated like one).
Curious, what words would you use to describe this person and their behavior?
Why doesn’t he go ask his friends at the unions?
Hey David Arnett:
Your dry cleaners called and said your white robe is ready for pickup . DJT’s too!
In the immortal words of The Notorious RBG, I dissent.
Congressman Torres is certainly a good friend to Israel (as most politicians used to be before the evil Mango Mussolini somehow sadly managed to turn support of Israel into a partisan issue), and he views the service suspensions through that lens. I don’t see anywhere in his letter where he equates this service suspension with the inane and hateful BDS movement, and I think that it’s off base for you to make that comparison. It certainly gives fodder to the many Jew-hating, terrorist-loving anti-Semitic, Hamas-ass-kissing garbage that frequently post on here, and that is unfortunate.
Ritchie Torres is to be commended for speaking truth to power.
He says, “Given the arbitrary length of the suspension, one could be forgiven for thinking that the BDS movement had taken over the American aviation industry without anyone noticing, much less crying foul.”
I still don’t see that as equating the two. While many of the radical leftists and radical right-wingers that support BDS are the same crowd prostrating themselves before the Jew-hating Hamas cabal, using BDS – a known evil that is perpetrated by evil and soulless people as a point of reference – doesn’t imply an equivalence.
I dissent.
I shall try to be kind. Torres is looking through the wrong end of the binoculars. The choice made by the airlines has nothing to do with ignoring Israel, eliminating competition and causing an increase in prices. It is about missiles and a war, that is not appropriate for civilian aircraft.
I won’t speculate on his motivation but I think this was just true ignorance.
In a sense, that would be far scarier than just pandering to his base.
I sadly don’t think it was about appeasing his constituents, and ignorance seems to be on the rise.
He has constituents and campaign donors who aren’t happy about the increase in costs to travel and transport goods to and from Israel, and so he is speaking out on their behalf in hopes that prices will drop in the US and in Israel if the country gets more flight service than it has currently. He is representing their interests while trying to get himself into the good books of some of his constituents and donors. Business as usual for politicians.
Not so sure if that’s true. I researched his district. What may be more plausible is that he, in his own words of loyalty to the party was influenced by others. But again much like your theory is speculation as well.
Facts aren’t speculation. The NY Congressman has constituents and donors who are not happy with the prices for tickets and other services involving flights between TLV and the US ever since the Israeli war on Israeli-occupied Palestinians went into overdrive following Hamas’s barbaric war crimes on and since October 7th, 2023. El Al has been racking up big profits because of the unreliability and the lack of scheduled US and European airline legacy major service to and from TLV since October 7th, 2023.
He also has constituents and donors who think the dropping off airline service to and from TLV by various airlines stigmatizes Israel as a pariah state or shows a lack of “standing by ‘our greatest ally’ Israel”.
While I agree with your overriding message, your name calling is a bit unbecoming (rotund, imbecilic, stupid, etc). As a man of faith (and someone that contemplated even more), you can probably use less hateful language and get the same message across. That said, I really do enjoy your blog (on the days you write).
Point taken. I hope you can realize that I generally loathe elected officials and have a very personal history of watching pandering at the White House and on The Hill. It makes me much more sensitive to this sort of thing, especially when I feel like people should (and do) know better, like Torres.
He’s the same Congressperson that was whining a couple months ago because his support for Israel (even pre 7/10 Torres said that speaking out for the rights of Palestinian is antisemitic) is costing him dates and he can’t seem to find a boyfriend.
His statements make sense and are to be expected given AIPAC is his largest single donor (to the tune of $571,000 since 2023).
Imbecilic Congressman is redundant.
Especially those named Matt Gaetz…
Politicians nowadays seem to have been hit by a dumbing down bug in the aggregate. And the louder the mouth of the politician, the more likely the dumber the stuff coming out of the mouth of the politician nowadays. But I don’t blame such politicians. The voters nowadays get the politicians the voters deserve. And the politicians give the voters what their loudest, most engaged voters and donors want even when it’s not good for the majority of their constituents.
You don’t blame such politicians? Well I do. If the educational system has failed so many to be stymied by liars that now populate politics doesn’t mean they deserve deception. I understand your frustration. I feel it too.
Our most clownish “Republican” US Senators are graduates of some our best universities’ most competitive programs. Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Tom Cotton and JD Vance come to mind as such awful and clownish demagogues.
The voters chose the politicians who would rather fund counterproductive “security” operations abroad and at home than put the same money into the primary public school education system and making sure kids have full enough stomachs in class to focus on educational attainment.
Take responsibility, voters. In a land with free and fair democratic elections that are easily accessible to most American voters, it’s the American voters giving us our awful politicians and awful politics and misusing resources to the detriment of Americans’ basic academic and civic education.
Most of the voters of the clownish politicians are not being deceived by the clownish politicians whom the voters support. So many of these voters merely dislike “the other” so much more that they will do what it takes to give “the other” the proverbial finger. Add in the large group of Americans on the right-of-center who really have an intrinsic and knee-jerk hatred for most things government, and I say the country’s voters get the politicians which the country’s voters deserve.
Schools and general education won’t solve the problem with our clown politicians winning elections when families fail to teach their own kids — including their oversized adult kids — to expect politicians to live up to certain basic values of public decency and fire with extreme prejudice those who peddle in fear and hatred of “the other”. Not so ironically, the “culture war” plays from the right-wing “culture warriors” and gerrymandering plays has debased American political culture and society to such extent that clownish politicians winning elections is part and parcel of American voters getting the politicians the voters deserve.
I am not frustrated by the situation. It’s exactly the outcome I would expect to happen when more people have more of a chance to live in echo chambers of their own choosing and knee-jerk to cancelling out the rest as noise or a threat of some sort.
Resorting to petty name calling is beneath you and this column, which is usually pretty levelheaded.
Most politicians say and support whatever they think will help them stay in office. He is no different, or worse, than the others, so not sure why you are calling him out.
Imbecilic?
Are you kidding?
Stupid comments or proposals perhaps but where did you learn to insult another human being like that?
And what major contributions do you make in your life shilling for rewards programs?
Yes, imbecilic (very stupid or foolish; idiotic).
He IS an imbecile.
I’m not a fan of travel bloggers lobbing vitriol at people but if you have to do so for once, you sure chose correctly. I’m torn whether the guy is that impossibly stupid or that monumental an @$$#0le.
Since you are a supporter of Isreal what is your stance on the Isrealie settlements in the West Bank?
Guess you have no problem with the Isrealie settlements since you are a supporter of Israel.
I am aginst West Bank settlements…full stop.
Him need get bone in nose and a ring in his rooster, get many wives, get big tent have many big party……Well it makes about the same amount of sense.
Thank you for calling it out like it is. Stupid and petulant is right.
I take your point about safety but the assessment of risk clearly varies between airlines. Ethiopian, FlyDubai and Wizz continue to fly; is anybody suggesting that their flights to and from TLV are unsafe?