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Bloomberg Forced to Take Cover in Israel

Missile alert sends NYC mayor scrambling in search of shelter

By the Associated Press

Posted Jan 4, 2009 7:56 PM CST
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(AP) – New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg had to take a break from expressing solidarity with Israelis threatened by Hamas rockets today after a missile warning sent him and his party scurrying into a bomb shelter. The daylong trip to Israel that included visits to two towns targeted by the Islamic militant movement in recent weeks, and the threat came in the embattled town of Sderot.

The mayor said he fully understood Israel's actions: "You should rest assured, if anyone in New York was being threatened, my instruction to the NYPD would be to use all the resources at their disposal to protect civilians."

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks to a hospitalized Israeli boy during a visit to a hospital in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, Sunday Jan. 4, 2009.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks to a hospitalized Israeli boy during a visit to a hospital in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, Sunday Jan. 4, 2009.   (TSAFRIR ABAYOV)
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg stands next to remains of rockets, fired from the Gaza Strip which had landed in southern Israel, displayed at the police station in Sderot Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg stands next to remains of rockets, fired from the Gaza Strip which had landed in southern Israel, displayed at the police station in Sderot Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009.   (AP Ariel Schalit)
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, center, visits a house, hit by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip, in the southern Israeli town of Sderot Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, center, visits a house, hit by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip, in the southern Israeli town of Sderot Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009.   (AP Ariel Schalit)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 4 comments
Guest
Jan 6, 2009 1:39 AM CST
What is the Mayor of NYC doing 1000 miles away in Israel, let alone in a war zone?! If he's learning about anti-terrorism or something that's not the best way or place (contrary to popular opinion) to learn it. NYC is such a big terrorist target is it? It's already been hit once, to them they've won. No need to hit it again.
Guest
Jan 6, 2009 1:37 AM CST
Nope, it's in the Talmud, something about helping each other out whenever, wherever. Just priority given to their own kind. So it's not like it's his own will, it's his upbringing.
Guest
Jan 5, 2009 7:45 PM CST
The actions that are happening in Gaza are tragic for the entire human race. However, who paid for his trip? Is this some effort on his part to show foreign policy experience in an effort to try to land a cabinet position or senate position in the future?

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Israel • Gaza • Hamas • West Bank • Michael Bloomberg • Arab Israeli conflict

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