Flying Solo: The Turbulence Created by the FAA’s Decision

In May of 1939 the M.S. St. Louis set sail from Hamburg, Germany to Cuba with 937 Jewish German passengers aboard. Their mission was to flee their homeland to a place where Jews could live with more freedoms- economically, socially and religiously.

The boat made its way to Cuba but was denied entry to port. Even though the passengers had legal visas, the leadership of the Cuban government would not allow the travelers to even enter as visitors. Only 22 passengers, non-Jews, were allowed to disembark in the Caribbean. The rest stayed on the boat and saw the lights and nightlife of Havana from less than a mile away, but they could not touch it. After six tumultuous days anchored on the coast of the haven of Havana, the boat then ventured to other ports to try and liberate the passengers.

The boat was denied entry to the United States and even to Canada. Eventually, the M.S. St. Louis returned to its point of origin and the passengers disembarked in various cities in Western Europe.

It is estimated that one third of the people on that boat were murdered during the course of World War II.

When I touch down in Israel, I often think of the M.S. St. Louis – a voyage that did not allow Jews to find a new home. For the past 66 years, the reality of a Jewish State has enabled us to say, whether in France or Berlin or London or Shanghai or Chicago, that Jews can always come home and always have a place to land. That was until the FAA got involved.

The unprecedented decision by the FAA to ban flights to Israel felt to me like another administrative body denying entry to those who wanted to go to Israel – and come home. When the FAA prohibited American airliners from flying to Tel Aviv, they denied men and women returning to fight in the IDF the ability to go home and defend their country. They stopped mothers and fathers returning to visit their children. The FAA denied synagogue trips and solidarity missions the ability to offer love and support and supplies. They stopped Jews from coming home. The purpose of Israel was to never allow another M.S. St. Louis. The FAA trumped that.

The FAA’s ill-fated decision will create lasting and reverberating turbulence for Israel travel. Firstly, it hinders world opinion on the safety and accessibility of Israel. In the book, Start Up Nation, Dan Senor and Saul Singer explain that during the first Gulf War while Scud missiles were raining down on Tel Aviv, INTEL, operating and producing in Israel, was manufacturing the 386-processor chip for most of the world’s home computers. There was tremendous worry that the war would affect INTEL’s productivity. Worse than that, other countries and companies would see Israel as a volatile region that could not meet quotas and deadlines when it was called into war and/or conflict, a somewhat regular occurrence. As a result, the leadership at INTEL never stopped producing, even when Scud missiles were falling from the sky. Today, Israel has become the central address for cutting edge technology companies and global businesses.

However, when the FAA banned flights, it hindered productivity and accessibility for companies and leaders ranging from Google to Teva to do their job. This messaging tells future companies that Israel might be a place where their staff is not safe (which is preposterous) and also communicates that they cannot get supplies and personnel as needed. That is a tragic and criminal outcome of this senseless decision.

Secondly, it tells new visitors to Israel that they should be fearful before they even land in the country. That kind of fear mongering is unfounded and feeds the lowest common denominator. I always tell participants from our community the most dangerous part of our trip will be arriving in Newark!

Thirdly, the FAA ban stopped tourism, a major source of revenue and strength for Israel. I love going to Israel with people who have never been before and watching their personal and spiritual transformation. They are in awe of the food, the development, the safety and the history of this amazing country, all at the same time. Seeing the culture of tourism and how it positively infects its visitors inspires me.

Because of the FAA ban, many trips were cancelled, not only for the duration of the ban, but also for future travel, as most airlines offered a no questions asked refund for whenever travel was happening to Israel. This takes a huge bite out of the economy and equally, demoralizes Israelis. Seeing visitors to Israel, especially in times of conflict, warms the hearts of the natives. It lets them know they are not alone and that we are one people with different addresses.

You cannot un-ring a bell. The FAA decision happened. It should not have. This is not only my assessment but also the assessment of many politicians and countless security officials who have the perspective from both the aisle and window, if you will.  So, how do we move forward?

I suggest a simple formula: Book your flight, get on the plane and head home to Israel. Now more than ever. It is safer than the media depicts (I was just there and am speaking first-hand). Also, encourage your friends to invest in Israeli companies now more than ever.

The State of Israel means Jews can never be denied entry again. Let’s ensure that this colossal blunder by the FAA is a blip on the radar and indeed, doesn’t happen again.