Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in Israel for the second day Friday where he talked to reporters about the conflicts in the region and how they affect America and other free nations.
“All of us are in this battle together,” he said. “Nine-eleven may have taken place in Lower Manhattan, but it was freedom loving people around the world and the way they practice their religions, have freedom of speech and control their own destinies that terrorists find so threatening.”
Bloomberg Addresses Conflict In Middle East While Visiting Region
Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in Israel for the second day Friday where he talked to reporters about the conflicts in the region and how they affect America and other free nations.
“All of us are in this battle together,” he said. “Nine-eleven may have taken place in Lower Manhattan, but it was freedom loving people around the world and the way they practice their religions, have freedom of speech and control their own destinies that terrorists find so threatening.”
Bloomberg continues his Middle East tour in Jordan, a country he praises for not terrorizing Israel.
Yesterday the mayor was in Israel where he helped dedicate an emergency center to the memory of his late father.
The mayor was joined by his mother, sister and daughter to unveil the state-of-the-art center in Jerusalem named for William H. Bloomberg.
According to Israeli custom, the mayor placed a scroll in the building’s cornerstone to signal the start of the $6.5-million project.
Bloomberg, who normally keeps personal disclosures close to the vest, spoke openly about his father’s influence on him as a boy although he died when the mayor was just 21. He said his dad was an air raid warden in his town outside of Boston during WWII and despite little means, donated to the NAACP and other organizations.
“One time I remember my father telling me that discrimination against anyone is discrimination against everyone,” said Bloomberg. “And in his small way, they supported organizations that still exist today.“
”It’s easy to look at my support for this project as a dedication to my father, but I really consider this an important gift from him, because after all he was the one that taught my sister and I to do things for others,” he continued.
Back in 2003 he financed an addition to a hospital in Hadassah in his mother’s name.
As part of his visit, the mayor also met with Israel’s prime minister, the country’s acting president, and the family members of three Israeli soldiers kidnapped in Iraq last summer.
