De Blasio Kicks Off Visit To Israel During Country's 'Painful Moment'
JERUSALEM (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Mayor Bill De Blasio kicked off a brief visit to Israel on Saturday, saying he was on a solidarity mission with the country at a ``painful moment'' after weeks of violence.
De Blasio is in the country amid a month-long spate of unrest that has left eight Israelis and nearly 40 Palestinians dead.
The violence continued on Saturday, when Israel reported a stabbing attack and two other attempted attacks by Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank. The assailants were all shot and killed.
``It's a painful moment here in Israel, it's a moment when I am certainly here in solidarity with the people of Israel,'' de Blasio said during a visit with students from a mixed Israeli-Palestinian school. ``This has to stop obviously. Look, these are attacks on civilians…. No one should be condoning attacks against civilians.''
De Blasio met early Saturday with his Tel Aviv counterpart, Ron Huldai, in the seaside city before attending an event in the central town of Beit Shemesh sponsored by the mixed school, Hand in Hand. The Jerusalem school, which was targeted by Jewish arsonists last year, is a rare symbol of coexistence in Jerusalem.
Later in the day, de Blasio was to meet Jerusalem's mayor, Nir Barkat, and visit Israeli stabbing victims in a hospital.
A trip to Israel is a staple for New York City mayors, as they represent the city's large Jewish constituency. This is de Blasio's first visit as mayor, his fourth overall.
De Blasio considered a trip to the West Bank, but that has been canceled due to security concerns, according to a spokeswoman. He said he thinks it's inappropriate at this time to meet with Palestinian leaders.
``I don't want to pretend to understand the nuances of the situation,'' he said. ``I think it is important as an outsider to not claim to know more than I do. I think this is a larger human reality that peace is necessary.''
The three-day trip is being paid for by Baruch Eliezer Gross, a Brooklyn resident and founder of the Besadno Group, an investment firm with offices in Jerusalem and New York.
The city's Conflict of Interest Board approved the donation. De Blasio said it was ``absolutely appropriate'' and noted that the gift prevented taxpayers from being burdened with the cost of the trip.
This was the first de Blasio international trip to paid for by an individual.
The current wave of Israeli-Palestinian unrest began last month with clashes at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site and quickly spread across Israel and into the West Bank and Gaza.
A series of attacks, mostly stabbings, have unnerved Israel, which has responded by beefing up security nationwide and imposing checkpoints in Palestinian neighborhoods of Jerusalem. Palestinians say the unrest is the result of years of occupation and failed hopes for gaining independence.
Eight Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, most of them stabbings. In that time, 39 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 18 labeled by Israel as attackers, and the rest in clashes with Israeli troops.
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