Bill de Blasio, a New York City Public Advocate and 2013 mayoral candidate is working to prevent Saudi Arabian Airlines from landing at JFK and other American airports, according to FOX News. Currently, the carrier has a policy that bars Israelis from flying, even when the passengers are only looking to transfer in Saudi Arabia on the way to another country.
"When Saudi Arabia flies from our airports, it needs to follow our laws," de Blasio said. "Discrimination based on national origin is illegal.
"We're going to take steps to see Saudi Airlines' lease at JFK pulled until it respects the rights of Israeli nationals," de Blasio continued.
An "air carrier or foreign air carrier may not subject a person in air transportation to discrimination on the base of race, color, national origin, religion, sex or ancestry," reads federal law.
Violation of law can result in the termination of a lease at JFK, due to restrictions included in the lease conditions and agreements.
Saudi Arabia cites a lack of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Israel as the reason for the airline policy barring Israelis. The director general of Saudi Arabian Airlines, Khalid al-Melhem, said that the decision to bar Israelis isn't discriminatory, according to a report in Al Arabiya.
"Diplomatic relations and political exchange are basic requirements for a person to enter a country," al-Melhem said. "We cannot accept a passenger if his country does not have political relations with Saudi Arabia because it would be impossible for him to enter the country."
Edward Snowden, the former U.S. spy contractor who leaked sensitive information, is currently holed up in a Russian airport while he seeks temporary asylum in the country. He has no passport.
"No one watching Edward Snowden's month-long stay at a Moscow airport finds Saudi Airlines' claims credible," a spokesperson for de Blasio said.
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