Mayor Adams Holds Vigil for Victims of Terrorism in Israel

By Matis Glenn

New York City Mayor Eric Adams hosted a candlelit vigil Monday night for victims of the brutal terror attacks being perpetrated against Jews in Israel, committing to combat antisemitism at home and abroad in a show of solidarity with Israelis and Americans under attack in the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

The event was held at Golda Meir Square on Broadway and west 39th Street in Manhattan, and was attended by several hundred people, including Rep. Dan Goldman, who was in Israel with his family when the assault began, Congressman Gregory Meeks, of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso; Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson; Staten Island Borough President, Vito Fossella; Eight state Assemblymembers including newly elected Rep. Sam Berger, and five members of the City Council.

The first to speak was Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser, Rav of Khal Bais Yitzchok. He began by relating a story of one of the Gerrer Rebbes as an example of how to feel the pain of others.

“The great Rebbe of Ger was in Israel in Jerusalem…It was a particularly warm morning in Jerusalem,” Rabbi Goldwasser said.

“All of a sudden, the great Rabbi began to shake, and an attendant said, Rabbi, are you ill? Is something wrong? He said, no, it’s cold here, it’s cold. The attendant said, Rabbi, it’s a warm day out. He said, no, the soldiers, the chayalim, they are bitter, because it’s so cold, and I feel their cold in my bones.

“Everybody that is here today— all good people from all walks of lives, from all backgrounds— you are here because you feel the cold…”

Rabbi Goldwasser expressed his gratitude for Mayor Adams, who has taken several steps during his time as mayor to combat antisemitism, and called the mayor a “brother” and an “angel sent by G-d.”

The rabbi quoted Martin Luther King, Jr., as saying that “when people criticize Zionists, the state of Israel, they don’t mean Israel. They don’t mean Zionists. They mean the Jews.”

Following other speeches, Mayor Adams then lit candles and called for a moment of silence to honor those who were lost to the terror attacks before addressing the crowd.

“I am devastated, and I am angry,” Adams said. “And I am going to really refrain from allowing that anger to really display the human part of me. But I am in so much pain from what I saw and what I witnessed. Nothing can justify pulling innocent children from their homes, murdering them, dragging them through the streets, laying your feet across their bodies. Nothing can justify what we witnessed.

“To state that that terrorist act that we saw cannot be defended anywhere on this globe. It is not acceptable what we witnessed in Israel — not acceptable.”

Addressing extremists in New York City who organized protests in support of Hamas as Jews were being murdered, Adams condemned their actions:

“You cannot rationalize it. You cannot state how it was done and why it was done. It was clear that it was anger, antisemitism at the highest level, and a total mindset of inflicting pain at one of the most holiest days of the year in a premeditated, barbaric action that is unacceptable and it will go down in the history as one of the most draconian disgusting acts you can ever witness.

“And no one should be celebrating this — no one. Humanity should be angry.

“…I’m watching what is playing out across the country. I’m watching protests where people are carrying swastikas not understanding does it…and how it impacts not only the heart of the Jewish community but those same swastika symbols were used when African Americans were attempted to fight for their freedom and their right to exist. This cuts across all lines…all lines.

“And so, I stand here today, my heart is broken. I stand here today in pain. But I wanted to stand by those candles as one at a time we light them, because we have to light our path for the future.

“I’m clear: Israel has a right to defend itself. Israel has a right to protect itself.

“And we need every one of those hostages to be returned home.

“Let’s hope all are able to return safely to their families, to their loved ones, to their country. This is such a dark period, and we must find light and turn this painful moment into a purposeful moment. May G-d be with us all.”

Itay Milner from the Israeli Consulate called the terror attacks a “pogrom” and vowed that Israel would eliminate the Hamas terror group.

“What happened Saturday is not an assault, it’s not an attack. It’s a massacre. For lack of a better word, it’s a pogrom. Our people were murdered. They were tortured. They were kidnapped. They were humiliated.

“There will be no Hamas after this.”

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League spoke as well. “I don’t want to be here. I have no interest in being here. I am tired of mourning dead Jews.

“I am sick and tired of it. And I am disgusted not just by the atrocities— although that’s enough— but by their accomplices, here in New York, marching in front of my office saying, “resistance.”

“Murder is not a political movement….There are no fighters in Hamas, only barbarians.

“And at the end of the day, I have faith in G-d that through this, we will persevere.“

Congressman Gregory Meeks, of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said: “I, too, Jonathan, wish we didn’t have to be here.

“I stand here today as a member of the United States Congress, as the former chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee and now the lead Democrat. To say that the issue that’s before us today is not a political issue, it’s an issue about whether you’re right or you’re wrong.

“We talk about peace, but the truth of the matter is you can’t have peace with someone who doesn’t want peace. You can’t have peace when someone says you don’t have the right to exist.”

Meeks continued to say that he would take part in drafting a House resolution in support of Israel and  condemning the actions of Hamas.

Congressman Dan Goldman related a personal story of what he and his family experienced while Israel was under attack.

“On Saturday morning at 6:30 I was lying in bed with my nine year old daughter on one side and my five year old daughter on the other side, and sirens went off in Tel Aviv. It is the well known signal in Israel but not well known to me or my family that there are rockets on their way. We had 90 seconds to get to the stairwell in the hotel until the possibility of the rocket landing on our hotel would happen.”

Thankfully, and in large part because of the tremendous partnership between the United States and Israel, the iron dome intercepted nearly all of those 2,200 rockets on Saturday morning.

“And make no mistake about it: this is not part of the Middle East conflict. This is not part of the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict. This was a heinous terrorist act. Nothing less than absolute destruction. Indiscriminate, horrific murder, abduction…by an organization that is a terrorist organization.

“And like we did with Al Qaeda, and like we have done with ISIS, we must stand with Israel to eradicate the terrorist organization Hamas.”