Andrew Cuomo Vows to Effectively Fight Antisemitism as Mayor of New York City During Address at Congregation Shaare Zion
Our first and essential order of business is to ensure the safety of our Jewish brothers and sisters, both in reality and perception. No one should feel that they must take off their yarmulke before they walk down the street. No one should think that they have to put the Star of David inside their shirt to walk down a New York City street. No one should feel the need to look over their shoulder when they walk out of the synagogue.
- Andrew Cuomo
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, candidate for mayor of New York City, addressed approximately 1,500 congregants at Congregation Shaare Zion, the largest synagogue representing the Sephardic-Syrian community in Brooklyn for a Shabbat service earlier today. Governor Cuomo reaffirmed his commitment to the Jewish community and discussed his plans to fight rising antisemitism in New York City. This address comes off the heels of the release of his agenda to fight antisemitism. In accordance with Sabbath observance, all forms of electronics were not used in the Synagogue on Saturday. A copy of his remarks, as prepared, are below.
Shalom.
To Sam Sutton, God willing, Senator Sutton soon.
Thank you for the introduction, Joe Carey, and thank you to all our friends and to the rabbis for attending and to Rabbi Yedid and his family, condolences on his sister.
I'm here to say that I'm sorry.
I'm sorry for the pain and the anguish that you all felt on October 7th and every day since. I'm sorry that you have not felt safe on the streets right here in your own hometown. I'm sorry for the unimaginable pain and hardship that the hostages and their families endured and continue to endure.
I'm sorry for the antisemitism that you have experienced and the repugnant behavior of demonstrators masked as Hamas that you were subjected to right here in front of the synagogue. I'm sorry for my mistaken assumption that widespread antisemitism could never happen again in our modern, sophisticated, educated, enlightened society and that it could certainly never happen here in New York City.
I thought that it was a lesson from the past that could never happen in the present, that it was a lesson our grandparents shared to teach us about history. That it was like polio, a terrible disease, yes, but one that we cured never to threaten again, and I was wrong. I was always a hyperaggressive supporter of Israel, not as a matter of politics, but because it was personal.
We are family. Literally. I led many delegations to Israel. I led solidarity missions at times when Israel was under attack. I helped to expose the tunnels built at the border with the great Shimon Peres, God rest his soul. I worked on economic development agreements with Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and joined trade agreements between New York and Israel. We passed the strongest anti-discrimination laws in the country, provided funding for security and Jewish facilities. We were the first state in the nation to oppose BDS and the first state to counter BDS by an executive order saying that if a company boycotts Israel, New York State will boycott that company.
But with all that, I now fully appreciate the shocking reality that antisemitism is not a lesson of the past, but very much a problem in the present. That antisemitism is like a virus that lives in the body politic, and as soon as the immune system is weakened, the virus is manifested.
Obviously, the recent issues in the Middle East have weakened the immune system and the virus is raging. We underestimated the threat that antisemitism could rear its ugly head once again, but are now accepting that painful reality – the question is what do we do about it?
Elie Wiesel once said that the opposite of love is not hate, but that the opposite of love is indifference. Silence is acceptance. This country made that mistake once before and must never make it again. We know that passivity does not work. We cannot sit by and hope that this aggression and that this violence passes us by. The enemy is here, my friends, and they are organizing and they're mobilizing. The expression: Think globally, act locally and New York City should set the precedent.
This must be a multi-front effort. We must start with educating the public about the true facts of the situation and the history behind it, because ignorance is our enemy. The most urgent need is with young people. The younger generation doesn't understand the history of Israel and has a biased education that has brought us to a point where almost half of those under 30 years old do not believe the state of Israel has a right to exist. Why? Because TikTok doesn't teach history. They don’t know about 1947 and 1967, the multiple attempts at peace, about the Camp David Accords. The fact that Jews were among the first group to immigrate to New York City in 1650 – Sephardic Jews– 100, 200 years before any other group came to this city. All those facts are lost on the younger generation.
Second is to insist that our government's response is fully supportive of the Jewish community and aggressively fighting antisemitism. The far-left wing of the Democratic Party, the extremist wing, I’m sorry to say, has been supportive of many of the radical anti-Israel efforts and organizations that advanced those causes. The Democratic Socialists of America, the so-called DSA, has a significant powerful influence in New York City today, and they advocate that Israel is a racist apartheid state and that Israel is ethnic cleansing. On October 7th, they proclaimed 'Long live the resistance.' The DSA charter explicitly states that it supports BDS policies against Israel and it would end America's aid to Israel. Anti-Zionism is antisemitism, period. We cannot allow this political movement to continue unopposed. I stand in full opposition to them. We must inform New Yorkers of the severity of this challenge and the danger it poses, and we must mobilize opposition to stop them immediately.
But our first and essential order of business is to ensure the safety of our Jewish brothers and sisters, both in reality and perception. No one should feel that they must take off their yarmulke before they walk down the street. No one should think that they have to put the Star of David inside their shirt to walk down a New York City street. No one should feel the need to look over their shoulder when they walk out of the synagogue. This city must ensure that you feel safe on every street, every day, every hour, and that must be the mandate for this city. If anyone discriminates or harasses an individual on the basis of their religion or destroys property, that is illegal and people must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Period. No more slaps on the wrists, no more excuses. If a person violates the law and harasses a member of the Jewish community, they must be prosecuted.
That is the law that I passed in this state, the most aggressive law in the nation, and I will enforce it as mayor of the city of New York. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what you have gone through, but we have learned a painful lesson and we are now on notice.
We will take action collectively. While many countries battle antisemitism, the city of New York must stand in solidarity with the Jewish community. New York would not be New York without the Jewish community. This is your home and you must be protected in your home.
It’s our legacy at this pivotal moment. Let New York City set the international standard of a people, of a government, of a society that has zero tolerance for any antisemitic act of any kind, and let us speak the word loud and proud and let the power of our example set a new model to follow.
But I give you my word: You will have no greater friend, no stronger advocate, no one who will fight harder to protect you, your family, and your rights than Andrew Cuomo.
Thank you.
Photos From This Visit Can Be Found Here
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