45.6 F
New York
Friday, March 29, 2024

Mayor DeBlasio Addresses Anti-Semitism at Mayors Conference in J’slm; Shows Solidarity with Israel During Wave of Terror

Related Articles

-Advertisement-

Must read

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (L) speaks with Rabbi Pesach Krishevsky (R) who was injured during last week’s terror attack in Malchei Yisrael Street. The mayor described a “deep, deep bond” between New York City and Israel and called for an end to attacks upon Jews by Palestinians.
NYC Mayor Bill deBlasio pressed a personal note into a crack at the Western Wall as a testimony to faith during his weekend tour of Israel. He called for the end of violence against Israelis by Palestinian terrorists.
Mayor DeBlasio meets with both Arab and Israeli school children during a whirlwind 3 day weekend in Israel
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, left, receives a gift from Mayor of Tel Aviv Ron Huldai at the Tel Aviv promenade during their meeting in Tel Aviv
Seen here is Mayor Bill DeBlasio placing a wreath at the Yad VaShem memorial in Jerusalem

As tensions soared in Israel due to a wave of horrific Arab terror attacks that has gripped the nation in palpable fear and anger, New York City’s Mayor Bill deBlasio traveled to the Jewish state to display solidarity with Israelis during this perilous period and to deliver the keynote address at the Annual Conference of Mayors. The conference was hosted by the American Jewish Congress, American Council for World Jewry, and World Forum of Russian-Speaking Jewry.

The topic of the mayor’s address was “Anti-Semitism in the West: How Cities Must Lead.”

Sponsoring the Mayor’s 48-hour whirlwind trip was Baruch Eliezer Gross, an Israeli entrepreneur who had “generously offered to gift the City the cost of the Mayor’s and his staff’s travel and hotel.”

According to published reports, Gross is the founder and chairman of the board at SkySaver, a company that has developed a “personal rescue device available today for self-evacuation from a multi-story building. He’s also the CEO of Besadno, an Israeli start-up investment firm.

Prior to the trip Mr. Gross said in a statement to the media: “I’m honored to join Mayor deBlasio in his fight against anti-Semitism and in support of tolerance. New York City can provide other cities with a model for protecting all communities against hate. I look forward to the Mayor’s visit and his remarks in Jerusalem.”

Concerning his trip, deBlasio said, “I think it’s just natural. We come from a city with a huge Jewish population and a huge Muslim population that coexists. I hope our city can be a positive example.”

On Saturday evening, de Blasio joined Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat in a visit to wounded terror victims currently receiving treatment in the capital’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, as was reported by INN.

The report went on to say that one victim they met was moderately wounded in a car attack last Tuesday, in which an Arab terrorist employee of the Bezeq phone company first ran over passersby in the central Geula neighborhood with his company car before getting out and hacking and slashing with an axe and knife. Another victim, Rabbi Yeshiyahu Krishevsky, 59, was brutally murdered in the attack.

In the footage of the visit to the hospital, Barkat can be heard explaining that the victim suffered an ax wound that was very close to being critical. The East Jerusalem terrorist was shot and killed by a security guard.

The mayor goes on to explain to de Blasio that the murdered Rabbi Krishevsky was in fact the cousin of the victim, and that he was a well known mohel who performed ritual circumcisions. While at the hospital, de Blasio and Barkat also met with other victims of the recent wave of Arab terror.

Calling for the end to “unconscionable and unacceptable” violence, deBlasio said attacks by Palestinians against Israelis “must end,” during a visit to Israel’s Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem in Jerusalem on Sunday.

Reports indicate that the mayor likened the climate, particularly in Europe, to the rise of Nazi Germany. Evoking the 1938 Kristallnacht attacks on Jews, de Blasio cited Police Commissioner William Bratton and said all kinds of unrest must be checked early.

“We call this approach to fighting crime the broken window strategy. Well, there is a broken windows strategy necessary to fighting bias and intolerance,” de Blasio said.

He called such violence a “cancer” that must be restrained and described “a deep, deep bond between our city and the land of Israel.”

As he toured the Old City of Jerusalem, the mayor pressed a personal note into a crack at the Western Wall as a testimony to faith.

“The notion that I stood before one wall in one place that people for millennia have thought about, prayed about,” de Blasio said.

In addition to exploring archeological excavations in Jerusalem and taking a tunnel tour, deBlasio made a concerted effort to reach out to the Palestinian community.

According to a Ha”Aretz report, deBlasio met with Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, early on Saturday before attending an event sponsored by a mixed Israeli-Palestinian school.

De Blasio had seriously considered a trip to the West Bank, but his aides have said that had been canceled due to security concerns.

“I think it’s important as an outsider to not claim to know more than I do,” he told reporters after visiting the school. He added:  “I think this is a larger human reality, that peace is necessary, attacks on civilians are unacceptable, and no civilian leaders should ever condone attacks on civilians.”

The comments were a stark contrast to remarks he made just a few months ago, in which he questioned Netanyahu’s commitment to pursue a peaceful settlement and an end to the conflict with the Palestinians.

During his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the two leaders  “discussed the current security situation, New York City’s solidarity with Israel at this difficult moment, and the continued hope for peace,” according to Amy Spitalnick, the mayor’s spokesperson. The prime minister’s office, however, issued no statement about the meeting nor did he even send out a tweet, according to published reports.

Arranging the meeting between deBlasio and Netanyahu was Jack Rosen, who is not only an influential donor to the Democratic party but also chairs both the American Jewish Congress and the American Council for World Jewry.

“I told the Prime Minister’s office that they should have a one-on-one meeting,” Rosen told reporters.

Speaking to Jewish Insider, Rosen said that he invited deBlasio to address the conference in order to give it a higher profile, while identifying the NYC mayor as a leader with a national platform that could ultimately strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship. He said that de Blasio was given the invitation a while ago and never declined it.

Rosen himself clearly wields a formidable amount of power in both Washington and Jerusalem. According to a New York Post report, he has been a guest at the White House, has flown the Clintons in his private jet, and owns the $3.3 million Park Ave. pad where Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin moved in 2012.

Rosen has also donated to deBlasio’s nonprofit .

The Post also reported that Alexander Levin, president of the World Forum on Soviet Jewry, funneled $100,000 in the last 18 months to the Campaign for One New York, which has been called a political slush fund for the mayor.

Besides meeting with influential Jewish donors, the New York Times reported that it was de Blasio’s desire to “recognize many factions of his diverse Jewish constituency, which includes conservative Orthodox leaders with strong ties to Israel and liberal voters who might be more open to questioning Israeli policy toward the Palestinians.”

The Times reported that among the advisers who helped to coordinate deBlasio’s trip included “a former press secretary at J Street, the left-leaning Jewish group, and a top aide with a background in the city’s Modern Orthodox community.”

De Blasio did say that Palestinian New Yorkers should see him as fair.

“I believe in the two-state solution,” de Blasio said. “I believe it’s the only way forward.”

Fern Sidman

balance of natureDonate

Latest article

- Advertisement -