The smell of glatt kosher hamburgers, hot dogs and corn on the cob wafted through the gardens of Gracie Mansion on the evening of May 29th, as well over 700 people gathered for the annual mayoral Jewish Heritage Reception.
Addressing a crowd that included yarmulkaed members of the NYPD and the FDNY, as well as individuals representing the full spectrum of the Jewish community, Mayor Eric Adams spoke passionately about the climate of hate and intolerance that has swept the world since October 7th.
The mayor lamented the fact that students are being radicalized on college campuses to hate Jews, as well as the country that they call home, with just 18 percent of those ages 18 to 34 saying that they love America.
“We’ve normalized going after groups because of who they are and what they respect,” said Adams. “Hate has no place in our city and we will say it over and over again. It doesn’t matter if you’re Jewish. It doesn’t matter if you’re Muslim. It doesn’t matter if you’re Christian. We know it is time for us to embrace the humanity that makes us who and what we are. That’s what this day is about.”
The mayor spoke broadly about embracing people of all faiths and cultures, his remarks zeroing at one point about the ongoing protests targeting Israel.
“I don’t say destroy from the river to the sea,” said Adams. “I saw build from the river to the sea. Embrace from the river to the sea. We’re all in this together and we cannot turn our backs on each other.”
The evening included opening remarks by Israel Consul General in New York Ofir Akunis who spoke about the importance of Americans and Israelis uniting against hate.
A special award was presented to City Hall’s departing Jewish liaison, Joel Eisdorfer, who will be stepping down from his position in June. In his remarks, Adams described Eisdorfer as “a real mentsh.”
“He has shown what it means to be a great New Yorker, to be a great American, to be a great member of the Jewish community … [and] a great member of the greatest race alive … the human race,” said Adams. “That’s what Joel is.”
But perhaps the most emotional moments of the reception came when Dr. Shoshan Haran, who was held captive in Gaza for 50 days, shared her story.
A resident of Kibutz Be’eri, Haran described how she and her family hid in their safe room, with steel-piercing bullets flying above her head. She, her husband, her son in law, her daughter, her grandchildren, her sister and her 12 year old niece were all taken captive by Hamas after terrorists used a bulldozer to crack open the window of their safe room.
Haran held up a picture of her son in law Tal Shoham, who is still being held hostage in Gaza, describing how she has been traveling the world in the hopes of securing his freedom, thanking the many members of the Jewish community who have helped her in her efforts.
“I always understood that we are am echad, we are one people,” said Haran. “We need each other. We in Israel need you. I believe that you need us. Together we will survive. They murdered my husband. They murdered my sister. They murdered 101 members of my kibbutz. But our spirit is not broken. We are fighting. We are resilient. We need to bring them home now.”
