By Hamodia
Photos: Dovber Hechtman
New York City Mayor Eric Adams hosted hundreds of community leaders for a Chanukah gathering at Gracie Mansion Tuesday night where he decried the rise of antisemitism and presented the families of Israeli hostages held by the Hamas terrorists and issued a demand for their release.
The mayor repeated what he had said several weeks ago when he quoted Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg who said, “We are not alright.” He spoke of how in this time of darkness after the horrific massacre in Israel on October 7, the significance of the light shining through the darkness.
Posters of the hostages who are still held by the Hamas terrorist group were held up as Mayor Adams demanded their release.
“These posters are not just mere photographs, they are human beings that we all hold our breath until they return to their family members and loved ones that are here,” Adams said as he thanked the families for their courage. “Bring the hostages home. Let them return home.”
The mayor also declared that Hamas “must be destroyed” as he condemned the rise in antisemitism in the city and across the world since the attack and ongoing war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
The large crowd broke out in applause as Adams forcefully announced, “I want to be extremely clear as I say to you as the mayor of the city of New York. There’s no room for antisemitism in New York City and there’s no room for hate in New York City.”
Two New Yorkers, Dr. Michael Lomax and Eboni Williams, were awarded Shine A Light’s Civil Courage Award for Community Building for their roles in connecting the Black and Jewish communities. The award is given to non-Jewish luminaries who have taken on a leading role in battling antisemitism.
The annual gathering was celebrated with attendees honored with lighting a menorah made of the remnants of a license plate of a car left behind after Hamas’ attack on Israel on Simchas Torah.
The menorah, designed by Eliyahu Skaist, is engraved with the words in Michah (7:8): “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise (again); though I sit in darkness, Hashem is my light.”
While discussing the significance of the menorah’s message, Adams said it’s what happens next is the most important. “Is that light going to shine and pierce the darkness of hate that we are seeing throughout our entire city?” He asked the audience.
Besides the hundreds of community leaders and other guests who packed the room at Gracie Mansion, the gathering was attended by a host of city officials: Police Commissioner Edward Caban, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation Jessica Tisch, Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy, Commissioner of Community Affairs Unit Fred Kreizman, Commissioner for Internal Affairs Edward Mermelstein, Pastor Gilford Monrose, Senior Advisor Andrea Shapiro Davis, Deputy Chief of Staff Menashe Shapiro and Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg.
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