NYC Mayor Highlights Faith at Jewish Children’s Museum Gala

By COLlive reporter
Photos: Itzik Roytman/COLlive

Friends and supporters joined the 18th Gala Dinner of the Jewish Children’s Museum in Crown Heights on Tuesday evening, celebrating the positive impact of the landmark institution and its fostering of acceptance and education.

The gala evening brought together members of law enforcement, government officials and community leaders in a VIP-filled event paying tribute to the Museum’s contribution to New York City, combatting hate and antisemitism through education and awareness.

Speakers at the dinner praised Devorah Halberstam – co-founder of the Museum, and whose son, Ari Halberstam, the Museum is named for, for her commitment and dedication to educating the next generation about acceptance of people of all races, faiths and backgrounds.

MC for the evening Adam Kuperstein, an award-winning journalist from NBC 4 New York, related that as the grandchild of Holocaust survivors, he was raised with the idea of ‘never forget,’ which also applies to the murder of Ari Halberstam, who was killed by a terrorist on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1994.

“We must make sure that future generations never forget,” Kuperstein said. “For Devorah, a day doesn’t go by where you don’t think about Ari, and don’t think about his legacy. This museum is about educating and instilling the idea of acceptance for future generations, to make sure that no one else has to suffer in such a way,” Kuperstein said.

He praised the Jewish Children’s Museum as a place that educates about centuries of antisemitism, and it “happens in a place where kids play and learn – that’s the beauty of this place. It’s not obvious to the child, but the result is the same,” Kuperstein said.

Halberstam told of the day her son Ari was born, May 6th, just before Mother’s Day in 1978. She then told how he was buried on March 6th, 1994, 16 years later, 5 days after he was shot simply because he was a Jew.

“All those years of worries, of nurturing, of hopes and dreams were cut by the bullet of an Uzi, shot by a terrorist filled with antisemitic hate,” Halberstam said. “I have not seen Ari for 10,593 days. Compound that by the minutes or by the seconds. And anyone here today who thinks, ‘move on,’ has no clue of what it is to lose a child. Especially when he is a victim of murderous hatred.

“Hate has seeped into our society like a plague, and we need change. We need to work to building a better world and a happier environment for our children. Our society needs to be about family, building communities in a safe and secure place. Tonight’s message to us is clear: we need to move forward. ‘Chai’ means life and life means this museum – joy, happiness, education, and growth,” Halberstam said.

“So help me G-d”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams was a guest speaker, and told attendees that the measure of a society are the state of its children.

“How are the children? The children must be fine. If the children are not fine, we cannot blame the children. We have to blame the adults. What are we doing that we can’t comfortably say that our children will be fine?” Adams said, citing recent tragic and shocking incidents of self-harm and violence by various children in recent months in New York City.

“It’s time for us to lean into what families mean and what it represents. And I don’t care what anyone says – it’s time to pray,” Adams said, to applause. “It’s time to lean back into our faith and our beliefs. It’s time we stop being ashamed of saying we are a nation of believing in G-d. ‘In G-d we trust’ is on our dollar bill, and the last words I said after being sworn in was ‘So help me G-d.’ Every president except 3 placed their hands on a religious book or text.”

“In your Yeshivas and your schools, you have your young people lean into faith and belief. If we know the power of G-d, it is time for us to believe in G-d. I would not be Mayor if there was not a Higher-order. Everyone knows I am dyslexic. I was arrested, I was rejected, and now I am elected to be the Mayor of the City of New York – that’s the power of G-d.

“The absence of faith, the absence of family, of community and cross-pollination of what we represent and who we are, is preventing us from having the greatest product we’ve ever known…”

“I say to all of you, this community that I know so well… no matter where I go across the globe, I see the face of the Grand Rebbe. I see all the locations across the globe, where people of Jewish faith and belief are welcome, but everyone is welcome. One man changed the entire acceptance of people. If he could do that, then we can do it as well.”

VIDEO: NYC Mayor Eric Adams

Former judge honored

Adrienne Adams, Speaker of New York City Council who have been strong supporters of the Jewish Children’s Museum since its founding, was honored with the City Leadership Award.

“Our children represent the future of our communities and of this amazing city that we dwell in, and it is critical that we prepare them to succeed. The Museum infuses the spirit of love, faith and unity, which we shall never give up on,” she said.

Speaker Adams told of a recent tour of the Museum by the City Council, and of their stepping up to address hate with creating hate crime prevention and educational programs. The Council also supports the Jewish Children’s Museum in its efforts to educate the next generation, combatting hate and intolerance.

Also addressing the event was David C. Banks, Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, who leads the largest school system in the nation. Banks told of a recent summit and tour of the Jewish Children’s Museum held for Superintendents from the five boroughs of the New York City Public School system.

Chancellor Banks said that he is working with Halberstam to coordinate visits of the millions of New York City public school students to the Museum, to educate and expose them to other faiths and cultures.

“Hate exists in our cities, in our nation, and it exists throughout the world. And we often wonder, what can we do try and change that? We often say that love will change hate. But understanding and learning about each other is a way toward that love,” Banks said. “In order for us to really impact the lives of young people, so they have a greater level of not just tolerance, but acceptance – and there’s a difference – of other people, we have to teach them, they have to be exposed.

“Devorah and I have been meeting since I became chancellor, and we are very focused and very intentional around making sure that we hope to use this museum as a vehicle to teach acceptance and help young people to have a greater sense of the world around them and the people around them,” Banks said.

Other guests of Honor included Katherine Forrest, former Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and one of the lawyers who brought the first lawsuit against the gun manufacturers that made the Uzi machine gun used in the Brooklyn Bridge Attack which killed Ari Halberstam. She received the Ari Halberstam Memorial Award, and Roni Shoyfer of Citizens Bank received the Community Builders Award.

The annual gala, chaired by Joseph and Penina Popack, welcomes community leaders, elected officials, members of law enforcement, and Museum supporters for an evening in support of the museum which welcomes thousands of visitors throughout the year, teaching people of all ages, backgrounds and faiths about the Jewish culture and heritage.

In attendance were: Letitia James – New York State Attorney General, Tom Dinapoli – New York State Comptroller, Eric Gonzalez – District Attorney For Kings County, Antonio Reynoso – Brooklyn Borough President, Crystal Hudson – NYC Council Member, Laurie Cumbo – Commissioner Of Cultural Affairs, Kalman Yaeger – NYC Council Member, Inna Vernikov – NYC Council Member, David C. Banks – Chancellor of the NYC Department Of Education, Lance Polivy – Department Of Cultural Affairs, Judge Michael Mukasey – Former Attorney General Of The United States, Rabbi Joseph Potasnik – FDNY Chaplain, NY Board Of Rabbis, Fred Kreizman – Commissioner Of The Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit, Joel Eisdorfer– Senior Advisor To The Mayor, Menashe Shapiro – Deputy Chief Of Staff To Mayor Adams, Eli Slavin – Representing Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, Rabbi Chanina Sperlin – CHJCC, Rabbi Eli Cohen – CHJCC, Rabbi Michael Miller – CEO Emeritus JCRC, Pesach Osina – Liaison of Speaker Adrienne Adams, Pia Raymond – Member, Civilian Hate Crimes Review Panel, Stephanie Witchfort – CEO Brooklyn Children’s Museum, David Haskiel – Sephardic Liaison to the NYPD, Pinny Hikind Representing Comptroller Brad Lander.

Commissioner Keechant Sewell – Commissioner Of The New York Police Department, Edward Caban – NYPD First Deputy Commissioner, Chief Jeffrey Maddrey – NYPD Chief of Department, Chief James Essig – NYPD Chief Of Detectives, Chief John Chell – NYPD Chief Of Patrol, Chief Michael Kemper – NYPD Chief Of Transit, Chief Miguel Iglesias – NYPD Chief Of Internal Affairs, Chief Judy Harrison – NYPD Chief Of Counterterrorism, Chief Charles Mckevoy – NYPD Chief Brooklyn South, Chief Scott Henderson – NYPD Chief Brooklyn North, Inspector Richard S. Taylor – NYPD Community Affairs, Inspector Andrew Arias – NYPD Detective Borough Brooklyn South, Captain Gary Marcus – NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force, Chief Michael J. Lipetri – NYPD Chief Of Crime Control Strategies, Inspector William Glynn Jr. – NYPD Executive Officer Of Patrol Services Bureau, Commissioner Juanita Holmes – Commissioner of Probation, Inspector Joseph Hayward – NYPD 71 Pct, Inspector Toni Brown – NYPD 77 Pct., Chief Frank Giordano – NYPD Crime Strategies, Chief Kim Royster – NYPD Chief Of Transportation, Mr. Michael Brodack – Sac Criminal Division FBI New York, Lt. Ira Jablonsky – NYPD PBBS, Sgt. Michael Barratta – NYPD Sgt 71 Pct., Mr. Serge Hoyda – Board Member JCM, Ms. Marcia Wilf – Board Member JCM.