New York City Mayor Eric Adams delivered heartfelt remarks showing strong support for the city's Jewish community and Israel after the deadly terror attacks on October 7, the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.
Speaking at a "New York Stands with Israel" rally on Tuesday, Adams said, "We are not all right" after the world witnessed the atrocities committed by Hamas in southern Israel, where terrorists committed murder, rape, torture and kidnappings and boastfully posted their crimes on social media.
"We are not all right when we see young girls pulled from their home and dragged through the streets," Adams said to a crowd of thousands who had gathered to express solidarity with Israel.
"We are not all right when we see grandmothers being pulled away from their homes, and children shot in front of their families. We are not all right when right here in the City of New York you have those who celebrate at the same time when the devastation is taking place in our city," he continued.
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"We are not all right when Hamas believes that they are fighting on behalf of something and their destructive, despicable action that carried out. We are not all right when we still have hostages who have not come home to their family. We are not all right, and we're not going to say we have a stiff upper lip and act like everything is fine. Everything is not fine. Israel has a right to defend itself, and that's the right that we know."
Adams remarks came after Israel declared war on Hamas in a conflict that has now claimed more than 3,200 Israeli and Palestinian lives, including at least 27 Americans. Adams, President Biden and other world leaders have acknowledged Israel's right to self-defense, but the civilian casualties from Israel's retaliatory strikes — made worse because Hamas terrorists hide behind human shields — have stoked anti-Israel sentiment and antisemitism at home and abroad.
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Hamas called for Friday to be a "Day of Rage" and capped off a week of protests nationwide against Israel's response to the Gaza attacks.
One New York City rally last week promoted by the local Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) chapter included pro-Hamas demonstrators ridiculing Israel supporters with images of a swastika.
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According to a report released by Tel Aviv University's Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and the Anti-Defamation League earlier this year, antisemitism continued to rise throughout the U.S. and the world in 2022. The report came after the 2021 version set new highs for antisemitic incidents, with he authors noting that "2022 did not mark a reversal of the trend, and in some countries, most alarmingly the United States, it intensified."
During his speech, Adams acknowledged that New York City has the largest Jewish population outside of Israel and condemned those who have voiced support for Jew hatred spread by Hamas.
"We will not be all right until every person responsible for this act is held accountable. And we don't have to pretend," Adams said, thanking the city's religious leaders who "denounce the hatred and the antisemitism that was displayed on one of the holiest days of the year."
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"This was intentional. This was bitter. This was nasty. This was something that shows Hamas must be disbanded and destroyed immediately," he continued.
"Your fight is my fight. That swastika not only displays the pain of antisemitism, it displays the pain of racism among African Americans. You marched with us with Dr. King. You stood with us with all the fights we have. And I'm saying we're going to stand with you and stand united together. And we don't have to be all right. We should be angry at what we saw."
Fox News' Michael Lee contributed to this report.
