ARCHIVES OF THE MAYOR'S WEEKLY COLUMN Archives of Rudolph W. Giuliani

The Spirit of Cooperation Makes for a Safer City

All New Yorkers -- Arabs, Jews, Christians and people of other religions -- are concerned about the recent violence in the Mideast. These terrible incidents spark a tremendous outpouring of sympathy and passion in New York, and people are entitled to express their concerns and their political views.

However, none of this justifies violence or illegal activity in this city or this country. Regardless of what is happening overseas, people have no right to harm anyone else or destroy property here in New York. We want to make certain that everyone understands that a line has to be drawn, and that the Police Department is prepared to arrest anyone who violates the law.

Since the beginning of this month, the NYPD has been investigating a series of possible bias incidents that may have been precipitated by the recent violence in Gaza and the West Bank. It is now our duty as thoughtful, intelligent human beings to explore what can be done to prevent tragedy and protect people and property in this city and this country.

Last week at City Hall, I met with representatives of the city's Jewish and Arab communities to forge a working relationship and open lines of communication. The successful meeting resulted in the formation of the Coalition of Concerned Arab-Christian, Jewish and Muslim New Yorkers, which issued a statement of unity and tolerance.

People should understand that these communities live next to each other, work with each other, and get along with each other. And everyone is unified in the understanding that we don't want illegal activities to take place here or for anyone to be harmed.

This time of year is sacred to many New Yorkers, as Jews celebrate the High Holy Days and Muslims prepare for the holy month of Ramadan. Yet now we must reflect on the unfortunate process of group blame, which is at the core of prejudice.

People go through the process of focusing on what they believe are the misdeeds or wrongs of certain people, and then apply that to an entire group of people. Group blame is so destructive because it erodes the spirit of community necessary to keep a great city together.

The Coalition is an assemblage of people who understand that, so we're asking them to continue to work with us. When people see the additional police officers out on the street, the coalition will explain to the community that it's due to an excess of caution. No one should panic, no one should get overly concerned, because the Police Department is trying its best to anticipate what might happen and prevent it before anything does.

The NYPD has increased patrols in different neighborhoods, in and around houses of worship, and precinct commanders are meeting with various community leaders to address their concerns.

The very best thing that we can do is have close communication with the communities involved. We want them to know that we're doing the very best we can to separate fact from fiction. There have been a few bias attacks, but many more alleged bias incidents turned out to be untrue. If someone hears a rumor about an incident, we ask that you let us know so that we can deal with it at the earliest stage.

I believe that if we convey just how strong the spirit of cooperation is between these communities in our city, we can reduce the possibility of any further incidents. I'd like to thank the leaders of the Coalition, and I look forward to working together to open communication and to dispel rumors to make our city safer for everyone.

It is, after all, our differences that have forged our unique American character of tolerance. It is New York's diversity that makes us the greatest city in the world.