Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah's Annual Shabbat Service

June 27, 2014

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Happy Pride. Shabbat Shalom. I have a lot to say, but you know I’m not one to blow my own Shofar.

[Laughter]

I’m going to be using that a lot from now on. Oh Cynthia, you don’t know what you’ve done with that phrase. It is a joy to be here. This congregation, this synagogue is so hip, so cool, so very happening that when we were here last year – Chirlane and I were here with Chiara and Dante – Chiara and Dante thought it was cool.

[Laughter]

They do not believe anything we are associated with is cool, except for CBST. So – and the – I don’t know what higher praise I could bring this evening. But this is an incredible community. And it really is an honor to be with you and it is an honor to have this role this evening. I want to first speak about some of the people here. I will keep everything brief, but I have to say, Cynthia Nixon, every time she speaks about what we’re doing it reenergizes me. I’m like, ‘We did that? We should do more of that.’ But she – the passion and the leadership and the absolutely foundational role she played in getting all of us to the place where we can make these changes. Sometimes it’s nice to talk about what we were able to do in these months, but it’s also really, really important to remember who got us here and who brought us to the dance. And we thank Cynthia Nixon for making so much of this possible.

[Applause]

And I want to thank Rabbi Kleinbaum because she has the ability to educate you on an issue and change your mind in less than 24 hours.

[Laughter]

You know her as an extraordinary leader here. She is such a passionate advocate, and I remember that conversation deeply. And she helped me see – I obviously knew something about the issue, but I didn’t know enough and when she put it in perspective, it was instantly clear to me what we had to do. And there are some leaders you just listen to because they have so much integrity. And you have a rabbi who epitomizes that. Let us thank her for all she does.

[Applause]

I would like to note the rabbi is now totally part of the establishment since I got elected. She was on our transition team, okay? She’s gone all government on you.

[Laughter]

And we thank her for all her service.

Now, both Cynthia and I have something in common. We found extraordinary soul mates to walk through life with. One of them, I’m the lucky one to say – and I’ve talked about this with Chirlane. I met Chirlane in City Hall in 1991. I was talking to a group at Gracie Mansion last night and I said, ‘I met Chirlane, and a thunderbolt struck me immediately, the angels sang, the violins played. It was love at first sight.’ And if you listen to her, if you see her passion, if you see her brilliance and her energy, you immediately would understand why I fell in love instantly. And I said at the time, I did not think I needed to ask for an identification card, I just fell in love. And it was the right thing to do and it worked out very nicely, thank you. And she’s doing amazing, amazing things for the city and she is just loved wherever she goes because she’s standing up for all the people in this city. Let us thank our first lady.

[Applause]

And Cynthia met Christine Marinoni – and I don’t claim to be the matchmaker, but I was around when they both were involved in community organizing efforts on behalf of public school kids. And I didn’t quite see the spark happen exactly, but I could tell they were kindred. And Christine did amazing, amazing things in our campaign – led our women’s community, did extraordinary work building all that became later such a powerful movement. And she’s really gone government, because now she’s part of our Department of Education. And she is one of the leading, energizing forces in our effort to give pre-K to every child in this city. And that is as good as it gets.

[Applause]

I should note Rabbi Kleinbaum found a soul mate too. And she’s a wonderful leader in her own right. From time to time she travels about the nation, defending teachers – it seems she has to do that a lot. And we’re glad she does. The president of the AFT, Randi Weingarten, thank you for all you do.

[Applause]

Just a few more quick acknowledgments, I know we have some wonderful colleagues in government here tonight who really are true progressives. Gale Brewer I think is here, Manhattan borough president. Brad Hoylman, state senator. Corey Johnson is here, City Council. Deborah Glick of the New York State Assembly. Is it true that Edith Windsor is here?

[Applause]

That is unbelievable. Why hello there, American hero Edith Windsor.

You know, we all work really hard, we try and do good things, and then there’s those people who get their name on a Supreme Court decision that will last forever. That’s the ultimate, you are the best. You are the best.

[Applause]

It is an honor to be here for many, many reasons. I can relate deeply to any community that stands for something that includes people, that uplifts people, and particularly a community that did not exactly start with an excess of resources or support. This congregation began decades ago, wandering about, trying to find a home, making do. But representing something so powerful. And people gathered around, and gathered around some more, and gathered around some more. And now, today, you are the largest LGBTQS synagogue in the world. You basically represent everyone at this point.

And you create such a powerful and inclusive energy that people want to be a part of. It’s a beautiful example of the meaning of Judaism and it’s an example of something so powerful in a democracy. And people are attracted to it, and they become a part of it, and they want to stay a part of it because it’s where we all need to go. And you have a lot to celebrate.

I was reminded by one of my colleagues that the synagogue founded now 40-plus years ago, at the time, thinking if you could get the founders back around a table and show them today’s headlines, what would they feel about the last 40 years? And you’d have to believe they’d feel something good, something deep and surprising and satisfying about this headline from recent news,  ‘Federal Judges Strike Down Same Sex Marriage Bans in Indiana and Utah’. That’s progress.

[Applause]

Those are the kind of headlines for many years we did not expect to see. But they epitomize the progress we’ve made. And they epitomize the reason we need to rededicate ourselves, because those extraordinary steps forward – I’ve had a lot of conversations with a lot of people even in recent years who would have never imagined where we’d be today. People who believed but couldn’t see the pathway. In fact, the pathway has always been there to us, it doesn’t matter if you’re talking about LGBTQ rights, or any other civil or human rights or creating a progressive society. The pathway has always been there. Sometimes the biggest problem is getting the obscuring reality away from our own minds and our own imagination, and allowing ourselves to believe we can go farther.

So, Cynthia told you about the things we’ve been trying to do. A lot of them we were told were either not doable or couldn’t happen yet, or couldn’t happen as much. But I guarantee you, sometimes in life you just have to go out there and do it. Not worry too much about the fallout. It was time for the rent cap. People had fought for years and years to make sure that individuals with HIV and AIDS could actually afford a place to live. What’s controversial about that? It’s a mainstream view, if you will. It just had to be solidified and clarified and fought for. It’s time to recognize that homeless and runaway youth are homeless for a reason, they’re runaways for a reason. And this just grips at me, the notion that any family – for whatever reason they claim, for whatever reason of ideology or faith or culture or custom they claim – any family that could put their own child out of the street. I respect all peoples, but I don’t respect that. And it’s not acceptable.

[Applause]

It’s not acceptable, and that’s what we, in a progressive government, are obliged to respond to, when people do not treat others right. When a family unit rejects their own, we step forward and accept them, we include them, we support them. We will not let our youth be left to whatever dangers confront them. We want to bring them in, tell them they’re part of us. That’s what the City of New York is doing.

And, Cynthia’s right. Chirlane and love a good parade. We’re happy to dress up and go on a parade. Call a parade anywhere, we’ll show up. Unless, your parade doesn’t allow some people to participate. And then, you just won’t see us there.

[Applause]

So I don’t have a lot more I want to say, but just a couple points. I have a special honor as the mayor of this city. And anyone who is the mayor of this city has this extraordinary opportunity to represent so many parts of the human family, all in one place. This is one of the largest, most vibrant LGBTQ communities anywhere in the world. If there is a capital of the gay world, we’re in it. Are you with me?

[Applause]

And, this is a numerical fact: I am the mayor of the city on the Earth—look it up, people, look at every city in the world, look at their own city – not those suburbs, just the city. I am the mayor of the city on the Earth with the largest Jewish population, and I am very honored to be.

[Applause]

So this is the largest Jewish city in the world. If this is the most vibrant gay city in the world, I must be damn lucky. But it also comes with a responsibility to fight anti-gay bias, to fight anti-Semitism, to recognize that this reality lurks among us, that the lesson of history, the lesson that people will tell you about who are walking among us today. There’s plenty of people in this room, I know, who have experienced bias. There’s plenty of people have seen anti-gay bias on our streets. And there’s plenty of people who have seen anti-Semitic graffiti, even in New York City. And you can meet people around this city who are Holocaust survivors. And they’ll tell you what a very civilized, very well-mannered, a very “advanced” Western Europe of the 1930s was like, until it wasn’t. And that’s a reminder that we have to be ever-vigilant. We can be progressive, we can be hopeful. We can be loving and embracing, but we also have to be vigilant.

It’s not only immediately acting when we see bias here, that any act of violence against Jewish New Yorkers, or LGBTQ New Yorkers, is an act of violence against all of us, and we will treat it as such.

[Applause]

But take a moment to look at what’s happening in Europe. And if it doesn’t send a little bit of a chill up and down your spine, go and read a little more history. European parliament elections, countries around Western Europe gave very substantial numbers of support to political parties that are openly anti-Semitic and xenophobic, anti-immigrant. It’s not a repeat of the 1930s, but it’s a cautionary tale. And everywhere in the world, people of conscience need to see those signs and stand up, and speak out, and find those trends and defeat them, not ever assume they aren’t a danger. Things become a danger when you think they’re not a danger. If you confront them, if you organize people, if you activate people and mobilize people – that’s how you stop the danger from happening.

[Applause]

So, it’s so important in this city to set a tone, to be an example to the world. We feel such a tie to so many parts of the world. We feel such kinship. New Yorkers have that incredible sense of living here, loving it, feeling it deeply, but also feeling so connected – for so many of us – to at least one other homeland. And that makes us richer and stronger. We have a special relationship with Israel. It's very deep, and we care deeply, and we need to work hard for a peaceful and secure Israel as the democratic homeland of the Jewish people.

[Applause]

So, I’ll finish with this. Shabbat, Shabbat is many things. I am sure everyone in this room has their own definition, their own personal experience. As a gentile, I will say Shabbat brings up one thought for me, it’s called envy.

[Laughter]

Like why the heck didn’t we think about that?

[Laughter]

So, consider yourselves way ahead of the curve. But, it’s also profoundly progressive in its nature. It’s not just a day of rest, a recognition that humanity needs that. It is profoundly progressive, you could look at the origins. In ancient times, leisure was sadly unknown. People just labored, just worked to survive. And there was a chosen few who had the luxury of a notion of a day off. The idea of time for contemplation, or time with your family, or time with your faith – that was a rarity. And, with the notion of Shabbat, it wasn’t segregated, it was for everyone. Even the laboring masses deserved the day off, and a day to feel the fullness of life. Abraham Heschel, a great Polish-born New York rabbi, who was a friend and an ally of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr – He had a great definition of Shabbat. He said, ‘It’s a reminder of everyone’s royalty, an abolition of the distinction between master and slave, rich and poor.’ It, to me, therefore represents inclusion and justice and all the things that we’re fighting for right now in this city – a city that actually is for everyone, that’s what we’re trying to build, something that’s for everyone. 

So, take this moment. Revel in the pride of this week. Think for a moment about Shabbat that you enjoy, and you experience, and think about it as a deeper commitment to fairness and inclusion of all. Feel encouraged by the strength and the growth of this congregation, feel encouraged by everyone around you. Finally, remember the words of someone who I look up to – a great New Yorker also, the playwright, Tony Kushner, who wrote in Angels in America – a simple, simple notion. He said, ‘The world only spins forward. ‘ Let’s make it so. Thank you.