Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Re-Lights Carl Schurz Park Menorah

December 7, 2015

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you so much. Thank you. 

It is wonderful to be with you here this evening. All my neighbors, it is so nice to be with you, and very happy Hanukkah to everyone. 

This is a powerful evening. It’s a powerful evening because we’re standing up for what’s right. And this is the epitome of who we are in this city. This is the epitome of who we are, because even when confronted by hatred, by division, we stand up, we show our strength, we show our resilience, we show our love for one another, we show our embrace for all peoples. 

And yes, the light does triumph over the darkness. It triumphs because people, like every one of you, insist that light must triumph over the darkness. 

I want to thank all of the rabbis who are here. I want to thank my colleagues – Assembly Member Seawright and Council Member Kallos – because it is so important each and every time to stand up. 

You know, there are people who try belittle us. They try to make us feel something less than we are. And in this city, we realized a long time ago, when we see an act of prejudice, when we see an act of hate, we must respond to it. We can’t look away from it. We can’t minimize it. We must respond.

We’re blessed in this city to have the finest police force anywhere in the world.

[Applause]

And we are blessed that the NYPD believes to its core that hate crimes need to be taken very, very seriously, and that if you don’t take them seriously, much worse can happen. And history shows us that. 

And the people of this city believe in standing up to injustice. And I always say about all of us as New Yorkers, behind our rough exteriors, there are very good, warm hearts. And people believe in having each other’s backs and standing up for each other across all of our communities. 

So it’s important to be here tonight.

Isn’t it interesting that people who somehow think that they’re putting us down and making us less, that this is the response? Look at all the people here tonight.

[Applause]

We answer hatred with love. We answer the acts of a craven few with the goodness of the many. And we make it an even brighter Hanukkah. The meaning of these lights becomes even clearer at this moment, when we have to face down some adversity. 

So I want you to know that as the mayor not only of the greatest city of the world, but as – and you can clap for that – we are the greatest city in the world – 

[Applause]

– but as I told – on my recent trip to Israel, I had a very honest and good conversation with Mayor Huldai of Tel Aviv and Mayor Barkat of Jerusalem, and I informed them with the deepest respect that their cities were wonderful, but my city had the largest Jewish population of any city in the world.

[Applause]

And it’s something we’re proud of in this city, but it also comes with a special obligation, because the Jewish people have persevered. And if you know anything about history, you know how much the Jewish people have persevered and how much the measure of a society, the measure of a government is do we stand by people who have been subjected to so much over so many centuries? Do we ensure that their struggle is our struggle, or do we look away?

Tonight is an example that the people of this city are at one – at one with our Jewish community, at one with each other. 

The city government stands by our Jewish community. And any time anyone tries these craven acts, we will come back in bigger numbers and bigger numbers still, in solidarity, in love and embrace, and we will keep this great tradition alive. 

Thank you and God bless you all.