On Tuesday night, New York City Mayor Eric Adams welcomed leaders of the Jewish community to a Chanukah celebration at Gracie Mansion. During the event, Mayor Adams had the honor of lighting the shamesh on a unique menorah, crafted using parts of an Israeli license plate salvaged from the October 7th terrorist attack at a music festival in southern Israel.

The celebration was attended by family members of Israelis who have been held by Hamas since the October 7th massacre. These attendees displayed posters featuring their loved ones who have been in captivity for more than two months.

Mayor Adams spoke out against the recent global and local increase in antisemitism, particularly noting its rise in New York City following the October 7th attack. He emphatically stated that Hamas “must be destroyed”.

Some of the Mayor’s remarks:

I want to be extremely clear, as I say to you, as the mayor of the City of New York. There’s no room for antisemitism in New York City and no room for hate in New York City. Hate has no place in our city, and that includes all of our beliefs. We do not and will not allow antisemitism to take root, Islamophobia, anti Sikh, anti Christian, anti Buddhists. Faith is who we are, but we also have to live it because if we normalize hate by our actions, then we are surrendering to hate.

You will not live in a city where you will take off your yarmulke before getting on the trains or walk the streets. You will not live in a city where you will be fearful to worship in your synagogue or women would be afraid to wear a hijab or a Sikh man will be afraid to wear his turban. That is not our city. And we want to be clear and my message that Hamas must be destroyed.

Hamas must be destroyed. And to the family members of hostages who still live in the painful reality of the uncertainty of their loved ones, who still feel that they’re broken, they’re not feeling complete, who still are wondering the question mark that lingers over their fate. We can turn the question mark into an exclamation point by releasing each one of them and allowing each one of them to come home to their family members and their loved ones.

Every hostage must be returned. And these posters are not just mere photographs. There are human beings that we all hold our breaths until they return to their family members and loved ones that are here. And the courage of all of you to come here, and not silently suffer peacefully, but to become the voice for those who are still remain in captivity. Bring the hostages home, let them return home.

And so we are not all right as long as those who are responsible is not brought to justice. We are not all right, as long as the hostages remain in captivity, and that is what our pursuit is. We’re not all right as long as social media continues to permeate our young people with hatred and bigotry and antisemitism and other hateful acts. We’re not all right if people use their voice to spew hatred towards each other. That’s not the city, that’s not the country I want to be a part of.

I look at some of my long friends who have been with me throughout the years, looking out and seeing Abe Freeman and others who have been part of this community and what you represent and what you mean. It means a great deal to this city. And we have to stand together, my friends. This is a moment that’s going to define us all.

We must turn on that internal light inside us to merely light the candle today, a candle that is made out of, the menorah that’s made out of the license plates of the horrific attack. To merely do that is not what we must accomplish. It’s what happens when we leave here” is that light going to shine and pierce the darkness of hate that we are seeing throughout our entire city?

And so I’m devastated, I’m angry and I refuse to act like I’m not. I am traumatized by the events that are playing out, and only we can turn that around. New York City, we are made up of the accumulation of the light of the things that we believe in and the faith that we believe in. It is our obligation and responsibility to light this country and to light this globe, and I need you together to accomplish that action.

The evils of our October 7th, it broke all of our hearts. And now we must go to a real place of healing each other and healing our city. And to my Jewish community, I want you to know you’re not alone. We stand with you. We support you. We support your right to live in a dignified manner in your city, like we support the rights of all the various groups that are in the City of New York and in this country.

And so I want to thank you for being here today and making this Hanukkah a special Hanukkah for us, as we celebrate the importance of the renewing of our spirit in our city. And I’m proud today because we are giving two awards to two great human beings.