Thousands of demonstrators crossed the Brooklyn Bridge from lower Manhattan on Sunday to express solidarity with the Jewish community in the wake of a wave of antisemitic violence.
The march, titled “No Hate, No Fear,” attracted members of all faith communities and some of the state’s most prominent officials and politicians.
Governor Andrew Cuomo told the crowd, “Discrimination, racism, antisemitism, is repugnant to every value that New Yorkers hold dear, and repugnant to every value that this country represents,” the Associated Press reported.
He pledged $45 million in state funding for security around Jewish sites and institutions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted in solidarity, saying, “We stand with the many thousands of our brothers, sisters and friends in NYC marching against the rising Antisemitism. We will not waver in our battle against Antisemitism and hate.”
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said in a statement, “While antisemitism continues to rear its head in the United States and throughout the world, we must move from defense to offense. We will not be silenced when Jews are murdered in synagogues and will not be ignored when those who wear kippahs are being killed in the street. We must join hands and stand as a wall against the wave of hatred.”
“The huge show of solidarity in New York is conveying a clear message to the entire world that it is time for action and not just talk,” he added. “This is the time for legislation, the time for enforcement and the time for determined action against the wave of hatred that sweeps across social networks.”
“In combating antisemitism, we expect every country to adopt determined and effective legislation, and a clear condemnation from the UN and the international community,” Danon said.
The march follows weeks of escalating attacks on Jews in the New York region. Last Saturday night, on the final night of Hanukkah, an antisemitic attacker entered the home of a rabbi in Monsey, New York and stabbed five worshipers. Earlier last month three people were killed by an antisemitic gunman at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City.