Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, Senator Schumer, and Mayor Adams Join Governor to Address the Concerns of Jewish Communal Leaders and Reiterate Commitment to Ending Antisemitism in New York

Governor Hochul: "This is our family, this is who we are as New Yorkers. We embrace everyone. And when you attack one of us, anyone that is picking a fight with 20 million other New Yorkers is starting with your Governor, and that is a fight I'm willing to take any day, anytime, because I'm a fighter from Buffalo."

Hochul: "Stand up, New York. Come on. Stand up together. Call it out. Let us be the model for the rest of the world on what can happen when people band together in a common pursuit of doing simply what's right. And that will define us as New Yorkers going forth from this day. Socount me in. I will be there with you every step of the way to protect, unite, call out, and ultimately eradicate antisemitism in our lifetime."

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul addressed the concerns of Jewish communal leaders from across New York and New Jersey and reiterated her commitment to stopping future antisemitic attacks and incidents at Lincoln Square Synagogue in Manhattan this morning. In the wake of recent threats and an increase in violence against Jewish communities across New York and the country, Governor Hochul announced the formation of the Department of Human Rights' Hate and Bias Prevention Unit that will use educational tools to promote tolerance across New York.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Good morning and Maury, thank you for the enthusiastic introduction. I would expect no less, we've been friends a very long time and I'm grateful for that. And I thank the Orthodox Union for this convening, we go about our busy lives, and you think about issues, you see them in the news, you're aware of them personally, but to have the leadership say, "Let's sit together. Let's call upon our leaders all the way from the federal level," and you're going to hear from Secretary Mayorkas, the leader in our nation to fight antisemitism and crime. He'll be here on his way very shortly, then you hear from Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, one of the most powerful people in our nation, who's our very own from Brooklyn, understands our needs deeply, so you have the two top leaders from Washington representing our nation come here today to address this issue. But also, to have Mayor Adams shows us the power of working with the federal, the state, and the local leaders, toward a unified approach to something that has gone on too long, perhaps more behind the scenes, but I believe was unleashed in 2016 when there became a normalization and an association with people who spew this hate that this country, up until that time, did not tolerate in a public way.

Well, we've lost some ground, my friends, but it is time to cede that ground back. And leadership is what matters. A strong, powerful voice united here in the State of New York will be the lesson across the rest of the nation. And I could not be prouder to represent the largest Jewish community outside of Israel right here in New York. And as the Mayor has said, that is why this is personal to us. This is our family, this is who we are as New Yorkers. We embrace everyone. And when you attack one of us, anyone that is picking a fight with 20 million other New Yorkers is starting with your Governor, and that is a fight I'm willing to take any day, anytime, because I'm a fighter from Buffalo. And I say let's mix it up, because you're trying to make individuals, because of their deeply held faith and traditions, feel marginalized or subjected to abuse and words of hate that hurt.

It may not be the same as a physical fight or a physical altercation, but words and images can be painful, and people carry that within them, and that's why we have to let it out. We have to let people know what is happening to this community, be public about it, rise up in a sense. And also, to realize that when we do not rise up and speak with a strong voice, calling out the perpetrators of hate speech and hate crimes, then we become complacent and complicit. And we saw the effects that just in the last century, as someone who has visited the camps and spoken to family members. And you have toask the question, where were the people? Why? Where were their voices? Did they not see what was going on? Where was their spine? Where was their courage?

And we know what happened. We lost millions and millions and millions of people, and I've had the privilege to sit down with Holocaust survivors, sit down with 10 women who talked about how in their elder years, that they still felt that they lost their childhood because their family had been dragged to a concentration camp, or they lost the relatives that they never had the privilege of growing up with. They felt diminished after all these years, something that happened to them when they were children. And they said, one of them had this chilling statement to me. She says, "I'm feeling the same as happening in my country. I'm feeling those same voices of evil and hatred are rising up, and where are people there stopping it?"

That, my friends, is what must call us to action now, because we'll be judged by generations from now on how we stood up to the acts of hatred and the violence that occurs in synagogues, in schools. But even on a street, like the young man that Maury Litwack and I had a chance to meet at a synagogue. And also, after the yeshiva, we went over to the yeshiva and he said to me, "My friends tell me that I should not wear my yarmulke walking down the street because it puts a target on me that someone will attack me, that they might spit on me, they might push me, they might hurt me. My friend says I shouldn't do that." And I said, "Young man, you must continue to wear your yarmulke and all indications that you are Jewish proudly because for centuries, antisemitism, yes, has been the oldest crime, but it will only stop if we stand up. And we'll protect you, young man. We'll continue to protect you, but wear that with pride because your ancestors would expect no less."

So, we must continue to support people like that young man who is carrying on a deep and rich tradition. It took courage for him to continue, and I hope he still does. It takes courage for all of us to go out there but know that no one is alone. There is strength in numbers. There is a unity that has risen up, and all of us who call out even people who socialize with athletes and entertainers and break bread and actually have a dinner with people that spew hate as they're walking out the door.

You can shake your head and say, my God, what have we become? I won't accept that. I say, who will we be? Not what have we become? Who will we be? And we will continue to rise up vocally, call out people on all platforms and say, "This is not what's going to be allowed in our country. And it sure as heck isn't going to happen in the great State of New York."

We will continue to rise up, put resources to this challenge, and I thank this organization. Rabbi Hauer, this is a tough time, and I thank you and Maury and others for convening us here together. Others who've been strong allies. I know Rabbi Indig is here in the audience. I want to thank him. All of us collectively have a moral responsibility, not just to the people of today, but for the next generation because our progress today will make life easier for our children and grandchildren as they go forth.

And what can the State of New York do? Yes, we'll continue to pass laws. Yes, we'll mandate that Holocaust teachings are actually taught in schools instead of checking the box and saying, yes, we took care of that because I don't remember learning about it in my public school.

That says to me something is failing. So we've passed legislation to make sure that that education continues. Also resources to protect targeted sites. We know the vulnerable sites, so we have $50 million available for organizations to apply for to protect the people who gather within the synagogues, the yeshivas, the community centers.

But also, what I want to do is take it one step further. Today, I'm announcing that we are having a statewide hate and bias prevention unit that'll be embedded within our Department of Human Rights. And it's not just going to be sitting in a bureaucratic office. This is going to be part of a statewide initiative going to all 62 counties to educate and also be an early warning system. Let people know when you spot this. You see something your child is doing on social media and it concerns you. We can be in the prevention business as well by educating people as to what the signs are. This is going to be a task force that is going to go all over the State of New York and have meetings convened and bring together stakeholders and the trusted voices that can rise up with us.

So this is not just a New York City phenomenon, this is going to penetrate throughout the entire state of New York. That's how we change people's hearts and minds. And I'm going to make sure that this organization newly founded, renouncing it today, right here, is actually an effective, an effective vehicle, an effective instrument for change.

So I want to thank all of you for caring enough to come out today. Know that this is not an issue for the Jewish community alone. You have reinforcements, you have friends, you have allies, you have people who are deeply committed to ensuring that we fulfill our moral responsibility.

And that's exactly what I'm talking about here. This is a moral obligation that each of us - Jewish or non-Jewish - have to lift up the voices of all, and to stand when an arm is raised or a voice is spewing out evil words that we stand up. Even if you're on a subway, you're on a street corner, you see something, my gosh, that could be your own family member, your own child, your own mother, your own grandmother.

Stand up, New York. Come on. Stand up together. Call it out. Let us be the model for the rest of the world on what can happen when people band together in a common pursuit of doing simply what's right. And that will define us as New Yorkers going forth from this day. So count me in. I will be there with you every step of the way to protect, unite, call out, and ultimately eradicate antisemitism in our lifetime. Thank you very much.