New York Mayor Bill de Blasio Gets Mixed Response From Syrian Jews on Refugees
Image by Getty Images
The mayor or New York reportedly drew some criticism from Syrian Jews for comparing Muslim refugees fleeing their homeland with Jews fleeing the Holocaust.
Bill de Blasio received warm applause as he vowed to keep New York Jews safe as terror fears are heightened but there were ripples of disapproval when he brought up the Syrian Muslim refugee crisis during his speech at Brooklyn’s Congregation Shaare Zion, Sunday’s New York Post reports.
“I know this community understands deeply the pain of any family that must leave a homeland they love because they were forced away by violence and discrimination,” he said. “When it comes to saving children and families from one of the greatest crises of our times, I remind people to look at history,”
Syrian Jews were not victims of Nazi Holocaust, but they suffered persecution in their homeland. There was a vibrant, well-to-do community of 30,000 Jews in Syria in the late 1940 but by the ’70s, the population had dwindled to 2,000 after waves of repression by the government of Hafez al-Assad, the father of current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“The difference between me coming here in 1991 with my family is that we were kicked out for being Jewish,” one congregant told The Post.
“I don’t think it’s a fair comparison … The Jews never had a history of being destructive,” said another synagogue member, Judy Zarug.
“This nation has to be a beacon for the world,” de Blasio said, noting the resistance Americans had to the first waves of Jews escaping from the Nazis. “This city of immigrants is still a beacon of hope.”
He noted, however, that the refugees must be thoroughly screened.
The mayor’s office criticized The Post’s characterization of the mayor’s reception as chilly.
The crowd erupted in applause when he promised to keep New York Jews safe in the wake of attacks in Paris and elsewhere, an audiotape provided by the mayor’s office said.
“We will be vigilant,” he said.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
