Las Vegas Mayor: ‘Israel Lives With This Every Day’

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By Daniel J. Solomon October 6, 2017

In the wake of the Las Vegas massacre, the city’s Jewish mayor said that she might look to Israel for ideas on how to proceed on safety and security in the future.

“Israel has lived with this every single day since 1948,” said the mayor, Carolyn Goodman, in comments to the Times of Israel. “I don’t want to reinvent the wheel. We always have safety first. We have 43 million visitors a year.”

Goodman is in her second term serving as Las Vegas mayor – and succeeded her husband, Oscar Goodman, who served three terms in office before her. The two are among the city’s prominent Jews, which includes the casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson.

Goodman praised the actions of first-responders and the city and country’s ability to come together after the shooting on Sunday night.

“I am so proud of everybody. The first responders. The people who were there [concert goers]. It could have been worse,” she said. “We are so grateful for the emotional embrace. There has been an incredible response from around the world.”

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.