Satmar vs. Satmar: New York mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio, shown here campaigning at the West Indian carnival in Brooklyn, has won the endorsement of a group of Satmar Hasidic Jews. That sets up a battle for the votes of the Hasidic community, as another group has endorsed Bill Thompson. Image by getty images

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio visited Israeli terror victims at a Jerusalem hospital.

“When you are attacked, we also feel attacked,” de Blasio said during the visit Saturday night to the Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem with his Jerusalem counterpart Nir Barkat. “We in New York are very familiar with the effects of terrorism,” he added, a reference to the Sept. 11 attacks on the city.

“You can’t think about acts of terrorism like this in the abstract when you meet the victims and you meet the families. It becomes very real,” de Blasio said. “There can’t be peace when civilians are wantonly attacked just for going about their business.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Earlier in the day, de Blasio met with Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai and with Israeli and Palestinian children and their parents from the Max Rayne Hand in Hand Jerusalem School, which was the victim of an arson attack late last year. On Sunday, de Blasio, and 40 mayors from cities around the world, visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and museum. He also was scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.

During his three-day visit to Israel de Blasio is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at a conference of international mayors sponsored by the American Jewish Congress and other Jewish groups.

It is his fourth trip to Israel, his first as mayor, according to the New York Post.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re in the middle of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 22.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount