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Although there are presently no known threats to Jewish institutions in New York City after the cold-blooded murders of Yaron Lishinsky, 30, and his then soon-to-be fiancee, Sarah Milgram, 26, the NYPD isn't taking any chances as they are “surging counterterrorism officers in critical response commands out of an overabundance of caution,” Mayor Eric Adams said.
Lower Manhattan’s Center for Jewish History was heavy with grief Thursday afternoon. City officials and faith leaders stood shoulder to shoulder at an interfaith vigil, mourning Yaron and Sarah, Israeli embassy staffers gunned down after an American Jewish Committee event at the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C. Wednesday night. The air was thick with sorrow, and the weight of a rising tide of hate.
Mayor Eric Adams didn’t hold back. “This violence is exactly what they mean when you hear the words, ‘globalize the intifada,’” he said. “It is the actual plan out of these comments. Violence is something that is unacceptable and not tolerated, and that is what we mean when we say anti-Semitic propaganda is masquerading as activism. Let’s call this what it is, a depraved act of terrorism.”
While there are no specific threats, Adams isn’t taking chances. “We’re surging counterterrorism officers in critical response commands out of an overabundance of caution,” he said. Heavy weapons teams are rolling out to Jewish cultural spots, synagogues, and Israeli diplomatic sites—something the city’s done on and off since Hamas’s October 7 bloodbath in southern Israel.
“The last year and a half, we watched hate bleed out onto our streets, onto our college campuses, and now, at our cultural events,” Adams said, his words slicing through the room. “People have glorified terrorists and organizations have called for violence against Jews, and have called for death to America, to Israel and to the people of Israel.”
Al Sharpton[gue], the race-baiting activist who’s carried the weight of his own past in stoking the 1991 Crown Heights riots, stepped up. In 2019, he half-owned that mess, and now he’s calling for Black leaders to stand loud against the Jew-hatred spiking across the country. “If there had been an attack at the Schomburg Library,” he said, invoking the city’s beacon of Black culture, “and it was two young Blacks, I would have expected to see Jewish leadership stand with us. It happened at the site of a Jewish Museum in Washington. Two people, innocent people, lost their lives. They should expect that we’ll be here.”
One has to wonder if Sharpton was biting his tongue as he spoke.
Sharpton’s voice rose, preacher-like. “You can’t be a civil rights activist or leader if you’re only for your own civil rights, and you cannot be a faith leader if you only stand up for people in your own faith.”
Hindy Poupko, a top voice at UJA-Federation of New York, laid it bare. The attack wasn’t a bolt from the blue, it’s the grim fruit of months of venom aimed at Jews. “As the mayor said, after 19 months of violence and hateful rhetoric directed at Jews and the State of Israel, violence was inevitable,” she told the crowd, her voice steady but aching. “Our heart breaks for them, their lives lost, their futures lost and our hearts break for their families.” Still, she stood tall. “In Washington, in New York and wherever Jews gather, we remain resolute in our commitment to living our lives as proud Jews.”
Mohammad Razvi, head of a coalition of over 70 Muslim groups, said, “[I]n the Quran, it’s written that if you take one innocent life, it’s as if you have taken the life of all mankind,” he said, echoing a truth the Talmud shares. Of course, this doesn't explain the parts of the Quran that prescribes the opposite at times. [See for example, Quran 2:191 that says "Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them. This is merely one of many examples. Read the Quran for more and if you really want some insight into Islam, read Reliance of the Traveller.]
Razvi went on: “This is true to all Muslims, and this heinous act has really hurt so much.” His condolences to the victims’ families carried weight. “Hate is something that is perpetuated and taught,” he said. “A child is not born to hate. That’s something you pick up at a dinner table.” His call to action was simple but fierce: “Any time this happens, we have to stand together, and we have to show others that this is what New York is about.”
It's good to hear Muslim leaders make the right call.
The vigil was a raw moment of unity in a city that’s seen too much division. Two young, beautiful lives snuffed out. A community reeling. But in that room, faith and resolve burned brighter than the hate outside.
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Am Yisrael Chai.
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