of those gathered here who cherish israel and the people of israel, may the lord bless you and keep you. may has kinda shine upon you and be gracious unto you and may all of your ways be passed in peace with the unwavering support of all of you and all of those who call these two great nations home. with the leadership of president donald trump and with god's help i know the best days for israel and the united states of america are yet to come. thank you. god bless. god bless israel and god bless the united states .

good morning everyone. i want to say something straightforward, no honest person can deny the dangers the jewish people face all over this world we woke this morning to news of this horrifying rocket attack on civilians in israel and my heart goes out our heart goes out to the families and our prayers are with them but we have an obligation to tell our fellow americans to help them understand what it must be like out of nowhere to hear that siren go off and to know your

family is in danger. innocent civilians we have to help people understand that. there are threats all over this world now i want to talk to you about how we address this because the threats are on the rise the threats to the jewish people is on the rise in europe, here in the united states and in the middle east and for me this is deeply personal. this is a community i represent and a community i love. as mayor of the largest urban jewish community on earth 1.2 million strong i've been called

to neighborhood whose menorahs were smashed. i have spoken at schools who have been painted with swastikas. i sat with a mother whose son was attacked just for wearing a --. i know that anti-semitism is dangerous and i know it leads to violence. that reinforces my commitment to the survival and security of the state of israel. the jewish people cannot be safe without the state of israel . as a progressive here is what i see when i am in israel. i see a multiracial democracy. i see universal health care,

free college, a strong labor movement you've often heard it said that israel is america's closest ally in the middle east and a great center of innovation. all of that is true, i am moved by something more than that. israel at its core is there to shelter an oppressed people that is why i am here to make a simple full clear progressive case for the state of israel. here is a straightforward definition for you. progressives fight oppression, they shelter those in danger. we embrace inclusion, we fight against exclusion and now here

are the facts. the jewish people have faced thousands of years of exclusion and expulsion and violence, that history didn't end in 1945. it didn't end in 1948. those anti-semetic forces never went away. in fact they are growing. just like racism and sexism and islam a phobia are to everything i believe as a progressive so to are fascism and nativism and white supremacy and the anti-semitism that goes with them. every day we in new york city fight those dangers with everything we've got. and that fight and it has just

begun. as a progressive i have some real disagreements with the current israeli government. i imagine many of you do too. but that does not retract and it cannot detract from the requirements that israel must be defended. admire anyone who criticizes policies of today's israeli government and it is because i want the powerful and necessary idea of the is really nation to thrive forever. as a progressive democrat and mayor of the most diverse city in the world let me also say this, i deeply oppose the boycott divestment and

sanctions movement. i believe bds is contrary to the progressive imperative to protect all oppressed people everywhere and always. bds doesn't just seek to change a specific policy, it affronts the very notion of israel as a guaranteed refuge for the jewish people. i fear bds can undermine the israeli economy and thus undermine a two state solution, a solution i believe is key to ending the suffering of palestinians and israelis alike. key to bringing peace to the region. we must confront the threat to

progress that is bds . arthur brooks is right, the way we confront it is every community, every college, every neighborhood and every city, let's have this debate and prove bds is wrong . as i conclude let me tell you about a moment i will never forget. once my family was invited to a shabbos dinner any brooklyn home and a wonderful older woman named freda was seated next to my daughter who was just then 10 years old. at one point the conversation turned to frieda's life and it became profoundly serious and she talked about the loved ones she had lost and my daughter asked her, she asked how it was possible she lost so many of

her family. freda rolled up her sleeve and there were the numbers they tattooed on her arm in auschwitz. watching my little girl confront the worst consequences of anti-semitism was chilling and i could tell she would never see the world the same again. that moment that have a powerful truth to me and i think william faulkner said it best. the past is never dead, it is not even past. my friend never again means we must never forget the horrifying cost humanity has paid for anti-semitism. we must never tolerate indifference and complacency

with lethal consequences. we must never listen to those who tell us we no longer need to worry. as a progressive as a democrat and as an american i am here to say, we must never ever ask the jewish people to defend their lives alone. we must all stand beside you and america our good and progressive america must always protect the state of israel. thank you. >> shalom. our thoughts and prayers go out to the families whose homes were attacked by the rocket this morning in israel. the strong resilient people of