Andrew Cuomo stood in a Manhattan synagogue and said something simple and true: “The Jewish community is New York. There is no New York without the Jewish community.” He also admitted what many are feeling right now. “I’m sorry that we have to feel isolated in our own city.”
That sentence lands heavily when the Twin Towers come to mind. The skyline may be whole again, but memories of their fall never leave us. New Yorkers remember what hatred can do. Today, that same hatred—the kind that fueled the worst attack in our history—stirs once more in the open, now directed at the Jewish community that helped build the city itself.
Cuomo’s remarks weren’t only nostalgic. They were an appeal to courage. He reminded the crowd that leadership is not about chasing popularity but standing on principle. “Public opinion can sway from day to day. A real leader knows principles and sticks to their principles.”
The timing of his words couldn’t have been more striking. Just days earlier, mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani was photographed smiling beside Imam Siraj Wahhaj, a cleric with a long record of extremist rhetoric and ties to those convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Retired FBI agents who investigated that attack called the gesture “foolish,” warning that history’s lessons are being forgotten.
It is hard to see that photo without thinking of the families who still grieve those lost at the towers. It is harder still to imagine that a man (not friendly to the Jewish community) seeking to lead the very city once scarred by terrorism would embrace someone linked, however distantly, to those events. As one former agent said, “Everybody who is in politics should be aware of the people whose endorsement they’re getting.”
There’s something sacred about remembering rightly. When leaders forget, people suffer. When citizens grow complacent, hatred finds room to breathe. Cuomo’s challenge—to hold fast to principle—belongs to all of us.
Scripture reminds us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and to stand firm in the face of fear. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, for the Lord your God goes with you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6, NIV) In every generation, God calls His people to speak truth, to love steadfastly, and to stand with His chosen people even when it is unpopular to do so.
Today, that calling feels close to home. Pray for the Jewish families of New York who walk their neighborhoods with new caution. Pray for leaders willing to speak truth before the crowd turns against them. And pray that, once again, New York will be a place where light overcomes darkness.
Because there really is no New York without the Jewish community. And there is no America without the moral courage to defend it.
Today’s Prayer
Lord, remember New York and remember Your people. Give courage to leaders who tell the truth when it costs them. Protect the Jewish community in every borough. Teach us to pray, to speak, and to act with wisdom and love. Guard Israel and the Diaspora. In Jesus’ name, amen.
