Mayor of New York City in Jerusalem Meets Religious Leaders

Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze representatives welcomed the 110th Mayor of the New York City in Jerusalem.

The mayor, a self-professed man of faith, told the religious leaders welcoming him to the city that rising global tensions demand that people convert their religious principles into actions.

“We are now at a moment that I believe we have to transcend our desire and our faith to move from being worshipers to practitioners,” he said. “What we learn in our churches, synagogues and mosques cannot remain in the sterilized environment of our places of faith,” the mayor continued.

Sheikh Khalid Abu Ras, echoed Adams’ sentiment, saying that: “The plurality of views making up the Israeli mosaic is the challenge that, if handled with care, can bring us to a wider and more beautiful space.”

Similarly, Fr. Aghan Gogchian, the Chancellor of the Armenian Apostolic Patriarchate of Jerusalem, stressed the need for tolerance.

“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate,” he said. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.”

Here is the complete speech of Fr. Gogchian:

The Honorable Mayor, His Excellency Mayor Eric Adams, distinguished guests and dear friends,

It is a great privilege and honor to be speaking with you this evening at this auspicious gathering. Mayor Adams, I welcome you on behalf of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem, and all of Christian Jerusalem. Your presence here tonight is another clear sign that the fight against Anti-Semitism is heavily armed with forces for good, and that those who fight against the evil and hatred of this world will never run out of the support of public figures such as yourself.

A genocide forgotten is a genocide repeated. This saying rings as near to my heart as it rings true for a few reasons. Being ethnically Armenian with both sides of my family being traced back to the Armenian Genocide, having spent the last 20 years of my life in Israel as a student and now priest, and even also having family members currently ensieged in the blockade of the Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh, I choose not to forget. The attempts to systematically wipe out a people based off of their race, religion, or ethnicity is unfortunately always a threat. Recognizing Anti-Semitism is not just an attempt to commemorate the countless lives lost in the horrors of the Holocaust. Recognizing Anti-Semitism is a preventative measure that not only forces hatred out of the dark corners it often hides but stops it from manifesting into something physical. Something tragic. And so once again, on behalf of the Christians in Jerusalem, I thank you Mayor Adams, and all of you that have joined us this evening.

In 2018, while pursuing my studies at the Hebrew University here in Jerusalem, I took a class on the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. It was my first ever exposure to the figures, literature, and history surrounding a period of American history tainted with hate and bigotry, but overcome with faith, hope, and civil disobedience. Early in the course I came across a quote that has never left me, from none other than the good Reverend Doctor King himself, and I would like to leave it with you all here, tonight, to reflect upon.

"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Thank you all.