Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion spoke on Sunday at the Arutz Sheva-Israel National News Jerusalem Conference in New York City.
“We are here today many miles from Jerusalem, but we are among true friends,” said Lion, who praised New York City Mayor Eric Adams as “one very special friend”.
“Mayor Adams, from the first moment of this terrible war, after the terrible crimes of Hamas on October 7th, you stood in solidarity with Israel and all the people of Jerusalem, and Israel and the Jewish community here and around the world appreciate you very much,” he added, before thanking Adams “for being a mensch.”
Speaking about the Arutz Sheva news website, Lion said that “it is not just a news site, it is a community that helps build bridges between Israel and Jews and non-Jews, friends of Israel all over the world and I wish you many more years of success.”
“Israel is still under the shadow of a terrible war,” the Jerusalem Mayor continued. “125 of our brothers and sisters are being held hostages by a brutal enemy. We all call for their immediate release. We all pray for their immediate release, and the whole world must do everything it can to bring them home.”
“History will look back at these days and remember many things, but above everything, it will remember the great resilience of the Jewish people. I'm so proud of the people of Jerusalem. In the last months, Jerusalem has welcomed about 35,000 Israelis from the north and south who have had to leave their homes because of terrorists on our borders firing missiles on their homes. We had to take care of their housing and welfare. Our schools created new classes for many new students. We also helped our sisters and brothers with clothes and baby food,” said Lion.
“Our own residents need help too, especially those in more difficult economic situations. Many families lost loved ones, more than 10% of the soldiers who have fallen are sons and daughters of our city,” he added. “Thousands more husbands, sons, brothers, mothers, daughters and sisters were called to reserve duty.”
“The economic impact on the city has also been significant. Many businesses have had to change the way they work, there have been very few tourists. But as I said, we are resilient. Jerusalem is resilient and strong in the face of all these challenges. We have stood up to the challenge.”
“I have more good news: We are continuing to build Jerusalem, across the whole city, for all the communities of the city, in academia, education, sport, music, culture and more,” the Mayor stated, adding, “Jerusalem is not waiting for the war to end. We know that victory is not just on the battlefield. Victory is choosing life and as we have said many times, Am Yisrael Chai.”
“I wish you all a wonderful conference and I look forward to welcoming you all in Jerusalem, with our hostages home, with our soldiers home, and as always, with our friends by our side,” concluded Lion.