Thank you Mayor Mamdani???

On the 9^th of Av Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote in a post on social media: “Wishing a peaceful Tisha B’Av to Jewish New Yorkers across the five boroughs”.

This was a genuine change from his pronouncements from the day before that he was studying ways to arrest Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This greeting would seem to indicate a newfound appreciation based on his research of Jewish history and dreams.

He surely now understands that on the 9^th of Av we Jews recall the tragedies and disasters that have befallen us over the past millennia.

On this 9^th day of Av we grieve, among other catastrophes, the destruction of both Temples that existed on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

We mourn the conquest of our land and the exile of our people by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Romans, as well as the religious persecution imposed by the Greeks.

We mourn the exiling of men women and children by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Romans.

We mourn the damage and destruction of Jewish houses of study, worship, and prayer including synagogues, then as well as today.

We mourn the burning of Jewish texts and attempted suppression of Jewish thought, philosophy and history, then as well as today.

We mourn the false arrests, detention, and execution of Jewish leaders and rabbis, then as well as today.

We mourn the kidnapping and taking hostage of innocent men, women, and children by Christians and Muslims, both then and today. This is particularly personal as it includes my family and me who were kidnapped and held hostage by Arabs in September 1970.

We mourn the destruction of Jewish communities whose members were invited to help build neighborhoods, cities, and nations, only to be betrayed by neighbors and leaders who incited attacks, pogroms, arrests, expulsions, and murder, ultimately destroying those very communities.

We also pray to God to help us realize the speedy rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem and the continued building and prospering of the State of Israel.

In view of what this day commemorates and means to the Jewish people, the mayor’s greetings and wishes for this Tisha B’Av are greatly appreciated.

Unless this is just another publicity stunt…