“It’s quite clear we have more to do”
The progressive Democrat cut his teeth in politics as a political advisor to Mayor David Dinkins, when he had a front-row seat to the worst anti-Semitic violence in New York City history, the Crown Heights Riots of 1991. Ten years later, in an election initially postponed because of the attacks of September 11, 2001, he was elected to the city council representing parts of Boro Park.
Currently New York City’s 109th mayor, de Blasio has been confronted with the worst violence against Jews since the 1990s. Jewish residents are being beaten, taunted, kicked, and punched on a daily basis, primarily in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Three back-to-back bloodlettings — one in Jersey City, another in Monsey a month ago, and a third in Monsey last weekend — have lent an urgency to a growing epidemic.
Our interview with Mayor de Blasio took place last week following a meeting he held with representatives of the Orthodox community in Boro Park. Reports emerging from that meeting indicated that de Blasio was accused by some of attempting to shirk blame for the violence by pointing a finger at President Trump.
But while the mayor has been a consistent member of the Democratic resistance to Trump, he has also claimed part of the president’s constituency in the city as his own — the Orthodox community. Orthodox Jews have voted in large numbers for Trump, and have also backed de Blasio’s three citywide races.
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