At a time when the world is sorely in need of encouragement and unity, New York City Mayor Eric Adams stood before a crowd, outside the United Nations building in Manhattan, at the “New York Stands With Israel” rally Tuesday. His message echoed the grim reality of the war unfolding in Israel and the Gaza Strip and affirmed the city’s support for the Jewish state.

“We are not alright,” Adams declared, a statement underscoring the travesty befalling Israeli and Palestinian civilians.

The mayor acknowledged the situation on the ground in Israel and addressed those in the city supporting Hamas:

We are not all right when we see young girls pulled from their home and dragged through the streets. We are not all right when we see grandmothers being pulled away from their homes and children shot in front of their families. We are not all right when right here in the City of New York, you have those who celebrate at the same time when the devastation is taking place in our city.

Thank you @nycmayor for not only standing with Israel and Jews worldwide, but doing so with such powerful words and empathy. Please share this video far and wide so it can bring some level of comfort and strength to a nation in such a dark hour.

Video Credit: Rafael Elias pic.twitter.com/UEP4TBebD1

— Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (@InnaVernikov) October 13, 2023

He continued, expanding on the “we are not alright” motif:

We are not all right when Hamas believes that they are fighting on behalf of something and their destructive, despicable action that [sic] carried out. We are not all right when we still have hostages who have not come home to their family. We are not all right, and we're not going to say we have a stiff upper lip and act like everything is fine. Everything is not fine. Israel has a right to defend itself, and that's the right that we know.

Adams expressed solidarity with the people of Israel and the Jewish community in America. “Your fight is our fight,” he intoned. “And right here in New York, we have the largest Jewish population outside of Israel. This is the place that our voices must raise and cascade throughout the entire country.”

Finally, the mayor vowed that "every person responsible for this act is held accountable. We don't have to pretend." He also thanks the leaders in the city "of all religious groups" for reaching out to his office.

Amid the airstrikes and reports of over 2,000 lives lost in the fighting so far, Adams’ speech seemed intended to bring the conflict closer to home. Given that New York City understands what it means to be on the receiving end of a radical extremist terrorist attack, his words ring even truer.

Adams’ remarks come as Israel has laid siege to the Gaza Strip, the territory Hamas controls. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have reportedly sent ground troops into the region to eliminate the terrorist threat.

However, the issue could be metastasizing outside of the Middle East. A former Hamas leader designated Friday as a “Day of Rage” and exhorted Muslims all over the world to engage in violence to avenge the Palestinians. Terrorists have killed Jewish people in France and China so far. These occurrences seem to underscore Adams’ words: “We are not alright.”