It’s not often that two of our editors drive out to Fair Lawn on a busy workday to meet with the mayor. But it was for more than an interview that made us rush to John Cosgrove’s side this week. It was to express thanks and solidarity to him for standing, constantly, for the security of all of Fair Lawn’s citizens, and particularly to its vibrant Jewish community.

You can read about why we went to Fair Lawn on page 1. In meeting Mayor Cosgrove, we were warmed by his strong, confident leadership which he has shared with the community in many capacities over the years. One of his first leadership roles in the community was as fire chief, and it was from these life experiences he realized that Fair Lawn’s beauty is its “strength in its diversity.”

What we found in Fair Lawn was not bullying, or anti-Semitism, or pro-Palestinianism. What we found was strong, confident leadership from a person who has spent his life working for Fair Lawn. “We are a shining example of a community that works together,” he told us.

We express hakarat hatov (gratitude) to Fair Lawn’s Marc Zharnest, who reached out to us late last week. It was Zharnest who has worked as one of many partners to Cosgrove in the Jewish community, and shared details on the communal response to the outrageous issue that continued to make national headlines into the weekend.

We wish to thank Mayor Cosgrove for taking the time to meet with us. We left his office feeling confident that the city of Fair Lawn is being sincerely led by a gentleman who is devoted to his constituents and seeing to it that their safety and human rights are being upheld on a daily basis.