(Courtesy of YU) In a special appearance before an enthusiastic crowd of more than 400 Yeshiva University (YU) and Washington Heights community members at Shenk Shul, Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY 13th District) took center stage and resoundingly demonstrated his support for Israel and the Jewish community:
“I am with YU, I am with the Jewish community, and I am with the State of Israel,” he said, earning a huge round of applause from the audience.
Accompanied by Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, Espaillat worked with YU to organize the Israel solidarity event on the evening of Oct. 31 after a small anti-Israel protest was held outside Espaillat’s district office the day before. With the crowd singing Hebrew prayers and the national anthems of both America and Israel, the event was a visible demonstration of the bedrock connection between the Latino and Jewish communities in Washington Heights that Espaillat represents in Congress, as well as the strong pro-Israel sentiment found in the local community.
“There are hard times ahead, but we will get through them, and we will win this fight, and Hamas will be defeated,” Espaillat, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to Israel after it was brutally attacked by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7.
“As our grief over the terror attacks breeds resolve, we will need to call on friends and allies to maintain support for Israel during its most difficult hour,” said Jon Greenfield, assistant vice president of government relations at YU and one of the organizers of the event. “In this we have no greater friend than congress member Espaillat. The congress member is a dear friend to Yeshiva University and a staunch ally of Israel. We were proud to bring our community together and stand with him as he continues to stand up for Israel in the House of Representatives.”
“Yeshiva University and the greater Washington Heights Jewish community were honored to host Congressman Espaillat to show our appreciation for his efforts in Congress on our behalf and on behalf of the State of Israel,” said Rabbi Dr. Yosef Kalinksy, dean of undergraduate Torah studies at Yeshiva University. “We came together to give each other strength through song and solidarity.”
Further deepening his point on the connection between the Jewish community and the overall Washington Heights neighborhood, Espaillat told attendees that just as YU and the Jewish community didn’t abandon the neighborhood during the crack epidemic of the ‘90s, he wasn’t going to abandon the Jewish community and would continue to stand with Israel.
Also speaking at the event were Rabbi Kalinsky, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and Lior Morgenshtern, a YU student who served in the IDF and spoke about her friends and neighbors who were captured and killed by Hamas.
