New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani drew parallels with Israel Sunday as he spoke of the determination of New Yorkers in the face of the devastating terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
"We experienced what they experienced," said Giuliani in a telephone address to a ceremony renaming Jerusalem's main thoroughfare Jaffa Street as New York Street in memory of the thousands who died in the September 11 attacks.
"I see in the eyes of the people of New York exactly the same thing as I saw in the eyes of the people of Jerusalem when I was there with you," said Giuliani, who visited Jerusalem during the 1996 bus bombings.
"And that is confidence and a determination that the form of government we have is the form of government that will prevail -- democracy, freedom and the rule of law."
The New York mayor said that five years ago he wondered how Israelis could go about their normal way of life in the face of terrorism.
"We feel we are now totally united with the people of Jerusalem. We experienced what they experienced, and hopefully we're going to have the same courage and the same determination."
Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert spoke of the "solidarity and sympathy" of Israelis and New Yorkers at the ceremony during which a rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" was played amidst traditional Israeli music.
Jerusalem's Jaffa Street has been the focus of several terrorist attacks in recent years, including a suicide bombing in a pizzeria last month which killed 15 diners and injured about 100 people -- JERUSALEM (AFP)
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