The leadership of the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club, along with Democratic State Committee Member Michael Heller, issued a statement in the wake of the Hamas attacks on Israel on Saturday, Oct. 7, in which they said they stand with Israel and unequivocally condemn the terrorist attacks on Israel and her people.

 

“We are further disgusted by pro-Palestinian groups in the United States that have applauded the horrific actions taken against Israel in the last 24 hours,” the members wrote. “We agree with the statements made by Council Member Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11), Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) and Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15), and we call on all our New York public and party officials to immediately condemn Hamas as well as the Democratic Socialists of America for holding a rally in NYC today in support of Palestine while Hamas commits war crimes by attacking, kidnapping, and killing Israeli civilians- men, women, and children.”

 

The members added, “We further condemn statements by The Jewish Voice for Peace and Jews for Racial & Economic Justice for blaming Israel for these attacks.” In a follow-up statement on Monday, Oct. 9, the group added, ““In the wake of the shameful display in Times Square on Oct. 8 by the Democratic Socialists of America, we call upon elected officials who have supported or have been endorsed by the DSA to denounce them immediately. “

 

The Jewish Voice for Peace had written, in part, in an Oct. 7 statement in response to the latest Hamas attacks, “We grieve the lives of those already lost and remain committed to a future where every life is precious, and all people live in freedom and safety. Following 16 years of Israeli military blockade, Palestinian fighters from Gaza launched an unprecedented assault, in which hundreds of Israelis were killed and wounded, and civilians kidnapped.”

The group continued, “The Israeli government declared war, launching airstrikes, killing hundreds of Palestinians and wounding thousands, bombing residential buildings and threatening to commit war crimes against besieged Palestinians in Gaza. The Israeli government may have just declared war, but its war on Palestinians started over 75 years ago. Israeli apartheid and occupation — and United States complicity in that oppression — are the source of all this violence. Reality is shaped by when you start the clock.”

 

They added, “For the past year, the most racist, fundamentalist, far-right government in Israeli history has ruthlessly escalated its military occupation over Palestinians in the name of Jewish supremacy with violent expulsions and home demolitions, mass killings, military raids on refugee camps, unrelenting siege and daily humiliation. In recent weeks, Israeli forces repeatedly stormed the holiest Muslim sites in Jerusalem.

 

For 16 years, the Israeli government has suffocated Palestinians in Gaza under a draconian air, sea and land military blockade, imprisoning and starving two million people and denying them medical aid. The Israeli government routinely massacres Palestinians in Gaza; ten-year-olds who live in Gaza have already been traumatized by seven major bombing campaigns in their short lives.”

 

Meanwhile, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice also released a statement following the attacks, which is attached in full above.

 

As reported, on Saturday night, Jewish Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), who represents many of the Jewish communities based in the northwest Bronx, and New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul had denounced the planned rally on Sunday, Oct. 8, in Times Square organized by the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. The rally was organized a day after the Associated Press and other media outlets reported that Hamas militant group said it was holding “dozens” of Israeli soldiers captive in the Gaza Strip as part of Hamas’s attacks on Israel on Saturday.

According to AP, Abu Obeida, spokesman for the group’s military wing, said the soldiers, including some officers, were captured during a surprise infiltration into southern Israel on Saturday. Eyewitness News ABC7NY reported on Saturday night that at least 300 are dead and thousands are injured in Israel and Gaza after Hamas launched rocket attacks on Saturday. ABC News reported that number had increased to 600 on Sunday.

https://x.com/TheInsiderPaper/status/1711075873741312021?s=20

As various federal, State, City and local elected officials publicly denounced the terrorist attack throughout Saturday, the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America announced the planned rally, writing, “Tomorrow [Sunday], October 8, at 1PM. Times Square. In solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to resist 75 years of occupation and apartheid.”

 

The group also wrote, “DSA is steadfast in expressing our solidarity with Palestine. Today’s events are a direct result of Israel’s apartheid regime—a regime that receives billions in funding from the United States. End the violence. End the Occupation. Free Palestine. We unequivocally condemn the killing of all civilians. It is imperative for international human rights law to be respected. But we cannot forget that the Israeli state has systematically denied Palestinians the right to self-determination for decades.”

 

The assemblyman reacted to news of the rally, writing, “NYC-DSA is holding a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people Sunday, on Simchas Torah, and the day after the Iranian-backed Hamas launched its attacks on Israeli civilians.” Dinowitz added, “It seems NYC-DSA is happy hundreds of Israelis have been viciously murdered. This is a sickening display of antisemitism.”

 

Earlier on Saturday, the assemblyman had issued an earlier statement in response to the attacks, saying, “I stand with Israel today and always. I support Israel’s response to the savage attacks against civilians by the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists. These terrorists have launched thousands of rockets against Israeli civilians and kidnapped, beaten, and killed civilians.”

He continued, “Israel not only has a right to defend itself but must respond in the most substantial possible way against these barbaric attacks without regard to proportionality. We must continue to unequivocally stand with Israel and their right to eliminate terrorists who have attacked the Jewish state.”

 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also reacted to news of the planned rally, writing, “The people of Israel are facing violent terrorist attacks and civilian kidnappings. I condemn plans to rally in Times Square tomorrow in support of the perpetrators of these horrific actions,” she said. “The planned rally is abhorrent and morally repugnant.”

 

The New York Daily News reported that the Israeli Consulate in New York held its own rally Sunday afternoon on East 43rd Street, steps away from the pro-Palestinian demonstration organized by the DSA. No violence was reported at either event, though tensions were high, according to the Daily News. The outlet later reported on Monday that at least nine Americans have died in the latest violence between Hamas and Israel, according to a U.S. official.

 

Congressman Ritchie Torres also released a statement on Sunday, condemning the rally.

 

A statement was also released on Sunday from the chairman of the New York Democrats, Jay S. Jacobs, who wrote, “The rally in support of the terrorist violence against the State of Israel, promoted by the group that refers to themselves as the “Democratic Socialists of America” is repugnant to everything that our country and this Democratic Party stands for.”

 

He continued, “The surprise attack against innocent civilians, numbers of who were kidnapped and taken hostage by a terrorist organization should be universally and categorically condemned by all parties in our political process. The New York State Democratic Party strongly condemns the “NYC-DSA” whose support of a rally that sought to justify the wholly unjustifiable acts of wonton violence, terrorism, kidnapping and murder that was perpetrated on the people of Israel this weekend.”

 

Meanwhile, New York State Young Republican chair Peter Giunta released a statement on Sunday evening, saying, “It took the New York Democrats more than 24 hours after first being called out by the New York State Young Republicans to denounce today’s DSA-orchestrated rally of terrorist sympathizers celebrating the massacre in Israel.” He added, “It is embarrassing that it took a major political party so long to make such a statement — but we’re glad to see that, after our persistent prompting, they did the right thing.”

 

Giunta concluded, “Young Republicans will not only stand against anti-Semitism and Jew hatred, we will also FIGHT it and anyone who enables it. Now we’re calling on the New York State Young Democrats to do the same.”

 

As reported, as he wound up his trip to Central America to assess how his administration can address the increasing influx of migrants at the southern border, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and a number of other elected officials released statements on Saturday in response to the attacks. Adams described them as “an unprovoked and cowardly attack against Israel and its citizens.” 

The mayor said, “New York City has the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel, and we stand side by side with Israel every day, but we do so with extra resolve today in light of Hamas’ unprovoked terrorist attacks directed at the country and its people. I was on the ground in Israel less than two months ago and personally saw those of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian faiths living in peace side-by-side. Today’s attack, coming at the end of what is supposed to be a celebratory time at the end of the Jewish High Holy days, is nothing more than a cowardly action by a terrorist organization seeking to undo that peace and divide us into factions. That won’t happen.”

 

He continued, “We have resources on the ground in Israel gathering intelligence, and we are continually monitoring multiple channels to identify any potential threats, both here and abroad. I am also communicating directly with Police Commissioner Caban and Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism Weiner about the situation. While there is no credible threat to New York City at this time, our administration is in touch with Jewish leaders across the five boroughs, and we have directed the NYPD to deploy additional resources to Jewish communities and houses of worship citywide to ensure that our communities have the resources they need to make sure everyone feels safe.”

 

Adams extended New York City’s sincerest condolences to the families of the victims lost in the attacks. “[We] hope that not another family has to experience the pain of losing a loved one,” he said. 

 

City Councilman Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11), who is also Jewish, the son of Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, and who also represents many of the same Jewish communities based in the northwest Bronx, had also released a statement in response to the attacks on Saturday, writing, “Hamas terrorists have infiltrated Israeli towns and launched thousands of missiles, including into Jerusalem. I proudly stand with Israel as they face this unprecedented attack.”

 

As reported, the councilman released a statement on July 26, 2021 in support of over 50 professors at the City University of New York who resigned from their union, the Professional Staff Congress of CUNY (PSC-CUNY), in response to a resolution passed by the union on June 10 which condemned Israeli government actions against Palestinians during the latest wave of violence which occurred in Gaza in May and June 2021.

 

The council also later denounced the pro-Palestinian rally in Times Square, saying, “NYC-DSA gathers to celebrate the kidnapping and murder of Israeli civilians The DSA is nothing more than a vehicle for anti semitic violence here in NYC and across the nation While they celebrate, countless Israelis will still be held in captivity or lie dead in the street.”

 

He also said he had attended a security briefing with the mayor and other elected officials on Sunday morning, adding he was also in communication with the mayor’s office and with the NYPD “regarding the safety of New Yorkers.”

 

According to Fordham University’s Center for Jewish Studies, The Bronx, in the 1930s through the early 1950s was home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the United states. The South Bronx alone had some 360,000 Jews, 260 registered synagogues, and according to Dr. Seymour J. Perlin, at least twice as many unregistered ones.

Since then, according to Perlin, most Jews have moved to the suburbs. However, a number of synagogues are still to be found in the northwest of the borough in neighborhoods like Riverdale, as well as in Van Cortlandt Village, Allerton, Pelham Parkway, Morris Park, Co-op City and other areas of the borough which still has a fairly large Jewish community of more than 20,000 people.

 

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is also Jewish, said the enormous loss of life was gut-wrenching. “I am appalled at the viciousness of the attack by Hamas on innocent Israeli civilians. I expressed my commitment to top Biden admin officials, and directly to Amb. Herzog, to do all I can to deliver everything Israel requires.” He later provided a more lengthy update, copied above, on what the Biden administration was doing to support Israel.

 

Schumer later said on Sunday in reaction to the Times Square rally, “I can’t think of anything more ill-timed and cold-hearted than today’s demonstration in Times Square. We’ve seen unprecedented viciousness coming from Hamas aimed at innocent families and children. Everyone—no matter your views—should condemn this brutal act.”

 

According to Council on Foreign Relations, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict dates back to the end of the nineteenth century. In 1947, the United Nations adopted Resolution 181, known as the Partition Plan, which sought to divide the British Mandate of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was created, sparking the first Arab-Israeli War. The war ended in 1949 with Israel’s victory, but 750,000 Palestinians were displaced, and the territory was divided into 3 parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank (of the Jordan River), and the Gaza Strip.

 

A breakdown as of Oct. 7, 2023, excluding the latest attacks, of the deaths incurred by both Israel and Palestine since the conflict began is attached, sourced from the United Nations.

The Jewish community recently celebrated Yom Kippur for Hebrew Year 5784 which began on Sunday, 24 Sept., and ended on Monday, 25 Sept.

 

As reported, there have been a number of hate crimes and other crimes reported in The Bronx in which Jewish community members have been targeted.

 

Norwood News reported on a number of attacks on various Jewish synagogues in 2021 in the northwest Bronx. A man was later arrested and charged in connection with the incidents. Riverdale resident Michael Horowitz later wrote an op-ed on those incidents for Norwood News.

 

Meanwhile, earlier in 2023, as reported, the Muslim community were also targeted and three mosques were broken into in the north Bronx during the holy month of Ramadan. As also reported, the borough president, in conjunction with the Bronx Interfaith Council, hosted a National Day of Prayer on May 4.

 

Earlier this year, on April 25, the mayor announced that various City landmarks, including City Hall, would be lit in blue and white in honor of Israeli Independence Day, marking the 75^th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel.

 

I24 News reported on Saturday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said of the latest attacks, “Protection must be provided to our people, and we affirm the right of the Palestinian people to defend themselves against the terrorism of settlers and occupation forces.”

 

Click here to read our previous story on Saturday, Oct. 7, covering reaction from various elected officials to the Hamas attacks and here for some previous coverage on this topic from 2021.