NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Thousands of people converged upon Times Square Thursday night -- including Sen. Chuck Schumer -- to demand the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas during its Oct. 7 terror attack in southern Israel. Mayor Eric Adams delivered remarks in a prerecorded address.
The "Bring Them Home Now" rally came the same day that the Israel Defense Forces increased the number of missing people to 203.
Schumer, the first Jewish Senate majority leader and the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the U.S, told the crowd, "we know what it is like to have people -- antisemites, vicious people -- always go after the Jews. In every generation they have risen to afflict us, but in every generation we have fought back like the Haggadah says."
The Democratic lawmaker, 72, spoke to a sea of people carrying posters of the missing Israelis. Many also held up Israeli and American flags and signs that read "New York Stands With Israel" and "I Stand With Israel."
The rally was organized by the Israeli American Council in conjunction with more than 30 community organizations.
Adams had been scheduled to speak in-person but instead delivered remarks via a prerecorded address due to scheduling issues,
"I want to thank the Israeli American Council for the work they are doing to advocate for the safe return of our brothers and sisters being held hostage by Hamas," Adams said. "Hamas’ despicable actions have created an atmosphere where innocent lives have been lost and others remain in danger."
He added, "Of the many important steps on the journey toward peace, the dismantling of Hamas and terrorist organizations must be a crucial part. In the name of all that is right, in the name of all that is just, every one of the hostages must be safely returned to their families and their homes. The road to peace begins with their release.”
The rally also included remarks by a New Jersey teen whose older brother is missing, a Long Island couple whose son is missing, and performances of "The Star Spangled Banner" and "Hatikvah," Israel's national anthem.