NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Police are stepping up security at Jewish houses of worship and other sites across New York City as the High Holidays get underway and the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel approaches.
Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown Wednesday, a day after Iran launched a barrage of nearly 200 missiles at Israel, and as Israel continues to combat Hamas and Hezbollah on multiple fronts.
The five boroughs have the largest Jewish community in the world outside Israel, and police and city officials said they’re taking the precautionary step of ramping up security at high-profile places like synagogues.
The one-year anniversary of Hamas’ deadly terror attack on Israel falls next Monday, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. And this all comes amid the backdrop of the escalating conflict in the Mideast. Indeed, the U.N. Security Council convened an emergency meeting in New York on Wednesday to discuss the volatile situation in the region.
Watch the NYPD's security news conference:
At a briefing from 1 Police Plaza on Wednesday, Adams said, "this city's under watch," and the NYPD is working with its law enforcement partners at the local, state and federal levels.
"We will not accept for people to be threatened at their places of work, their places of worship, or any place here in New York City," the mayor said.
Among other measures, the NYPD has increased patrols citywide, including of its strategic response, aviation and K-9 teams, and has deployed additional cameras to supplement its domain of roughly 80,000 cameras, officials said. The additional patrols will be at houses of worship of all denominations and based on intelligence.
"There will be many protections that you will see and there will be many that you will not see," Adams said.
Officials stressed there are no credible threat to New York City, but they want residents and visitors to feel secure, especially as various protests and gatherings are planned to correspond with the Oct. 7 anniversary on Monday.
Rebecca Weiner, the NYPD deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism, noted it's been an "incredibly challenging year," with the terror attack against Israel leading to a conflict "engulfing the Middle East."
"Tensions as we know have been high and rising and polarization has run quite deep," Weiner said. "Oct. 7 and its aftermath have had a profound effect on the terrorism ecosystem, perhaps a generational one, galvanizing foreign terrorist organizations and their supporters across the ideological spectrum and around the world--Al-Qaida, ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), the far right, the far left—you name it."
Weiner said authorities are always working to "mitigate a threat before it materializes on our streets." She gave an example of a Pakistani national who was arrested near the U.S.-Canada border a few weeks ago while allegedly plotting to attack NYC.
"As alleged in the indictment against him, he was planning to conduct what would have been a horrific attack against a synagogue in Brooklyn to kill as many Jews as possible, coinciding with Oct. 7," Weiner said. "But thanks to the excellent work by officers assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force, FBI working with Canadian partners, his plans were thwarted from inception."
Weiner said that while authorities remain on high alert and residents are urged to remain vigilante, "We are here to assure you that New York City remains a very safe place for all."
The NYPD's Joint Operations Center will remain open through Yom Kippur "to ensure law enforcement can share information in real time and move resources exactly where they need to go," Weiner said.
The enhanced presence was visible Wednesday at Temple Emanu-El on the Upper East Side, where several heavily armed members of the NYPD were seen outside the synagogue, which is one of the largest in the world.
Rabbi Joshua Davidson said it’s a difficult time but, “We’re going to come together in solidarity with Jewish people around the world, and we feel secure.”
“I think the congregation is obviously concerned about what’s unfolding in Israel,” Davidson said. “The last year has clearly been a difficult one, because of the rise of antisemitism here in the United States.”
At Wednesday's news conference, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said there has been a 29% increase in reported hate crimes citywide so far this year—493 in 2024, compared to 381 at this time in 2023. Of those incidents, 56%, or 275, are categorized as anti-Jewish, the chief said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul addressed the issue Wednesday as well, saying that earlier this year, "knowing these dates were coming, I directed my administration to start preparing to enhance our security; heightening our surveillance and making sure we have a visible presence."
The governor said she has directed the state police to increase patrols around at-risk areas, including synagogues, yeshivas, community centers and mosques.
"You'll also see increased law enforcement presence at all critical infrastructure hubs, including major transit centers," Hochul said, adding the state has also increased its monitoring tools for social media to keep people from being radicalized by the "toxic stew" of hate online.