As the ceasefire ended Friday and fighting resumed between Israel and Hamas, anti-Israel protests and demonstrations are continuing as well. In New York City and other parts of New York state, it has gone beyond simple protesting as 15 New York City synagogues received bomb threats early Friday morning. The Community Security Initiative (CSI), which coordinates security for various Jewish institutions in the New York City Area, reported that threats were made against five synagogues in Manhattan, two in Brooklyn, one on Long Island, two in surrounding Westchester County, and five other areas of upstate New York.
The sleeping monster of antisemitism was awakened by the merciless slaughter and rape of innocent civilians.
It’s finally clear that Jews will survive on this planet if, and only if, they respond to terrorism with an unrelenting ferocity.
Hamas must be obliterated. #October7
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) November 27, 2023
CSI stated that the threats appeared to be designed to merely disrupt operations at the synagogues and thankfully did not appear to be a real danger to the sanctuaries. Several of the threats were sent via email but were later found not to be credible, although some threats have caused services to be evacuated. One of the threats read, “There are multiple explosives inside the synagogue. These explosives will go off in a few hours and I will make history. I will make sure you all die.” All locations were swept by law enforcement and were given the all-clear.
Since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, Jews around the world and here in the United States have seen a sharp spike in hate crimes. In New York City alone, Jews are the victims of hate crimes more than any other group. Nationally, crimes related to antisemitism have risen a whopping 388 percent since the beginning of the conflict.
Thankfully, while the threats in New York City were deemed not credible, the protests and demonstrations by pro-Palestinian supporters are showing no signs of letting up, and they’re also getting more aggressive and violent. Last week in Los Angeles, pro-Palestinian protesters ignited smoke bombs and threw fake blood onto the driveway at the home of the president of a pro-Israel organization. College campuses have become hotbeds of antisemitism. Last month, Jewish students at Cooper Union were forced to shelter in place in a library as Hamas supporters were banging on the building’s glass walls. At Tulane University near New Orleans, two students were assaulted when a scuffle over someone trying to burn an Israeli flag began. At Cornell University, a message board was flooded with threats against Jewish students. Washington D.C. has not been immune to aggressive pro-Hamas protests as the Democrat National Headquarters when also last month, protesters clashed with Capitol Police, and Capitol Hill went into lockdown.
A kosher restaurant in Camden this morning.
But, yes, ‘it’s only about Israel’, as we’re always being told. pic.twitter.com/71JZUeXcKi
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) December 1, 2023
What is the Biden administration doing to combat things like the targeting of synagogues and Jewish Americans in general? In November, the administration launched what they called “the first-ever US National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia.” The move was roundly criticized on social media, being called “tone deaf.” Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) tweeted,
“After the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and a breakout of pro-Hamas activism on campus, the White House is claiming *Islamophobia* is our top concern.”
But what may be even more disturbing about the actions of the Biden administration was that the new initiative came just one day after a poll that showed that Joe Biden’s support among Arab-Americans had fallen to just 17 percent because of his support for Israel. The same poll showed that 40 percent of Arab Americans supported Donald Trump.
The ceasefire ended on Friday, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to eliminate Hamas for good. The pro-Palestinian protests will continue and will likely continue to be aggressive. There has been no further information regarding the New York synagogues that were targeted, but if this is taking place in New York, it unfortunately will not be long before it begins in other parts of the country.
THIS JUST IN: Early this morning, 15 New York synagogues were the targets of bombs threats, in a coordinated effort to interrupt synagogue operations.
Thank you to the @NYPDnews and our local elected officials for taking swift action and visiting these sites ensuring there was…
— Sydney Altfield (@sydneyaltfield) December 1, 2023
