New York lawmakers come together to denounce Hamas' brutal attack on Israel
NEW YORK -- Local politicians may not see eye to eye on everything, but they came together with one voice to support Israel on Monday, denouncing Hamas as a terrorist organization and defending Israel's right to respond strongly to the the weekend attacks.
New York City has the largest Jewish population outside Israel and while many of our elected officials are not Jewish, they stood shoulder to shoulder with their constituents in shared horror at the surprise attack, which left a path of death and destruction that was simply indescribable.
READ MORE: What we know about the Hamas attack on Israel, and Israel's response in Gaza
A Queens rabbi sang a prayer for the safety of security of Israel as hundreds gathered in Kew Gardens, Queens, to share fears and concerns about loved ones in Israel who endured attacks of unimaginable cruelty.
"Let's be clear: this was terrorism, plain and simple," Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said.
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Speaker after speaker talked of families slaughtered, women and children taken hostage, and nodded approval at the words of Tsach Saar, Israel's consul general in New York, who called it a massacre and vowed retribution.
"It's the deadliest day of the history of the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and I promise you there's not going to be a retaliation. This is an unprecedented act that will be responded to with an unprecedent response in order to make sure that these atrocities will never return," Saar said.
Queens Congressman Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, promised to do everything in his power to make sure Israel has the support it needs for the United States to defeat Hamas.
"Each and every place where they are, where they're hiding weapons and munitions, must be destroyed," Meeks said.
READ MORE: Protesters on both sides of Israel-Gaza conflict expected to face off again in New York City
Meeks and Rep. Grace Meng said Congress, which has been bitterly divided, would come together as one.
"We will not tolerate politicizing the protection of the people of Israel," Meng said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams also voiced support for Israel before marching in the Columbus Day Parade. Both are upset about a demonstration in Times Square on Sunday by the Democratic Socialists of America.
"I'm still stunned that people would gather at a time and celebrate an attack like that, that is one of the most horrific in mankind," Hochul said.
"I think it spoke volumes. On one of the photos you saw a swastika. A swastika is not only something that cuts at the heart of the Jewish community, but many people in the African-American community," Adams said.
Monday was not the last rally you'll see in New York in support of Israel. There's one at the United Nations on Tuesday night and there will probably be others, because, as speaker after speaker pointed out, it was the worst day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.