New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind of Brooklyn said he will celebrate the Purim holiday next week in Purim. "If children are not safe in Sderot, then they are not safe in Jerusalem as was evidenced with the tragic murder of eight yeshiva students on Thursday," he stated.

Hikind will lead a solidarity mission to Sderot for three days, beginning next Thursday and will distribute traditional "mishloach manot" (gifts of food] to residents, according to Yeshiva World News. "The residents must see that they are not alone in this war that has been forced on them by Hamas and Hizbullah," Hikind added. "For three days and three nights, I will walk with them on Sderot’s streets, escort children to school as they do, sleep as they do, always waiting for the red alert to sound its wailing call to vigilance and safety."