Thousands of people gathered on Tuesday for a rally in support of Israel on Manhattan’s East Side, PIX11 reported.
The rally, organized by UJA-Federation of New York and JCRC of New York, was held at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza at 47th Street and Second Avenue, located up the street from the Israeli consulate and near the United Nations building.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams were among the speakers at the rally, which was held in the wake of the Hamas attacks on Israel.
“I stand here to tell you that New Yorkers will never tolerate evil. Whether it's committed here in our homeland or in Israel, we will never, ever tolerate evil. In such moments of darkness and in cruelty, yes, we are called upon to pray for peace. But justice first. There must be justice for the slaughter of babies and children and grandmothers and families torn apart by the horror of what happened to their loved ones. And that's exactly what we're going to continue to do,” Hochul said in her remarks.
“People are experiencing deep, deep pain in our hearts. There are families, there are New York families who don't know the outcome of their loved ones at this point in time. This is not the end. This is just the end of the beginning. Because not only will we seek justice, we'll make sure that New Yorkers here in America, in our own state, are safe as well. You can count on our NYPD, our State Police, our Joint Terrorism Task Force. We stand together to protect every single one of you. We'll continue to protect you,” added the Governor.
“And I'll tell you, as Governor of the State of New York, I am so proud to govern a state that has the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel. I'm proud of that. You're proud of that. We are all proud of that. And I'll continue to fight antisemitism every place it rears its ugly head. We will defeat evil right here in New York. Let's win this, everyone. Let's stick together. New York stands with Israel,” she stated.
Mayor Adams wrote about the rally in a post on X, writing, “We understand the pain of a terrorist attack in New York City. New York City stands with Israel. Always.”