Local News | NYC Mayor Adams speaks at vigil for Israel as…

Local News

NYC Mayor Adams speaks at vigil for Israel as New Yorkers fear for family in
Middle East

Gardiner Anderson for NYDN

Mayor Eric Adams speaks at a rally in support of Israel on Broadway and West 39th Street in Manhattan, New York City on Monday, October 9, 2023. (Gardiner
Anderson for NYDN)

By Roni Jacobson and Elizabeth Keogh | ekeogh@nydailynews.com | New York Daily News
PUBLISHED: October 9, 2023 at 8:27 p.m. | UPDATED: October 10, 2023 at 9:39 a.m.

Dozens of New Yorkers held a Monday night vigil for victims of Palestinian militants’ unprecedented
weekend attack on Israel.

Speaking at Golda Meir Square in Midtown, Mayor Adams condemned the assault as “antisemitism at
the highest level.”

“Yes, I stand with Israel. Yes, I stand with the Jewish people. But most importantly, I stand with
humanity,” he said to roughly 100 attendees. “That terrorist act that we saw cannot be defended
anywhere on this globe. You cannot rationalize it.”

Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News

Mayor Eric Adams lights a candle at a rally in support of Israel on Broadway and W. 39th St. in Manhattan, New York on Monday,
October 9, 2023. (Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)

Adams again denounced a pro-Palestinian rally held Sunday in Time Square — where a protester
flashed an image of a swastika on his cell phone — as Israel declared war against Hamas and launched
a massive bombardment of Gaza.

“Iam watching what is playing out across the country,” the mayor said of the hate symbol. “I’m
watching protests where people are carrying swastikas. … The same swastika symbols were used
when African-Americans were attempting to fight for their freedom and their right to exist. This cuts
across all lives.

“All I can say to you as a New Yorker and mayor of our city of diversity, it is a painful day.”

At least 11 Americans were killed in Israel in the surprise attack, President Biden said Monday.

Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News

Demonstrators attend a rally in support of Israel on Broadway and W.t 39th St. in Manhattan, New York on Monday, October 9,
2023. (Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)

Vigil attendee Leon Khanin, 26, said he lives in New York with his mom but the rest of their family is

near Tel Aviv.

“I’m scared for my family, and I’m scared for the state of the world. It’s truly tragic,” he told the Daily
News.

“It’s uplifting for people in Israel to see,” Khan said of the Monday night vigil.

Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News

Supporters of Israel are pictured counter-protesting a group of Palestine supporters in front of the Israel Consulate located at 2nd
Ave. and 42nd St. in Midtown Manhattan on Monday, October 9, 2023. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News)

New Yorkers with family in Palestinian territories also voiced fear for their loved ones.

“It’sgonna be a disaster for both sides,” said Kasem Mahmoud, 36. “I wake up this morning, [and] I

don’t even want to come to work.”

Mahmoud, owner of Al-Aqsa Bakery and Restaurant in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, fears for his mother, who
is in Gaza.

“She is stuck there,” Mahmoud said. “Every 20 minutes I call her. I don’t even want to deal with
customers, I just want to watch the news.”

Roni Jacobson
Kasem Mahmoud, 36, owner of Al-Aqsa Bakery and Restaurant.

He said he finds solace amid the turmoil in a friendly neighbor with equally personal ties to the conflict
overseas.

“Ihave a Jewish neighbor, and we’re texting each other,” Mahmoud said. “He’s asking about my family
back home, I’m asking about his family.

“At war, who dies? Innocent people,” he added. “Everybody is going to worry about their own side, but
you have to be human.”

A Palestinian man who works at a nearby restaurant echoed the sentiment.

“Honestly, I always feel bad for people on both sides because it’s always the women and children and
civilians that get hit the hardest,” said Ahmed Mohammed, 39. “Even though I am Palestinian, I still feel
bad for the Israeli civilians.”

Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News

Pro-Palestine protesters are pictured in front of the Israel Consulate at 2nd Ave. and 42nd St. in Midtown Manhattan on Monday,
October 9, 2023. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News)

Mohammed’s family lives in the West Bank.

“It’s been 65 years of this. They’re used to it,” Mohammed said of his family. “It is possible, peace.”

Tasir Hamund, who owns Nablus Sweets in Bay Ridge, called for justice and adherence to international
law, noting “all his family” lives in Jerusalem, including his mother who “prays for peace” in the wake of
the violence.

“For the civilian Jewish hostages, I’m against that, but they have Palestinian hostages — women and
children — in jail,” Hamund said, referencing the blockade of the Gaza Strip. “The Palestinian people
suffer.”

2023 October 9

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