New York City leadership is bolstering security around the Big Apple as they brace for unrest after former Hamas chief called for ‘Day of Jihad’ on Friday.
Mayor Eric Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul held a joint press conference Thursday where they announced an increased police presence around religious institutions, schools and transportation hubs and that the National Guard is on standby.
‘There is currently no intelligence showing any active threats in New York – that is the entire state of New York,’ said Hochul.
‘But in the moment fraught like this, we will continue to exercise elevated vigilance and impose measures to deteriorate any potential violence.’
Adams pledged to increase police visibility around the city and roll out extra security in vulnerable areas like Jewish communities.
Police patrol a neighborhood in Brooklyn with a large Orthodox Jewish community Thursday. New York City leadership has ramped up security ahead of expected protests
Members of the New York City Police Department Counterterrorism unit patrol in Times Square Thursday. A former Hamas leader has called for a ‘Day of Jihad’ on Friday
‘New York City is the most diverse city in the world, and protecting our residents is the most sacred responsibility that we have,’ said Adams.
‘We have directed the NYPD to surge additional resources to schools, houses of worship to ensure they are safe and that our city remains a place of peace.’
An alert from the NYPD stated: ‘The NYPD has planned enhanced protective deployments out of an abundance of caution at large gatherings, cultural sites, and houses of worship among other locations to ensure public safety and security.’
NYPD is beefing up security at all 77 precincts, including entrances, exits and parking areas, and has activated its Joint Operations Center through Sunday at police headquarters in lower Manhattan.
Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal called for so called ‘Day of Rage’ around the world on Friday.
‘[We must] head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday,’ said Meshaa.
‘Tribes of Jordan, sons of Jordan, brothers and sisters of Jordan… This is a moment of truth and the borders are close to you, you all know your responsibility.
‘To all scholars who teach jihad… to all who teach and learn, this is a moment for the application (of theories),’ he said in a recorded statement.
The city is anticipating for wide spread protests, similar to the ones over the weekend, but said they will not tolerate any violence.
‘We are deeply disturbed by the message of hate urging violence in our communities in this region and around the world. It is not acceptable,” Adams said.
On Sunday, a Palestinian protester waved a swastika at an anti-Israel rally in Times Square.
The governor said the National Guard has been activated and will patrol key transportation hubs.
Hochul encouraged citizens to not let terror win and continue to send their children to school and go to their places of worship.
‘I understand the very human desire to protect your family and your kids. With that information going on, it’s something everybody will individually have to decide,’ she said.
During a joint press conference Thursday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said there is no specific threat against New York
Mayor Eric Adams pledged to increase police visibility around the city and condemned violence
Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (pictured) put out a video message calling for a day of jihad on Friday the 13th, and told Muslims to ‘take to the streets’ in protest against Israel
The New York Police Department has already ramped up their presence and instructed all members to show up in uniform, according to a message obtained by ABC News.
‘All uniformed members of the service are to perform duty in the uniform of the day – effective immediately and until further notice, all uniformed members of the service, in every rank, will perform duty in the uniform of the day and be prepared for deployment,’ the message said.
Dep. Cmsr. Rebecca Weiner with the NYPD Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division said officers are monitoring online postings by radical groups for potential threats.
‘We’re trying to make sure that violence doesn’t manifest on the streets of New York City,’ said Weiner.
‘There’s the part that you see, which involves a lot of officers, some of our counterterrorism officers, our Critical Response Command folks who are high visibility patrols, heavy weapons armed and trained responding to locations throughout the city, schools, houses of worship, sensitive locations.’
‘And then there’s the intelligence side, which is the part that you don’t see-the online monitoring for threats and making sure that we can anticipate whether there’s any reflection back to the city based on the overseas events,’ she said.
Many Jewish leaders fear that Hamas sympathizers will target Jews in New York on Friday.
‘We’re now seeing the capabilities that Hamas has, and it’s not crazy to think that can happen here when you have hundreds of people here who literally rallied to celebrate the deaths of innocent people,’ David Greenfield, CEO of the city-based Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, told DailyMail.com on Thursday.
‘There’s a palpable fear within the Jewish community,’ said Greenfield, who also served on the City Council for eight years. ‘Unfortunately, people are planning on curbing their activities tomorrow. I have people telling me they may not go to work tomorrow. They’re doing their pre-Shabat shopping, which normally would take place on Friday, today.’
NYPD has called on all officers to show up in uniform and is ramping up their presence in vulnerable areas
There is an increased police presence outside Barclays Center before a preseason game for Brooklyn Nets on Thursday
A person walks as police patrol a neighborhood in Brooklyn on Thursday. Police are investigating incidents that happened Wednesday that are possibly motivated by the war
Police, meanwhile, were investigating a string of possible bias crimes motivated by the war between Israel and Hamas.
WABC reported on several incidents Wednesday, including two Jewish residents in Brooklyn who allegedly grabbed a Palestinian flag from two men and used it to strike one of them over the head; two teens allegedly shot pellet guns outside a synagogue in Brooklyn; a Middle Eastern 18-year-old allegedly kicked and punched by a man waving an Israeli flag; and an Israeli at Columbia University was allegedly struck by an 19-year-old ripping down fliers he’d posted.
New York Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, an Orthodox Jew who represents Brooklyn’s Borough Park and Midwood, shared his own anxiety about a rise in anti-Semitism as he rode the subway Thursday afternoon.
‘I’m not going to lie to you, it’s certainly a very different subway ride right now,’ Eichenstein told DailyMail.com. ‘I look to my right. I look to my left. There’s no doubt, there is more tension in the air.
‘The idea that people are coming out Friday in response to a call from the head of a terrorist network, of course it’s a concern,’ he said. ‘And when people see not only what happened in Israel but, following that terror attack, to see people in New York City, elected officials and organizations, cheering it on, yes people are very concerned.’
In the Middle East, the Israeli death toll has reached more than 1,300 and Gaza authorities said more than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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