Police were seen stationed outside the Van Cortlandt Jewish Center at 3880 Sedgwick Avenue in Van Cortlandt Village on Wednesday, Oct. 2, while inside congregants presumably celebrated the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, marking the new year in Judaism.

 

Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who, as reported, pleaded not guilty to federal bribery charges on Sept. 27 in the context of an investigation into his campaign finances in the context of his 2021 mayoral campaign, and who has moved to dismiss the case, attended an NYPD security briefing, together with leaders from the Jewish community, reassuring Jewish New Yorkers of their safety in the lead up to the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel.

 

Amid a decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict over territory and human rights, the attack prompted what many regard as a disproportionate military response in Gaza by the Israeli government.

 

NPR reported on Oct. 2 that more than 1,200 Israelis, not all of whom were Jewish, died in the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, and 100 Israelis remain hostages of Hamas. AFP reported that Israel’s military bombing campaign in Gaza has killed at least 40,000 people as of August, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.