Shots were fired outside a synagogue in Albany, New York, on the first night of Hanukkah, Governor Kathy Hochul said.
Hochul took to X, formerly Twitter, to announce the shooting, which took place on Thursday at Temple Israel. She said that a 28-year-old man was in custody and no one was injured.
In the X thread, Hochul said, “Federal, state, & local law enforcement are investigating & I’ve spoken to the Rabbi, assuring her that the State will do everything in our power to restore the sense of security her community needs.”
Hochul added that she is directing state police and the New York National Guard “to be on high alert & increase existing patrols of at-risk sites.”
Noam Galai/Getty Images for Clinton Global Initiative
The governor spoke out against antisemitic attacks, which have surged across the world amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Undermining public safety at a synagogue on the first night of Hanukkah is deplorable. New Yorkers stand united against antisemitism, hate, & violence in all forms,” Hochul wrote.
Antisemitism has been on the rise ever since Israel advanced into Gaza following Hamas’ surprise attack in early October.
On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza. Israeli officials have said that 1,200 people in Israel were killed in Hamas’ attack, according to the Associated Press, while over 17,100 Palestinians have been killed, officials from the health ministry in Gaza said.
Congress has focused their efforts on antisemitism on college campuses. On Tuesday, presidents of Harvard, UPenn, and MIT testified before a congressional education committee over the rise in antisemitic protests and violence on campuses amid the conflict in the Middle East.
The university leaders received backlash for not taking a stronger stance against condemning Jewish hate speech on their campuses.
During the hearing, New York Republican Representative Elise Stefanik asked Harvard President Claudine Gay the hypothetical question: “Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules on bullying and harassment?”
Gay responded, “The rules around bullying and harassment are quite specific and if the context in which that language is used amounts to bullying and harassment, then we take, we take action against it.”
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said of Gay’s response on his X account, “It’s unbelievable that this needs to be said: calls for genocide are monstrous and antithetical to everything we represent as a country.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated as further information becomes available.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.