After a pair of gunmen, reported to be a father and son, killed 15 people and injured more than 40 others in a mass-shooting attack on Sunday at a Chanukah beach event in Sydney, New York City officials announced increased security at Jewish houses of worship and Chanukah events.
“We need to acknowledge and call it for what it is. This was just not a random act of violence that took place. It was antisemitic and targeted Jewish people,” Eric Adams, New York City mayor, said during a press briefing.
“Words have meaning. Words have impact, and words have power. Everyone needs to understand what words mean before they repeat them, before they shout them, before they defend them,” the mayor said. “That attack in Sydney is exactly what it means to ‘globalize intifada.’ We saw the actual application of the globalization of intifada in Sydney, because the attacker knew who he was targeting and he knew why.”
Adams added that it was the first night of Chanukah, during which “Jews are obligated to publicize the celebration of their faith.”
“Among the murdered victims of the attack,” he said, were a “rabbi who had ties to Crown Heights, as well as a Holocaust survivor. Let me say that again. A rabbi and a Holocaust survivor killed for being Jewish.”
The 41-year-old rabbi, Eli Schlanger, a Chabad emissary, left behind a wife and five children, including a two-month-old. Alex Kleytman, a Holocaust survivor, reportedly died while shielding his wife, Larisa Kleytman, from gunfire.
New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters that “this was a deliberate act of violence against Jews celebrating their faith,” and “our hearts are with the victims, their families, Chabad and Jewish communities here and around the world.”
Tisch said the department has remained in “continuous contact with our law enforcement partners in Australia” and is receiving “updates directly from our NYPD liaison officer stationed in Sydney.”
“At this point, there is no known nexus to New York City, and we are not tracking any specific credible threats related to Chanukah events here,” she said. “Out of an abundance of caution, the NYPD has significantly increased security around Chanukah-related events, menorah-lightings and Jewish houses of worship across all five boroughs.”
The public will see “an enhanced uniform presence, specialized patrols, heavy weapons teams, community affairs officers, counterterrorism resources and bomb squad deployments where appropriate,” she said. “As always, we will follow up on any tips, leads and intelligence, and we are marshalling all available resources to ensure the safety of New Yorkers.”
Tisch, who has said she will retain her post in the administration of mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who also decried the Sydney attack and who has said that he would have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested in New York and has declined to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada,” said that she was “going to be blunt—this is not an isolated incident.”
“It is part of a wider assault on Jewish life, an environment in which hatred far exceeds rhetoric and erupts into horrifying acts of violence,” she said. “Jewish communities are being forced to confront a threat that is persistent, adaptive and is evidenced yet again today, global in scope. That’s why the NYPD is acutely focused on prevention. We calibrate our presence to meet the threat, no matter where it lurks or whom it targets.”
Tisch, who is Jewish, noted that part of the ritual of the holiday is pirsumei nisa, publicizing the Chanukah miracle.
“That is why candles are lit publicly in windows, in front yards, in open and visible spaces. It’s a declaration of faith, resilience and continuity. That is what the Jewish community in New York City does every year, and this year will be no different,” she said. “I want Jewish New Yorkers to know the NYPD will always be there to protect Jewish communities’ right to worship freely, to gather openly and to celebrate without fear.”
There have been reports, citing witnesses, that Sydney police were “frozen” and failed to respond to the shooters. A local shop owner reportedly tackled and disarmed one of the shooters. Local officials have said it is premature to accuse the police of inaction and noted that police officers are hospitalized from injuries.
“In Sydney, the police had, what appears to be, a slower response,” Adams told reporters. “I’m sure the investigation will determine what happened.”
“It took the courage of a civilian to take down one of the shooters. The country was lucky that the civilian was there. Public safety can’t be luck. Specialized units like SRG are trained for these encounters,” he said. “This illustrates the necessity of the strategic response groups, who are ready to respond to terror attacks on a mass scale.”
“But this attack did not come out of nowhere. It came out as the consequences of Islamic extremists, and we have to be clear on that,” he said. “It’s not an attack on our Muslim brothers and sisters, who carry out their faith every day, but is the hijacking of their religion by Islamic extremists.”
