(The Center Square) Jewish New Yorkers stranded in Israel need the state’s help evacuating the war-torn region, according to a group of legislative Republicans who want Gov. Kathy Hochul to do something about it.
In a letter to Hochul, Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt and members of the Senate Republican Antisemitism Working Group called for immediate action to bring home New Yorkers residing, studying, or traveling in Israel. They argued that thousands of U.S. citizens are stranded since the war with Iran disrupted commercial flights.
“New York’s connection to Israel is unmatched, and so is our responsibility,” they wrote. “Our state should lead in standing with Israel, supporting Jewish communities under threat, and providing help to New Yorkers caught in harm’s way.”
The lawmakers pointed to international relief flights organized by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who has deployed wide-body planes to Cyprus to bring 1,500 Jewish Americans back to the U.S. after they were evacuated to Ashdod on a repurposed cruise ship.
“The Florida government’s coordination with nonprofit groups and emergency management teams offers a blueprint New York can and should follow,” they wrote.
Although data estimates suggest as many as 200,000 Americans live in Israel, some with dual citizenship, it’s hard to estimate how many would be served by the rescue flights. Israel is also home to 2 million Muslims and 187,000 Christians, though The Center Square was unable to locate data about how many are American citizens.
In response to the letter, a Hochul spokesperson said the governor is in “active conversations” with other states with large Jewish populations, including New Jersey and Connecticut, about how they would coordinate commercial flights out of Israel to rescue U.S. citizens, if needed. The statement said Hochul is a “steadfast ally to Israel and to New York’s Jewish community.”
The Israel-Iran conflict and U.S. intervention have disrupted commercial flights in the Middle East. Delays, suspensions and cancellations by multiple airlines continued this week after Iran launched a limited missile attack on Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base Monday in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Sunday at three Iranian nuclear sites.
DeSantis announced last week that he was organizing flights of U.S. citizens out of Israel, saying over the weekend Florida has helped “effectuate” more than 1,500 people’s exit from the country.
The order signed by DeSantis said the state is also “surging” law enforcement around the state, citing demonstrations in Florida “intended to intimidate and threaten the Jewish population and to support Hamas, a U.S. Secretary of State-designated foreign terrorist organization.”
In New York, Hochul announced Monday that state police would conduct patrols outside synagogues, mosques and other “at risk” houses of worship in response to the Israel-Iran conflict. The New York City Police Department said in a statement that it was putting additional officers at “sensitive” locations across the city, home to the nation’s largest Jewish population.
“We’re tracking the situation unfolding in Iran,” the NYPD’s statement said. “Out of an abundance of caution, we’re deploying additional resources to religious, cultural, and diplomatic sites across NYC and coordinating with our federal partners.”
