New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was among the state and local officials attending an event on the night of Oct. 6 at Temple Israel Center in White Plains that marked the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. Hochul was accompanied at the event by her husband.
“Don’t call them anything but terrorists. That’s what Hamas is,” Hochul said.
Hochul recounted her visit to Israel after the attack and described both the damage she saw and the strength of character shown by the Israeli people she met.
Hochul said that even a state such as New York with a Jewish population of 1.6 million is not immune from anti-Semitic attacks. “That’s abhorrent to me on so many levels,” Hochul said.
More than 1,000 people attended the event at Temple Israel.
“We can change the course of history by standing together, all who feel oppressed, because there’s more of us than them, I can assure you,” Hochul said. “Let them know the power of our strength. My heart is full of anger, frustration but also I found some hope and I’ll keep that hope alive with all of you.”
Hochul directed that flags on state buildings to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Oct. 7 in mourning and honor of the victims of the attack on Israel. Additionally, Hochul directed landmarks to be illuminated in yellow in solidarity with Israel and the hostages still in captivity.
“There is hate here, my friends. But I’ll tell you this, I believe it to my core: we can overcome this hate,” Hochul said at the White Plains event. “We can push that hate far into the recesses of our minds. We can change the course of history by standing together. All who feel oppressed, because there’s more of us than them, I assure you. And as long as we stand united and call it out and are not afraid of those who try to raise an arm against us. Let them know the power of our strength. That’s how we draw the hope that gives us the strength to carry on.”
“One year after the horrific atrocities committed against the people of Israel, my heart goes out to the victims and their families,” Hochul said. “New York stands with Israel — today and every day. As the home of the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, we will do everything in our power to defend against the forces of hatred and stand firmly against those who perpetuate it.”
In her remarks, Hochul recalled her trip to Israel shortly after the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, and seeing a young man “whose wife and three children were stolen in front of him. He found out later they had been murdered. The stories that I heard made me think, ‘Yes, it happened again.’ In our time, in our ‘so-called civilized time, a barbaric group of terrorists, and don’t call them anything but terrorists, because that’s what Hamas is. And I called it out. Immediately in the aftermath of it, I was back home talking about this, and I was called out by a reporter who said, ‘Why are you calling them a terrorist group?’ And I said, ‘Because they are.’
Hochul said that Hamas was defined as a terrorist group in 1996.
Landmarks to be illuminated include the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, The “Franklin D. Roosevelt” Mid-Hudson Bridge and the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park.
In the days leading up to the anniversary of the attack, Hochul directed the State Police to heighten surveillance in the wake of Iran’s bombardment of Israel. This additional security presence will protect critical infrastructure hubs, synagogues, yeshivas, mosques, community centers and other at-risk areas.
