Anti-Semitic vandalism in New York City, “the most Jewish city in the world outside of Israel”

Amid the war between Israel and Hamas, acts of violence are being exported to different countries, and the United States is no exception. In the past few hours, a group of pro-Palestine rioters in New York City vandalized a Jewish woman's business. The video quickly went viral on social media, and users highlighted that NYC is " the most Jewish city in the world outside of Israel."

As can be seen in the video, a group of rioters with hoodies and some Palestinian flags struggle with local police officers who are trying to prevent the attacks against the business from continuing. According to what circulated on social media, the attack began because the Jewish business owner displayed messages in favor of Israel in her store.

Israel asked its citizens not to reveal their identity abroad

To avoid these types of attacks, Eylon Levy, spokesperson for the Israeli government, made the request on his X account, formerly known as Twitter.

"On a global level, I want to address this moment of danger for Jewish people around the world, as we witness a worrying increase in anti-Semitic hate speech and even cases of violence against Jews and Israelis following the October 7 massacre. Today, the National Security Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have issued a rare global travel warning," Levy confirmed.

"We call on all citizens of Israel to exercise extreme caution when traveling anywhere abroad," the official added.

The Jewish community in New York City

According to data from the Pew Research Center, Judaism is the second most practiced religion in the Big Apple, with approximately 1.6 million followers in 2022. This represents the largest religious Jewish community of any city in the world, larger than the combined totals of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The 2022 figure was the second highest recorded in the city's history, tying with 1920, and only surpassed by 1950, when 2,000,000 people were registered. In addition, almost half live in Brooklyn, where it is estimated that nearly one in four people is Jewish.