Cindy Grosz Op-Ed: I’m Afraid to Walk to Shul in NYC

I get some interesting requests. Several weeks ago, I received a phone call from a friend’s acquaintance who lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, a neighborhood of many liberal successful Jews, many religious. The conversation was very cordial, brief and to the point. Can I help this family find a rental outside of Manhattan for the end of September and through the Jewish holidays concluding when Simchat Torah ends. And, if so, if I find that rental, they have friends who are looking too.

Jews in Manhattan are afraid to walk on streets to shul, eat in Sukkahs and wear yarmulkes as they watch fellow Jews get beaten up, robbed and mobbed simply because they are Jewish. Rosh Hashanah is a festive time, not a time to hide.

A Jewish woman in her 40s was choked on a New York City subway station in early August according to a report by the New York Post.

The article claimed that a man approached the woman, put his hands around her neck and choked her while making antisemitic remarks.

Two weeks ago, a fellow Republican activist who I have worked with called me upset. His teenage son and several friends were surrounded by Palestinian Arab rioters who attacked them in Penn Station. The boys attempted to get help from the police, unsuccessfully. They were told law enforcement is helpless. The protesters are there all the time and look to instigate trouble with Jews. Frightened, they went home.

As I discussed this with another activist, they heard similar stories from many Long Island residents who travel from Long Island to the city for work.

If Long Island Jews feel uncomfortable traveling into NYC, how different is it for Jews living in Riverdale, Monsey, Lakewood or Teaneck?

Last Shabbos, my friends were talking about how even with private security, they are seeing things locally that are scaring them. Flyers are being placed on car windows and in mailboxes. Park benches are sprayed with swastikas and lessons in schools are betraying Israel and Jews with prejudice and inaccurate facts.

Last year, antisemitic incidents on Long Island jumped by 23%, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which said the Island saw 69 antisemitic incidents in 2021, including swastika graffiti, antisemitic harassment and vandalism. Only little more than halfway through 2022, we have surpassed that number. The New York Police Department data points out that there were 86 anti-Jewish hate crimes in the city in the first three months of this year and that anti-Semitic hate crimes in New York City were up a startling 92% in March 2022 compared to the same month in 2021.

Increases of attacks on Jews, their businesses, synagogues and community centers have been reported in California, Texas and on college campuses across the country. We watched the news in horror of a French Jew, Eyal Haddad, axed and burned by a Muslim roommate.

During the month of Elul, our biggest concerns should be getting back to school and figuring out our family menus and guest lists, not fearing attending Rosh Hashanah services and not hiding a Star of David necklace.

Mayor Eric Adams, Governor Kathy Hochul and the NYC City Council are demanding we go back to work? What are any of you doing to actually protect us? You have private transportation and private security with guns within reach. It seems hypocritical since they want house searches for guns. They also embrace illegal immigrants whose backgrounds we don’t know, and who might be anti-Semitic.

Unfortunately, these situations aren’t limited to New York. They aren’t limited to religious Jews and they these fears are more real as headlines from around the world daily include anti-Semitism and Jewish hate crimes.

It seems as if rabbis, teachers, Jewish organizations, the media and most importantly, elected officials are failing us from both parties that are currently in office.

The easiest way to get change is to vote out the current elected officials and stop funding organizations in their Rosh Hashanah appeals who talk a lot but act on nothing.

Even on Long Island, an anti-Semitic task force has had lots of press, but can’t stop the attacks and fears. As of this writing, three Swastikas were found etched into the men’s restrooms at Cedar Creek Park in Seaford, according to Nassau County Police, this over Labor Day weekend.

Where is it safe for Jews in America? Can Jewish Gubernatorial Candidate Lee Zeldin bring the change New York so desperately needs? Will Jews vote for the issue of fighting anti-Semitism rather than party?

Going to shul, to school, to work and to buy groceries shouldn’t make people fearful, it should make people happy. Are we reliving Europe 1933?

About the Author

Cindy Grosz is The Jewess Patriot, Radio’s Premiere Jewish Activist syndicated through Conservative Television of America, Real Talk Radio and the Black and White Network. The show streams through RokuTV, Amazon FireTV, iHeart, Spotify and Deezer and out of Israel through Jewish Podcasts. She is the chair of Jewish Vote GOP and a Jewish advisor for many 2022 candidates. Her lawsuit against the NYCDOE exposes scandals and corruption within public schools. She can be reached through [email protected]