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Ritchie Torres Slams New York Gov. Hochul for Not Mentioning Antisemitism in Her ‘State of the State’ Address
US Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) standing at the US Capitol in February of 2023. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
US Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) on Thursday ripped into New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) for omitting any references to antisemitism during her annual “State of the State” address earlier this week.
“Antisemitic hate crimes have risen to historic highs in New York. Yet, when I search the governor’s State of the State for the word antisemitism, nothing came up — not one mention of antisemitism in a 140-page document,” Torres said in comments posted on X/Twitter. “Not one mention of antisemitism in an hour-long speech. The scandal is not that Kathy Hochul is failing to combat antisemitism. The scandal is that she is not even trying.”
On Tuesday, Hochul delivered the State of the State address, an annual speech in which the governor reflects on the previous year’s legislative progress and outlines their agenda for the upcoming year. Hochul’s hour-long speech primarily focused on increasing affordability for the Empire State’s residents, explaining her plans to ease the cost of child care, housing, and food. The governor also outlined plans to bolster public safety and lower taxes for the middle class.
New York State has experienced a surge in antisemitism in the year following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.
Earlier this month, for example, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) released data showing that Jews were targeted in the majority of hate crimes perpetrated in New York City last year. Out of the 641 total hate crimes tallied by the NYPD, 345 targeted Jews, which, in addition to being a 7 percent increase over the previous year, amounted to 54 percent of all hate crimes in the city.
The explosion of hate continued a trend. In 2023, antisemitic incidents accounted for a striking 65 percent of all felony hate crimes in New York City, according to a report issued in August by New York state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The report added that throughout the state, nearly 44 percent of all recorded hate crime incidents and 88 percent of religious-based hate crimes targeted Jews.
Meanwhile, over the past 15 months, anti-Israel agitators have held raucous and sometimes violent demonstrations across New York, oftentimes physically confronting Jews and bellowing chants calling for the destruction of Israel. At prestigious universities such as New York University (NYU), Cornell University, and Columbia University, protesters have erected anti-Israel encampments and have called on their schools to financially divest from the Jewish state.
Since entering the US Congress, Torres has positioned himself as a stalwart ally of Israel and fierce combatant against antisemitism. In recent months, Torres has sharpened his criticism of Hochul’s governance of New York, fueling rumors that he is considering launching a campaign to become the governor of New York.
Torres, whose district represents large swaths of the Bronx, has lambasted Hochul for allegedly being a political “insider” who lacks the fortitude to combat corruption within the Empire State. He has also called Hochul a “hypocrite” for switching her positions on gun rights and congestion pricing.
If Torres does launch a bid for governor, he stands on solid ground with Jewish voters. According to a Siena College Poll from December, the lawmaker enjoys a 41 percent approval rating with New York Jews, compared to a 8 percent disapproval rating.
The post Ritchie Torres Slams New York Gov. Hochul for Not Mentioning Antisemitism in Her ‘State of the State’ Address first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.