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Majority of New Yorkers says antisemitism, Islamophobia have increased since Oct. 7
(New York Jewish Week) – A majority of New Yorkers believes Jews and Muslims are experiencing widespread discrimination and that such bigotry has increased since Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on Israel, according to a poll released on Monday.
The survey from the Siena College Research Institute also found that 25% of respondents said the attack was a result of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians, while condemning the murder of civilians. A slim majority said the attack left Israel with no choice but to launch a counteroffensive against Hamas.
The study surveyed 803 registered voters in New York State and was conducted between November 12-15. The margin of error was 4.6%.
The survey found that 37% of New Yorkers believe Jews are facing a great deal of antisemitism and 36% say that Jews are facing some antisemitism, a total of 73%. Seventy-five percent of respondents said the level of anti-Jewish discrimination has increased since Oct. 7.
The survey panel included approximately 70 Jews, most of whom said there is a great deal of antisemitism. Nearly all said antisemitism had increased since the attack.
A slightly smaller percentage of the overall respondents said Muslims were facing discrimination, with 24% saying Muslims faced a great deal of Islamophobia, and 38% saying there was some Islamophobia, a total of 62%. The majority — 59% — said the level of Islamophobia had increased since the Hamas attack.
The New York City Police Department reported 69 hate crimes against Jews last month, and eight against Muslims, marking a surge in antisemitism compared to the rest of this year and October 2022.
Survey respondents also appeared to support Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which began after the Oct. 7 attack. A slim majority — 51% — supported providing more military and economic aid to Israel, with 37% opposed. A majority of Democrats and Republicans were in favor of increased aid, and a majority of independents were against it. A recent poll found that most Americans back a ceasefire in the conflict, a position Israel has rejected because it would leave Hamas in power.
Asked to choose between two options, 59% of all respondents in the Siena poll, and nearly all Jews, said the Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians were “an unspeakable crime” that should be condemned without hesitation or explanation. Some 25% of overall respondents chose the other option: they condemned the murder of civilians, but said they believed the attacks “were a result of decades of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.” Black and Latino respondents were nearly evenly divided on that question.
Similarly, asked to choose between another two options, a majority of respondents in all parties condemned the killing of innocent civilians in Gaza, but said Israel was “left no other choice” to attack Hamas to protect its security and try to free hostages. Thirty percent of all respondents chose the other option, saying the deaths of Palestinian civilians should be condemned without hesitation or explanation.
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The post Majority of New Yorkers says antisemitism, Islamophobia have increased since Oct. 7 appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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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.