Netanyahu\u2019s visit is expected to prompt a number of protests, which the mayor encouraged New Yorkers to participate in over the summer. However, according to The Forward,<\/a> last week he said he \u201cnever encouraged them to protest,\u201d but said they \u201chave the right to do so in the city.\u201d Last week, a group of Modern <\/a>Orthodox Jewish teens protested the mayor\u2019s stance on Israel in front of the mayor\u2019s residence at Gracie Mansion. Showcasing their support for the Jewish state, the teens prayed with tefillin, the black leather threads attached to boxes containing Torah verses worn by observant Jewish men during prayers.<\/p>\n Now in its third year, the public remembrance service has become a space for Jewish New Yorkers opposed to the war in Gaza to voice their criticism and lament the devastation caused by the conflict. It was organized by Jews For Racial & Economic Justice, a\u00a0 left-wing Jewish organization of which Lander is a member, and Rabbis for Ceasefire, a collective of 80 Jewish faith leaders demanding an end to the war. The demonstration was co-sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow and the American Council for Judaism.\u00a0<\/p>\n People attend a Yom Kippur service at Grand Army Plaza, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, in Brooklyn, N.Y. (RNS photo\/Fiona Andr\u00e9)<\/p>\n Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2025, told the crowd that repentance is challenging when \u201cour tax dollars, our votes are being used to kill, to maim, to displace Palestinians, to displace Lebanese, to bomb Iranians and just really to forget that we are all humans.\u201d<\/p>\n A Columbia University graduate, Khalil was detained after his green card was revoked over his role in the pro-Palestinian encampments that took over the New York campus in 2024. Now facing deportation, Khalil is suing the Trump administration and Columbia.\u00a0<\/p>\n Monday\u2019s gathering followed the steps of a traditional Yizkor ritual, or a Jewish memorial prayer service performed for the deceased. The memorial prayer service is usually recited during Yom Kippur, which started at sundown on Sunday and will end Monday evening. Led by Rabbi Ellen Lippmann and Rabbi Sam Kates-Goldman of Kolot Chayeinu, a progressive Jewish congregation in Brooklyn, the service featured prayers, chants and a calling of the names of Palestinians killed in Gaza.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In the crowd, attendees wore white T-shirts to signify their grief, and some also brought keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian scarf seen by some as a symbol of Palestinian resistance. In front of the stage, where an arch reading \u201cRefuse, Remember, Recommit\u201d stood, organizers held an orange banner reading \u201cNot another bomb.\u201d<\/p>\n The group performed a Kriah ritual, a step of the Jewish burial process that consists of shredding a piece of garment or fabric to express grief and anger at the loss of a life. Attendees held a long banner of white shroud that they tore before tying the pieces to their chests.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rabbi Abby Stein of Kolot Chayeinu led the crowd in prayers. \u201cLet us make a new commitment. Let our grief not be in vain. \u2026 Let this reckoning change our actions for the sake of repair,\u201d she said, before calling the crowd to commit to \u201cboycott, protest, march, organize, lobby and vote in the name of life.\u201d Stein, who is also an activist for trans rights, urged attendees to oppose U.S. military aid to Israel and advocate for a \u201cpermanent, real ceasefire.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Pew Research Center, 42%<\/a> of Jewish Americans under age 35 say they believe Israel\u2019s way of carrying out the war has been unacceptable, yet 68% of Jews 50 and older think Israel\u2019s conduct has been acceptable, pointing to a generational divide.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/webRNS-Yom-Kippur-Brooklyn2.jpg\")
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