Modern Orthodox Jewish day schools planning to pray outside NYC mayor's residence on Friday

Two prominent Modern Orthodox Jewish day schools in New York City, SAR Academy and The Ramaz School, plan to send approximately 240 students to pray outside the mayor's residence on Friday morning. The gathering, which will also include worshipers from Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, is intended as a "positive statement" to express Jewish identity and Zionism, and to convey that the Jewish community feels vulnerable. Rabbi Binyamin Krauss, principal of SAR Academy, stated, "We’re here. We’re Jewish. We want to be safe and express our Zionism." Rabbi Joshua Lookstein of Ramaz added, "The message is that we, the Jewish community, feel vulnerable, and don't feel as safe as we should." The event also aims to address concerns about Mayor Mamdani's rhetoric, which some Jewish leaders believe endangers the community, citing a 182% surge in anti-Jewish hate crimes in his first month in office compared to the previous year.