NYPD will conduct perimeter searches around 'key institutions' in wake of Israel massacre as Mayor Eric Adams raises specter of 'lone wolf' attacks and urges synagogues to hire security

The New York Police Department will conduct perimeter searches in key areas around the city, including synagogues, following the terrorist attacks in Israel.

Mayor Eric Adams said on Tuesday that houses of worship should consider hiring security, as he asked New Yorkers to keep vigilant in the wake of the violence in the Middle East.

'We cannot let our guards down... Don't underestimate lone wolfs,' the Democrat told the press, adding that 'lone wolves are real' - specially those radicalized o social media.

The mayor noted that 'there are no threats' to the city regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict, but still said citizens should remain attentive.

'We can't believe that it happened thousands of miles away... we're the largest Jewish population outside of Israel,' the mayor said as he urged New Yorkers to refrain from being distracted on their phones and stay alert of their surroundings. 

Mayor Eric Adams said on Tuesday the NYPD will conduct perimeter searches in areas around the city after the terrorist attacks in Israel

Adams attended a prayer vigil with the city's Jewish community on Monday night where he pledged his support for Israel

NYPD chief John Chell said his late shift will do the perimeter searches of key institutions but didn't specify which ones. Adams said areas with a large Jewish and Hassidic population such as Williamsburg, Flatbush and Rockaway will be on the list.

'If someone is hanging around a synagogue or you see someone it the community that is suspicious- see something, say something, do something,' Adams said.

Adams attended a prayer vigil with the city's Jewish community on Monday night where he pledged his support for Israel. 

He was slammed by critics on Sunday after the Democratic Socialists of America held a pro-Palestine rally  in Times Square just hours after a horrific attack by Hamas terrorists left over 900 Israelis dead.

The mayor, who returned from had been on a trip to Latin America on Sunday, spoke out against the rally organized by the Democratic Socialists of America - which saw a demonstrator wave a swastika at a Jewish crowd.

'At a moment when innocent people are being slaughtered and children kidnapped in Israel, it is disgusting that this group of extremists would show support for terrorism. I reject this. New York City rejects this. Do not use our streets to spread your hate,' Adams wrote.

But the Democrat 's comment was not enough for many social media users, who expressed rage that Adams did not shut down the demonstration. 'Why didn't you shut it down then?' asked one X user.

'MONITORING? You've been monitoring? But what ACTIONS have you taken??' wrote another. 

Many Adams' critics took the opportunity to slam the mayor's trip to Latin America, seen as a useless publicity stunt by many New Yorkers fed up with the migrant crisis, which has seen over 120,000 asylum seekers arrive in the city in just 18 months. 

'from where? Ecuador? lol' said one X user. 'Aren't you in Mexico?' added another. 'Yet you're still in Mexico?' said a third. 

Hamas unleased dozens of attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers. In one kibbutz in southern Israel, terrorists massacred at least 40 babies and young children before beheading some of them and gunning down their families.

New York City has the l largest Jewish population outside of Israel

Hamas terrorists beheaded babies and gunned down entire families in their homes in a small kibbutz in Israel, Israeli soldiers have claimed

About one thousand demonstrators gathered at Times Square in solidarity with Palestinians as pro-Israel marchers counter-protested.

'We are here in solidarity with the Palestinian people who are fighting 75 years of Israeli settler colonialism, settler violence and 16 years of military blockade of Gaza,' said Munir Atalla, a 30-year-old member of the Palestinian Youth Movement group, which was among the demonstration's organizers.

'What we saw yesterday was the people of Gaza breaking out of their open-air prison,' he continued.

The demonstrations came as the United States quickly affirmed its support for Israel, with US President Joe Biden ordering US ships and warplanes closer to its ally and sending fresh military aid.

On Saturday, Adams capped off a four-day trip to Latin America by calling for a 'right to work' for migrants in the United States. 

Speaking from a dock in northern Colombia where migrants take boats toward the jungle, the embattled mayor said countries in the region need to 'come together' to find solutions to the immigration crisis being felt across the Americas as well as in cities in the United States, including New York.