Earlier this week, former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal called for protests and a day of “anger” across the Muslim world on Friday in support of the Palestinians and against Israeli strikes on Gaza in the wake of last weekend’s terror attacks.
He urged those in neighboring countries to join the fight against the Jewish state. “Deliver a message, through the squares and the streets, a message of anger, that we are with Palestine, that we are with Gaza,” Meshaal said, according to translations. “We are a part of this battle.”
The so-called ‘Day of Rage’ or ‘Day of Jihad’ sparked protests throughout the Middle East and violence in other parts of the world. A teacher was stabbed to death and several others were injured in northern France, while an employee at the Israeli embassy in Beijing was injured in a knife attack. In the U.S., police presence was stepped up in major cities and at Jewish schools and synagogues.
On Friday’s show, Megyn was joined by Noah Rothman, senior writer at National Review, to discuss the safety precautions being taken as a result of the ‘Day of Rage’ and the recommendations Megyn received from her own security team.
New York Takes Precautions
While officials said there were “no credible threats” against New York on Friday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul both stressed safety in press conferences on Thursday. “There is currently no intelligence showing any active threats in New York – that is the entire state of New York,” Hochul said. “But in the moment fraught like this, we will continue to exercise elevated vigilance and impose measures to deteriorate any potential violence.”
According to reports, the NYPD canceled all vacations and instructed all members to come to work in uniform on Friday. The MTA, which runs the public transportation systems in NY, said there would be increased police and National Guard presence at major transit hubs. “New York City is the most diverse city in the world, and protecting our residents is the most sacred responsibility that we have,” Adams said. “We have directed the NYPD to surge additional resources to schools, houses of worship to ensure they are safe and that our city remains a place of peace.”
In many ways, it marks a return to the ‘if you see something, say something’ days New Yorkers came to know in the wake of September 11. “Some 22 years after the 9/11 attacks, New York City’s Jewish residents are keeping a low profile amid the unrest that is expected today,” Megyn said.
She shared that her Jewish friends who live in NYC were unsure whether or not they wanted to send their children to school. “My one friend kept her daughter home from [a NYC public] school today because she was so scared,” she said. “When her other son got to a private school – it’s not a Hebrew school, but there is a high Jewish population in New York and a fair amount of Jewish kids go there – he arrived to armed security guards all over the place and guard dogs. That’s how he had to enter the school today because of the ‘Day of Jihad.’”
Safety First
In addition to the warnings issued by the FBI and state and local officials, Megyn said she also received a memo from the security firm she works with. “This is not just for me,” she noted. “This is for people in these major metro metropolitan areas – in particular those with a high Palestinian population and/or high Jewish population.”
She read part of the recommended precautions:
“While there is heightened security around places of worship, there are potentially softer targets such as streets, markets, coffee shops, parking garages, other areas where individuals are traveling to and from a place of worship. Public transportation – particularly subways and buses – is also particularly vulnerable today in major cities. Given the uncertainty characterized above, it would be wise to carefully assess the need for travel and/or activity outside your residence over the next 24 to 48 hours.”
Megyn said the threat cannot be underestimated. “We’ve seen Jewish kids taking off their yarmulke… taking off their blazers that are identified with Jewish school… like they actually are potentially unsafe today,” she concluded. “Yet it’s being scoffed off like this is what democracy looks like.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Rothman by tuning in to episode 647 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.