Cardinal Timothy Dolan expressed unwavering support for New York’s Jewish community during the Interfaith Shabbat Service of Solidarity at Temple Emanu-El on Friday, October 4.

“Bernard-Henri Lévy in his penetrating new book is right on target. ‘The Jewish state and Jews throughout the world stand alone.’ Well, this evening, I am here to assure you, no, you don’t. At least this Gentile from down the street yearns to stand with you,” Cardinal Dolan said, addressing the Central Park East congregation as a guest of Rabbi Joshua Davidson, Temple Emanu-El’s senior rabbi.

Cardinal Dolan referred to Lévy’s new book, “Israel Alone,” published in September.

The Shabbat service marked the first sabbath of the Jewish high holy days, between Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, and Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, which falls on October 11.

During the service, Rabbi Davidson noted that on October 7, 2023, following the Hamas attacks on Israel, the first phone call he received was from Cardinal Dolan, who at the time was in Rome participating in the Synod.

“We need you, and you need us, and that’s why I’m grateful for your invitation,” Cardinal Dolan told Rabbi Davidson in remarks at a press conference before the service.

“None of us in the Jewish community will ever forget the words that he delivered just in the hours after October 7, affirming the right of a people to defend their home. He knew that he needed to speak those words because he knew that the Jewish community by itself could not carry the burden of defending Israel’s right to protect its people,” Rabbi Davidson said in remarks at the press conference.

Security was high at the synagogue Friday evening, with armed New York Police Department officers on duty outside. 

“It’s always a sign of consolation to me when I see our great police officers outside our churches and our synagogues, I think, ‘Thanks be to God they’re where we need them. It’s also a bit of a downer, isn’t it, it’s discouraging when you think that temples, churches, synagogues, houses of worship that rise up on behalf of peace need protection. This is kind of an indication of the topsy-turvy world we live in,” Cardinal Dolan said, indicating that St. Patrick’s Cathedral had also been threatened, due to Pope Francis’ and his expressions of support for Israel.

Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive officer of the Anti-Defamation League, an anti-hate organization, also spoke on Friday. “Last year, at this time, when we were starting the year 5784, we truly profoundly had no idea that the year ahead would be a year filled with terror, death, and destruction. That this year would be one of the deadliest most terrifying, most precarious in the long history of the Jewish people,” he said. He noted that 2022 had been a record year for anti-Semitic attacks, but that 2024 far exceeded even that unprecedented period.

Earlier on Friday, Cardinal Dolan and Diocese of Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan issued a joint statement, rejecting anti-Semitism and expressing support for New York’s Jewish community. “Allow us to say unambiguously to our Jewish friends here in New York and around the world that you are not alone,” the two Catholic leaders wrote.

Also attending Friday night’s service were the Rev. Jarod Stahler, pastor of Lutheran Saint Peter’s Church in Manhattan, and Father Ryan Muldoon, director of Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue for the Archdiocese of New York and parochial vicar of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.