When American universities were engulfed in anti-Israel protests, many wondered: where did such hatred for the Jewish state come from? Why are students, who yesterday didn’t know where Gaza was, today chanting “From the river to the sea” and demanding the destruction of Israel.

Department for the Promotion of Aliya co-organized the event where thousands of people in New York City’s Times Square viewed an empty Shabbat table set for 224 people, symbolizing the 224 hostages held captive by the terrorist group Hamas.

On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, the global Jewish population reached 15.8 million.