ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Jewish communities are reacting to Iran's assault on Israel over the weekend.

What You Need To Know

  • Jewish communities are reacting to Iran's assault on Israel 

  • Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester says it is thankful to the IDF and allies 

  • The IDF and its allies successfully intercepted off 99% of the ballistic missiles fired at Israel

World leaders, including President Joe Biden, are urging Israel not to retaliate against Iran.

This comes after Iran launched an attack against Israel this weekend involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.

Israel was warned the attack was imminent and prepared for the worst.

Jewish people in communities around the world, including in New York state, were on pins and needles heading into the weekend and are still worried about what could come next.    

“It was looking like it was the worst-case scenario,” said Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester CEO Meredith Dragon. “Even our government came out and said this looks like it’s the worst-case scenario. There were a few hours where we all sat on pins and needles waiting to see what was going to happen.”

Dragon says the Jewish and Israeli community is expressing gratitude and appreciation to the Israeli Defense Force and the allies supporting Israel during Iran’s attack on the country this past weekend.

The IDF and its allies successfully warded off the air assault with 99% of the ballistic missiles fired at Israel.

“It’s nerve-wracking, it’s nerve-wracking,” Dragon said. “I mean, people were glued to the television for hours seeing what was going to happen, hoping, praying that it would turn out the way it did. And I think you have an interesting juxtaposition of Oct. 7 where people felt incredibly vulnerable. There is an unprecedented attack that we hadn’t seen the likes of since the Holocaust and I think there’s still trauma associated with that. So, for this to turn around and have such a successful defensive operation, I think it actually restored some pride in the ability of the country to defend itself. And it provided an important moment to say we are strong, and we are resilient and we will get through this too.” 

As the Jewish community waits for any potential next moves, Dragon says there is nothing more that Israel wants than peace and the return of the hostages.

One-hundred-thirty-three people remain in captivity, including six Americans.

Federal lawmakers are expected to take up more than a dozen bills this week with a focus on Iran in support of Israel.