Israel's new spokeswoman in NYC tells WINS: 'I'm very excited to meet those that are not necessarily supporters of Israel – we need to have a dialogue'

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- When Ariella Rada arrived in the city from Israel last month to assume her new role as the Consul for Media Affairs of Israel, she admits to 1010 WINS that she was surprised at anti-Jewish, anti-Israel, and even anti-American sentiments on the streets of the city. After all, the New York metro area has the second largest population of Jewish people after metro Tel Aviv.

"I was a little bit surprised from things that I saw here from protests, like anti-Israeli, anti-American protests," Rada, who previously was stateside as the Consul for Academic and Community Affairs at Israel's consulate in Chicago, told 1010 WINS. "I saw the videos of Jewish people being attacked. I was kind of surprised because this is New York. This is not a country where you don't have a Jewish population or a country where it's supposed to be dangerous for Jews."

Fast forward to the one-year anniversary earlier this week of Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack, during which more than 1,200 people were murdered and more than 250 kidnapped to Gaza, Rada -- whose jurisdiction includes New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Delaware -- said, "It was heartwarming for me to see all of the commemorations here ... the Jewish community holding all of the beautiful ceremonies. It was very touching to see."

Among the Oct. 7 gatherings Rada attended, was the "Remembrance and Resilience" event at the United Nations, at which U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield spoke and Israeli Eurovision star Eden Golan performed her hit song "October Rain" and the Israeli national anthem "Hatikvah" ("The Hope").

But not everyone in the city honored the victims of the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. Some appeared to celebrate it.

"I was so surprised to see the audacity of those who decided to go an protest against Israel on the day that we had one of the worst things that Israel has experienced," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "They chose that specific day to show their hate."

Anti-Israel protesters marched through Lower Manhattan, from Wall Street to City Hall, Washington Square to Union Square, and they also marched through Times Square and to Grand Central. Some protesters also spray-painted the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center on the City College of New York campus in Hamilton Heights with anti-Israel messages.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, in an X post, wrote that she was "outraged by incidents of vandalism on college campuses today."

Rada said there is a plethora of misinformation -- it's not even misconceptions -- about Israel, and that's what's motivating some protesters.

"We don't want Palestinians to die," she said. "We always say we don't have a fight with the Palestinian people. We don't have a fight with the Lebanese people. Our combat is against those terrorists -- Hamas terrorists, Hezbollah terrorists -- that are trying to destroy Israel."

She continued, "What is happening to the Palestinians is heartbreaking ... But why do you [anti-Israel protesters] have the double standard of feeling sorry for everything that is happening to the Palestinians, but not acknowledging the suffering that the Israelis went through on October 7th. That was one of the most horrific attacks ever ... Why can't you, as a human being that cares about the suffering of others, acknowledge also the suffering of Israelis? Just because of the fact they're Jews?"

Rada said the support she's received, though -- from the likes of Gov. Hochul and Rep. Ritchie Torress -- hasn't gone unnoticed or unappreciated.

"I met the governor because she was here when the six hostages [including 23-year-old California-born Hersh Goldberg-Polin] were executed," she said. "She came to the consulate to share her condolences. That was such important support for her to come and show her ... standing with the State of Israel in that difficult time."

Aside from meeting with lawmakers and community leaders who support Israel, Rada, who moved to New York with her family, said, "I'm also very excited to meet with those that do not necessarily ... support Israel ... because I truly believe that we need to have a dialogue, we need to be capable of having a dialogue."

But having a dialogue with some anti-Israel protesters may be easier than it sounds. "This is one of the problems," said Rada. "They're not into dialogue. They're into just, you know, assaulting and violence and spreading whatever they believe in. And I sincerely believe that we should have a dialogue with everybody who is willing, of course, not forcing anybody, but we need to be able to have a dialogue ... I'm happy to sit with whoever wants to have a dialogue. That's the bottom line."

For Rada -- who was born in Ethiopia, fled the then-war-torn country in 1984 when she was three-years-old with family members, and spent time in a Sudanese refugee camp before arriving in Israel -- she's aware that being a woman of color goes against the perception of all or most Jewish people as white, let alone being a diplomat for the Jewish state.

"Living in Israel, I'm not special," Rada, who served as a commander with the Israeli Defense Forces, said. "They're [Ethiopian Jews] in key positions, they're part of society. But that's the thing that other people are not aware of."

But in the U.S., in particular, she said, "When I first tell people that I am from Israel, I see how their face changes, like with surprise," she said, with a laugh. "And when I say that I'm an Israeli diplomat, it's like ... they don't even understand. How can it be?"

So what's Rada's new year greeting to Jewish New Yorkers, who just celebrated Rosh Hashanah?

"I wish everybody, first of all, a peaceful year," she said. "I think that in the last year, this is one of the things that we were all we wishing and praying for. So a peaceful year, a year of new beginnings ... more tolerance, more tolerance to others and, and maybe, you know, a year where people are trying first to check their facts and to try to see situations from different angles. And so tolerance, peace and health and just better days. That's what I hope."