ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — Republican state senators want Governor Kathy Hochul to organize emergency flights for New Yorkers stranded in Israel amid ongoing conflict and airspace that’s closed to civilian flights. According to Hochul’s office, she’s in active talks with other states and airlines to coordinate travel.

Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt—alongside members of the Senate Republican Antisemitism Working Group—published a letter to Hochul on Tuesday, which you can read at the bottom of this story. They called for immediate action to bring home any New Yorkers residing, studying, or traveling in Israel. They argued that thousands of locals are stranded since the conflict with Iran disrupted commercial flights.

“Ensuring the safety of New Yorkers who are currently unable to return home as conditions in Israel continue to deteriorate is paramount,” Ortt said. “Governor Hochul must take action to provide safe transport for our fellow New Yorkers amidst the escalating conflict with Iran.”

The GOP legislators pointed to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who sent airliners wide enough to fit extra passengers to Cyprus. They’re supposed to bring back about 1,500 Jewish Americans evacuated from Israel. The senators recommended a similar coordinated effort between nonprofits, emergency management, and New York.

“Florida figured out a way to get their residents back. There is no reason New York State can’t do the same,” said Senator Bill Weber, a member of the Antisemitism Working Group. He specifically mentioned the ceasefire touted by President Donald Trump, arguing that with the possibility of flying safely, “there is no reason to delay.”

“Our state has a moral obligation to act swiftly and decisively to ensure the safety of New Yorkers,” said Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, another group member. “Our bond with Israel runs deep,” she said, noting over 1.6 million Jewish New Yorkers with cultural, familial, and spiritual ties to the nation.

State Senator Peter Oberacker echoed the call for action. “Our families are desperate for answers, and our citizens deserve the full support of their state,” he said.

In repsonse, a spokesperson from Hochul’s office called her “a steadfast ally to Israel and to New York’s Jewish community” and pointed out that “Israeli airspace remains closed to any civilian air travel.”

Hochul’s office said she was briefed on the issue by Israel’s Consul General in New York soon after the missile attacks and “is in active conversations with governors from other states with large Jewish populations”—North Carolina, New Jersey, and Connecticut—”to determine how to coordinate travel for constituents if commercial flights do not resume.”

Take a look at the letter below:

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