Thousands of pro-Israel protesters marched along Fifth Avenue on Sunday in a closely watched Israel Day parade that took on a more somber tone this year as the war in Gaza enters its eighth month.
The usually joyous event, held annually since 1964, had fewer spectators than usual in Midtown Manhattan due to heavy security. The parade – expected to attract 40,000 participants, all of whom required credentials to march – had previously been titled “Celebrate Israel.” This year it was renamed “Israel Day on the 5th” and focused on remembering the hostages captured by Hamas on October 7.
The event was largely peaceful and attracted very few counter-protesters. Police barricades, chain-link fences and checkpoints limited access to the route.
Since October, New York has seen about 3,000 protests related to the war between Israel and Hamas, according to Mayor Eric Adams, most of them pro-Palestinian, and hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested. No Palestinian flags were visible along the parade route Sunday.
However, moments of tension broke out between participants and politicians. At the start of the parade, the arrival of elected officials, including Governor Kathy Hochul; Letitia James, Attorney General of New York; and Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, drew boos from the crowd.
As Mr. Schumer began speaking, at least one person shouted “you betrayed us,” a reference to Mr. Schumer’s harsh criticism of the Israeli government in a Senate speech in March.
Mr. Schumer went on to say: “Let’s say Hamas is bad and we will defeat Hamas. »
Mayor Eric Adams, present at the parade, also called for the destruction of Hamas and the return of the hostages. “Let us bring peace so as not to lose the lives of innocent people,” he added.
Eric Goldstein, executive director of the UJA-Federation of New York, a philanthropic group that was one of the event’s organizers, said the group recognizes “that there are many Jews in our community who are disagree on what the right path to follow is.
But he added that the event was about putting aside those differences and “proudly and publicly coming out in support of a Jewish homeland.”
Israel faces huge international criticism over its invasion of Gaza, which began in October after Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, which killed around 1,200 Israelis. Since the start of the war, more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Around 125 living and dead hostages remain in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.
Noam Safir, 20, whose grandfather, Shlomo Mantzur, is one of the hostages, flew from Israel to New York to watch the parade.
Ms. Safir said that “being here is screaming, screaming to represent” her grandfather and the other hostages.
“It’s very impressive to see this support,” she added.
At a news conference Saturday evening, Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban said law enforcement had not received any credible threats regarding the parade.
But the Islamic State spread anti-Israel propaganda online targeting the event, prompting law enforcement to implement strict security measures, said Rebecca Weiner, head of the police department’s intelligence bureau. .
During the parade, police helicopters and drones flew overhead while police dogs and hundreds of officers patrolled the area.
The parade remained peaceful until it ended Sunday afternoon. Along the route, hundreds of demonstrators waved Israel’s blue and white flag while others draped it over their shoulders.
In some neighborhoods, the crowds were so dense that people tripped over each other trying to get around Fifth Avenue. Leaflets stuck on lampposts featured photographs of the hostages and the words “kidnapped by Hamas.”
Yet as the event drew to a close on the Upper East Side, there were signs of levity. Revelers began dancing in the street as parade floats sang the anthem “Am Yisrael Chai.”
The protesters were joined by several Israeli government officials despite a letter from Israeli activists living in New York who called for them to be barred from participating. Participants included Israel Katz, the foreign minister, and Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, according to a spokesperson for the Israeli consulate in New York.
Pro-Palestinian Jewish groups did not appear to protest the parade, but a leading group, Jewish Voice for Peace, attacked the event in a statement, saying there was nothing to celebrate while war was raging. “The latest massacre of refugees in a designated safe zone in Rafah made it clear that the US government must immediately stop arming the Israeli military,” said Jay Saper, an organizer with the group.
Lev Tsitrin, 59, originally from Belarus and now living in Brooklyn, said he has attended several Israel Day parades. But this year, he said, “It was up to me to show my support.”
The war and heightened security on Fifth Avenue stood in stark contrast to past parades. “It’s generally more festive. It’s tense this year,” Mr. Tsitrin said, adding: “People are excited because it’s very serious. It’s life and death.
Olivia Bensimon reports contributed.
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