This year’s Israel Day Parade in New York City saw over 40,000 people marching in support of Israel and the Jewish people in what is the biggest such celebration outside the Jewish state itself.
The march – renamed in 2011 as Israel Day on Fifth – commenced at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday morning and wrapped up at around 4:00 p.m. It has been celebrated annually since 1965, and has been under the management of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York since 2011.
This year’s theme was “Hatikvah,” meaning “the hope.” It is also the title of Israel’s national anthem. The logo of this year’s parade was a tree with multicolored leaves and a yellow ribbon on its trunk to symbolize the fight to free the remaining Gaza hostages.
“This year’s theme ‘Hatikvah, The Hope’ doesn’t feel like a theme; it feels like a prayer,” said UJA NY Federation CEO Eric Goldstein.
Several former Gaza hostages attended, including Andrey Kozlov, Ilana Gritzewsky, Aviva and Keith Siegel, Eliya Cohen, and Doron Steinbrecher.
Keith and Aviva Siegel addressed the crowd at the start of the rally, specifically focusing on the plight of the remaining captives. “I can’t stress the horrendous conditions that Aviva and I were held in,” said Keith.
“I cannot stress the suffering, day to day, and I think about the remaining 58 hostages who are still there, four of whom I know personally, and I spent time with them in captivity.” He added that he and his wife are on a mission: “We are doing whatever we can to get them home.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul recalled her visit to meet Keith’s family in Israel just days after they were taken hostage: “We gathered, all of us went together, and we said, ‘We will not rest until every single one of them is brought home.’ Never in the wildest dreams did I think that 589 days later, there’d still be 60 hostages waiting to come home, some alive and some have not made it.”
She added, “My God, we will not rest until these three words become a reality. Bring them home. Bring them home. Bring them home. We’re going to continue supporting Israel always here in the great state of New York.”
“We will march together, standing with the families and released hostages, and making our message unmistakably clear: Nothing is more important than bringing them home – all of them. We won’t stop until everyone is home,” the Jewish Community Relations Council said in a statement.
The grand marshal of the parade, Harley Lippman, told Newsline on Friday that he was looking forward to giving the released hostages “emotional support.”
Israel’s ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said it was “moving” to march in the parade during such a “challenging” time. “This year’s parade is a display of solidarity with the State of Israel,” he said. “The fact that dozens of UN ambassadors chose to march with us – alongside the returned hostages, their families, and the wounded – sends a clear and powerful message: The people of Israel are not alone.”
THERE WAS a small counterprotest from Neturei Karta, the fringe Jewish anti-Zionist group. Photos from the protest show some holding up signs such as “Israel is responsible for 77 of tragic bloodshed against Arab and Jew” and “the state of Israel does not represent world Jews.” Most Neturei Karta protesters wore Palestinian flags and keffiyehs.
Security elements of the NYC Israel Day Parade
Event security this year was heightened given escalating tensions and increasing antisemitism as a result of the conflict in the Middle East.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD officials held a public safety press briefing for the parade.
Jessica Tisch, the New York City Police Department commissioner, told a Friday morning security briefing: “It is the largest celebration of its kind outside of Israel and a moment of pride and joy for so many families across our city.”
However, she noted that “since the October 7 attacks, there has been a notable increase in demonstrations,” and an “unacceptable uptick in antisemitic threats and rhetoric.”
“Everyone has a right to express their views peacefully, but no one has a right to engage in criminal activity,” she added. “We will not tolerate any attempts to disrupt this event or endanger those who come to celebrate.”
The NYPD prepared for the event for months, resulting in a “robust and visible” police presence at the scene, including intelligence teams, counterterrorism teams, bomb squad and heavy weapons officers, and hostile surveillance teams.
Tisch added that there are currently “no specific or credible threats to the parade,” but urged the public to nevertheless remain “vigilant.”
Joining Tisch in the press conference, Adams said, “There were a number of voices that stated we should not hold the parade, but we refuse to ever succumb to those who want to have this city live in fear; it will not happen.”
He added that he “looks forward to marching” with everyone else.
Separately, Adams told JNS that the NYPD did not expect counterprotesters, but that it was prepared should the situation change.
Mark Treyger, CEO of JCRC-NY, told the press conference that this year’s theme of “Hatikvah” speaks to the hope for the return of the hostages.
“We will march with some hostages and hostage families,” he said. “Some are home, many are still not, and we are not whole until they’re all home again.”