{"id":27991,"date":"2024-06-03T02:43:53","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T07:43:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=27991"},"modified":"2024-06-03T02:43:57","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T07:43:57","slug":"parade-for-israel-in-nyc-focuses-on-solidarity-this-year-as-gaza-war-casts-a-grim-shadow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=27991","title":{"rendered":"Parade for Israel in NYC focuses on solidarity this year as Gaza war casts a grim shadow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Marchers chanted for the release of hostages in Gaza<\/a> on Sunday at a New York City parade for Israel that drew thousands of people under heightened security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The parade was held almost eight months after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack<\/a> in southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people \u2014 mostly civilians \u2014 and abducted about 250. About 100 hostages<\/a> remain in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dubbed \u201c Celebrate Israel<\/a>,\u201d the annual parade\u2019s normally exuberant atmosphere was markedly toned down this year. People chanted \u201cBring them home now!\u201d and waved Israeli flags as they marched up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan for what this year was called \u201cIsrael Day on Fifth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crowds of spectators and hundreds of police officers lined the route, and steel barricades were installed along the sidewalk. One sign read: \u201cFrom the river to the sea, Hamas will cease to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEspecially this year, after Oct. 7, it\u2019s especially important to have this show of unity,\u201d said Rena Orman, a Bronx native who took part in the parade as part of Mothers Against College Antisemitism. \u201cEverybody wants hostages back. Everyone wants this to end. No one is cheering for this. Everyone wants peace.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council, said earlier this week that the event would focus on solidarity, strength and resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not a mood of confetti and music,\u201d Treyger said. \u201cThis is more of a mood of unwavering, ironclad solidarity with hostages to bring them home, and also our unwavering love and pride in our Jewish identity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The parade, in its 59th year, kicked off late Sunday morning with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams among the elected officials attending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important \u2014 especially with what\u2019s going on in the Middle East, in Israel with the war going on \u2014 to show our support and to show that the hostages aren\u2019t forgotten and the country itself is not forgotten,\u201d said participant Michael Garber of New Jersey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Police Department officials employed measures typically used for high-profile events such as New Year\u2019s Eve and July 4. That included drones, K-9 units, bike patrols, fencing and barriers and designated entry points for spectators along the parade route. Backpacks, large bags and coolers were prohibited, and spectators had to pass through metal detectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police did not report any parade-related arrests by late Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The parade represents the first large-scale Jewish event in the city since the war started, although there have been roughly 2,800 protests in the city, with about 1,300 of them related to the conflict, the Democrat said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over 36,430 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israel\u2019s offensive, according to Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry. Its count doesn\u2019t differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel blames Hamas for civilian deaths, accusing it of operating from dense residential areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel faces growing international criticism<\/a> over its offensive in Gaza, in which more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry. Its count doesn\u2019t differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel blames Hamas for civilian deaths, accusing it of operating from dense residential areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

apnews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Marchers chanted for the release of hostages in Gaza on Sunday at a New York City parade for Israel that drew thousands of people under heightened security. The parade was held almost eight months after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":27992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1153],"tags":[28789],"class_list":["post-27991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military","tag-gaza-war-looms-over-new-york"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27991"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27993,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27991\/revisions\/27993"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}