An Israel Day parade in New York City on Sunday turned heated as pro-Israel protesters faced off against anti-protesters, some of whom held signs reading “Kill the hostages now.”
Counter-protesters wore black masks, carried Palestinian flags and held inflammatory placards, and police officers pushed them back to their own side of the protests to avoid further escalating an already tense situation.
Pro-Israel demonstrators were chanting for the release of hostages taken in an Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel that sparked the Gaza conflict. Hamas fighters have killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250. About 100 hostages remain in Gaza, along with about 30 bodies.
“Send them home now!” chanted people and waved Israeli flags as they marched down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue on what this year was dubbed “Israel Day on the Fifth.”
A person holding a sign reading “Kill the hostages now” is escorted back into a crowd of Palestinian protesters by NYPD officers near the Israeli 5th Anniversary Parade in New York City on June 2, 2024. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
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Security was stepped up at the protest, with the NYPD implementing measures typically used at high-profile events such as New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July, including drones, police dogs, bicycle patrols, fencing and barriers, and designated entrances for spectators along the parade route. Backpacks, large bags, and coolers were banned, and spectators had to go through metal detectors.
People, including family members of hostages, walk at the front of the parade marking the fifth anniversary of the founding of Israel in New York City on June 2, 2024, holding signs that read “Bring them home now.” (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
The 59th annual parade got underway late Sunday morning and was attended by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York Governor Kathy Hauckle and Mayor Eric Adams.
Police had not reported any arrests in connection with the parade by late Sunday afternoon.
The parade will be the first major Jewish event in the city since the war began, although there have been around 2,800 protests in the city so far, around 1,300 of them conflict-related.
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Israeli attacks have killed more than 36,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza Strip’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which makes no distinction between civilians and combatants. Israel accuses Hamas of operating from populated areas and blames it for civilian deaths.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
