New York City rallies against antisemitism simultaneously with Israel
The rally, which had a turn out of roughly 50 New Yorkers, took place simultaneously with a similar event in Jerusalem under the initiative of the World Zionist.
By HALEY COHENNYC Rally (Credit: David Abadie)(photo credit: DAVID ABADIE)
Protestors gathered in New York City’s Times Square on Sunday afternoon objecting to the rapidly rising level of global anti-Semitism and calling on government officials to prioritize combating hate.The rally, which had a turn out of roughly 50 New Yorkers, took place simultaneously with a similar event in Jerusalem under the initiative of the World Zionist Organization under the slogan “stop the hatred.”David Abadie, a former administrative assistant at WZO, arranged the Manhattan rally instantly after learning about the one taking place in Jerusalem. In less than seven days, Abadie created a Facebook event and designed posters, he told the Jerusalem Post.“I knew as soon as I heard about the rally in Israel that we had to join in. There had to also be one here in the financial center of the world,” Abadie told the Post. “For thousands of years antisemitism has been going on we’ve been taking it as bystanders so it’s important we unite together and make a stance. Whether it’s in Congress or elsewhere, it’s time for us to tell the world hate stops here.”Abadie added that some chose to participate in the rally at synagogues around New York City, rather than in Times Square and he believes the turn out would have been double the size had there not been inclement weather. The New York Police Department was supportive of the rally, according to Abadie, and many passersby expressed their approval. “On the flip side, a very small number of people, maybe two or three, did yell derogatory slurs at us,” he added. Some participants wore yellow star badges; reminiscent of the patches Jews were ordered to wear by Nazi Germany.At the Jerusalem event, Yaacov Haguel, Deputy Chairman of WZO, reportedly stated, “we are here today and in different locations around the world to say enough is enough. We are in a difficult and painful period that has deteriorated rapidly from the scrawling of caricatures and anti-Semitic graffiti, through the destruction of graves to the severe physical harm of Jews in a number of countries. We do not have the ability or the right to continue our lives without response.”Yaakov Haguel at Jerusalem rally (Credit: Elad Brami)In addition to the rallies held in New York and Jerusalem, more than 60 similar events were held across the US, in Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Romania, Germany, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Georgia, Turkey, Poland, Argentina, Uruguay and Spain, Bolivia and Mexico. This is the first time mass rallies around the world to end antisemitism have taken place concurrently.
Virtual rallies also took place throughout Sunday, in which participants posted photos with the hashtag “#Hate_Stops_Here.” Over 1,000 people worldwide have uploaded photos under the hashtag on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
