The painful wounds of October 7 were still fresh at the annual New York City Israel Day Parade on Sunday, even when bandaged and dressed in Israeli and American flags.
People danced and sang to cheerful music from atop colorful floats dedicated to dozens of Jewish organizations — but in between the beats, behind the smiles, October 7 was still there.
The uncomfortable memories simmered in the hot city air as we marched through Manhattan, the spirits of fallen soldiers, hostages, and victims in lock step with the cohort of diplomats, mayors, ministers, influencers, and CEOs.
For a moment, I thought I had seen the face of a soldier I had served with on the banner carried by a marcher, but it had only been my imagination.Unlike previous years, pride and celebration were not the main functions of the parade; the chief message was chanted by attendees as the floats and officials passed: “Bring them home.”
Shirts, banners, signs emblazoned with the names and faces of the hostages were omnipresent. No matter where one looked, those taken by Hamas stared back.
Some wounds never heal
Some wounds never truly heal. Parade participant David Zucker held up a sign bearing the face of Shiri Negari, who had been murdered in a 2002 bus bombing. With her parents’ permission, he said he had held the sign in protest of former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to the UN building, and had made it a tradition of carrying her name at every Israel parade since.“Her parents don’t want her to be forgotten, and neither do I.”I couldn’t help but imagine 20 years from now that the victims of October 7 would still be carried in the same manner, by resolute men and women refusing to forget.Even the city bore scars from the recent conflict. The march passed by the 107th Infantry Memorial and the Grand Army Plaza Sherman Memorial in Central Park, which anti-Israel activists had defaced in early May. The marks had been removed, but I knew that they had been there.New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov told me that there was an increased security presence at the event, but that she felt completely safe.New York Police Department officers stood ready along the parade barriers – some were armed with rifles, fingers hovering above the triggers.“Thank you,” marchers said as they passed by the policemen.There was little in terms of opposition to the event. Two dozen Neturei Karta members stood along one bank of the parade barrier, chanting with uncharismatic lethargy “Judaism yes, Zionism no,” and calling for God to blot out our names. They were joined by one non-Jewish anti-Israel activist waving a Palestinian flag, accusing participants of supporting the “slaughter of innocent people.” At another leg of the march, activists from Standing Together held up signs that said “A ceasefire is the only way to bring them home and let Gaza live.”A few people stopped to argue with the activists, but for the most part, they were ignored. The marchers were more focused on expressing support for those impacted by Hamas’s pogrom and holding onto the opportunity to revel in love and support of Israel without the overbearance of anti-Israel nagging and activism.Aaron from Teaneck said it was important to come to “show that nothing will ever put us down, to show the whole world our courage and unity.”“We’re supporting our people, educating our kids, and showing our kids who we are,” said Aaron.Matanya of the Aseret Movement, who is from the oft-bombarded Gaza periphery city of Sderot, said the show of solidarity “really warms my heart.”The words that he said were bursting from him were the same ones echoed as a statement of defiance through the day: “Am Yisrael Chai.”His friend, Harold Magid, expressed concern that public support for Israel was only coming from the political Right, and more from the Left needed to speak up. Yet Vernikov said the parade displayed bipartisan backing for the Jewish state.While the hurt still resonated between the floats and participants, there was something else in the ether – hope. It was in the determined eyes of hostage families, it was in the eyes of the small children beholding the color and spectacle, and it was in every fold of every Israeli and American flag as they were waved. Along with the pain in the words “bring them home” we need hope, or else fall into despair – and our despair is the victory of the forces of evil.“We’re seeing here a victory for the Jewish people,” said World Zionist Organization Chairman Yaakov Hagoel.“Hamas wanted to destroy the Jewish people but this parade shows that they can’t destroy our spirit.”