This year's Israel Day Parade in New York City will see up to 40,000 people marching in support of Israel and the Jewish people in what is the biggest such celebration outside of the Jewish State itself.
The march – renamed in 2011 as Israel Day on Fifth – is set to commence at 11:30 am on Sunday morning and will wrap up at around 16:00 pm. It has been celebrated annually since 1965, and has been under the management of Jewish Community Relations Council of New York since 2011.
This year's theme is “Hatikvah,” meaning “the hope." It is also the title of Israel’s national anthem. The logo of this year’s parade is 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 will be attending, including Andrey Kozlov, Ilana Gritzewsky, Aviva and Keith Siegel, Eliya Cohen, and Doron Steinbrecher.
Israel Day parade, New York City, June 2, 2024. (credit: David ‘Dee’ Delgado/Reuters)
“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."
Security elements of the NYC Israel Day Parade
Security this year will be 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 Israel Day 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 NYPC has been preparing for this event for months, and there will be 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, New York Mayor Eric 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 NYPD is not currently expecting counter-protesters, but that it is prepared should the situation change.
Mark Treyger, CEO of JCRC-NY, told the press conference that this year's theme of Hatikva 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."
