Israel Parade Demonstrations

Ma’ariv, Israel, June 13

Last week, the annual Israel Parade took place on New York City’s iconic Fifth Avenue. Around 40,000 people, including many young ones, filled the street while hundreds more looked on from the stands. It was likely the largest parade since the onset of the Coronavirus crisis. It featured approximately 200 organizations, its attendees representing not only the Jewish population but also local politicians from both sides of the aisle, representatives from local municipalities and other public bodies, and members of Congress. A prominent leader in the New York Jewish community proclaimed: “This parade provides a unique opportunity for our community to unite and celebrate the importance of Israel.” Not everyone was in favor of the event, and alongside the huge parade, a small demonstration of roughly a few hundred people marched against the Israeli government, ostensibly to protest legal reform but actually to contest the existence of the elected government. It appeared, though, that protestors included former Israelis, students, and general bystanders. Additionally, a pro-Palestinian group in opposition to the occupation and Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler were also part of the demonstration. While Nadler is known as an ally of Israel, getting elected in the current political environment of New York requires support from the far-left wing. Therefore, his presence at the demonstration was expected. Still, it is valid to question why these protestors choose to assemble in Manhattan rather than in Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Square. The New York Police Department, which was instructed to keep an eye out for Palestinian demonstrators, was shocked to discover that all the protests were carried out by Jews. By preventing Israeli elected officials from speaking on campuses, synagogues, and public forums to which they were invited, these protestors inadvertently strengthened the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. Just imagine the outrage that would come about if these images were inverted and US members of Congress were silenced or prevented from conducting their public appearances while on an official visit to Israel. The late Republican Senator John McCain was a fierce critic of President Obama, although he refrained from attacking him outside the US in order to show unity and protect the nation’s image abroad. In recent years, Israeli politicians have also followed this tactic, despite not being required to do so. Reform Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, one of the leading figures in America’s liberal Judaism movement, warned that protests against Israeli ministers and Knesset members might be misconstrued by the American public as a form of resistance against the State of Israel as a whole. Amidst a backdrop of rising anti-Semitism on both the American right and left, it is unfortunate to witness Israeli voices that indirectly fuel hatred of Jews and Israel. This brings us to an important point: the need to be aware of the growing influence of anti-Semitism on our politics and its consequences for the State of Israel. —Zalman Shoval (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)