The Media Line: Anti-Israel Protests Overshadow October 7 Commemorations, Dishonoring Victims’ Memories

By Shira Dicker/The Media Line

[New York] The days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are the Days of Awe. This year, commemorative events for the first anniversary of October 7 occurred amid these spiritual guideposts, and the impact was both awe-inspiring and awful.

For residents of Manhattan, the 36-hour period between the evening of Oct. 6 and the morning of October 8 was overwhelming, with heartfelt communal gatherings occurring alongside marches and rallies featuring thousands of vocal and passionate anti-Israel protesters. Many shouted their support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah, chanted slogans that praised the “martyrs,” celebrated “resistance,” and called for “the destruction of Israel and the death of Zionists.” They carried signs that proclaimed “Globalize the intifada” and “Long live the Al-Aqsa Flood.”

PHOTO – Community-Wide Commemoration of October 7 in Central Park, New York, Oct. 7, 2024. (UJA-Federation of New York)