7 Protesters Arrested In Attempted Disruption Of Celebrate Israel Parade

Image by Jewish Voice for Peace

By Josh Nathan-Kazis June 5, 2017

Police arrested seven activists amid disruptions at the Celebrate Israel Parade on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue on Sunday, the left-wing Jewish Voice for Peace said in a statement.

The activists were part of a group of 100 members of JVP and the youth-oriented leftist group IfNotNow, who protested along the route of the pro-Israel parade.

“There is nothing to celebrate until Palestinians have equal rights, until the occupation ends, until there is justice, dignity and equality for all people living in that land,” the executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, Rebecca Vilkomerson, said in a statement. “We can’t celebrate while Palestinians are denied basic rights to freedom and dignity.”

Activists carried a banner reading “No Celebration Without Occupation,” and at some points blocked the march.

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at nathankazis@forward.com or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.

Josh Nathan-Kazis is a staff writer for the Forward. He covers charities and politics, and writes investigations and longform.

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