Left-wing Israelis protest against visiting Israeli government ministers during New York’s annual Celebrate Israel Parade, in midtown Manhattan, June 4, 2023. (Luke Tress)

For the second year in a row, Israeli political divides are spilling over into the leadup to New York City’s Israel parade, as hundreds have signed a letter protesting the participation of Israeli government officials in Sunday’s lineup. 

The signatories — largely Israelis who live in the New York City area — have asked the parade’s organizers to exclude members of Israel’s governing right-wing and religious coalition. The letter charges that the coalition “failed Israelis in the most horrific way on October 7th and every single day since then” and has not done enough to free Israelis held captive by Hamas. 

“This government has shown repeatedly that the hostages are not its priority,” says the letter, dated Thursday. “Members of the government that has brought Israel to its lowest point in its entire existence should not be celebrated in NYC.”

The activists sent a separate letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul saying that marching with the Israeli officials was “an affront to the hostage families and to every peace-seeking Israeli.” 

The letter is one more factor parade organizers are contending with as they stage what they hope will be a unifying event at a time of war and crisis in Israel and rising protest and antisemitism at home.  

Last year, too, the parade fielded requests from Israeli protesters to exclude government officials: At the time, the protesters opposed the coalition’s efforts to overhaul the judiciary. Raucous protests took place throughout the city while the ministers were visiting for the event.

This year, the mood is even more anguished in Israel and New York City. In a nod to the somber atmosphere, New York’s Jewish Community Relations Council, which is staging the parade, will forgo loud music and festivity while keeping the focus on advocating for the hostages. But the organization told the New York Jewish Week that, just like last year, Israeli dignitaries will be welcome on Fifth Avenue. 

“The focus of Israel Day on Fifth is for our community to come together to support the people of Israel, call for the release of the hostages, and stand up as proud Jews and Zionists against rising antisemitism,” the JCRC said in a statement. “Politics are not part of this event and never have been. For us, this day has always been about showing love for Israel and its people and culture – not any particular government.”

It’s unclear which government ministers will participate in the parade, and the JCRC said Friday that the marching formation was still being put together. Protesters said they expected Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli and Foreign Minister Israel Katz, both members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, to attend. Chikli caused a controversy at last year’s parade after appearing to make an obscene gesture toward protesters, although he said he was telling them to smile and that the gesture had been misunderstood.

The protesters’ main charge — that the government isn’t doing enough to free the hostages — is also at the core of mass anti-government protests in Israel. In both cases, many of the same protesters organized before Oct. 7 to oppose the Netanyahu government’s efforts to overhaul the judiciary. 

Netanyahu’s security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, infuriated some of the hostage families on Thursday when he reportedly told them that Israel would not end the war for a deal to free the captives. A group representing the families, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, on Friday accused the government of “sacrificing” the captives.

Hanegbi and Economy Minister Nir Barkat were scheduled to appear at the annual Jerusalem Post Conference on Monday.

“Our biggest fear going forward with the American Jewish community is that they’re going to normalize this government,” one of the letter’s organizers, Gili Getz, told the New York Jewish Week. “It’s creating an impression that the Israeli government is in any way interested in saving these hostages when it’s actually not.”

Signatories on the letters included Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, a founder of the New York Jewish community group Lab/Shul, and singer Achinoam Nini.

Some of the Israelis in New York who have led efforts on behalf of the hostages — and previously led anti-overhaul protests — will also be marching in the parade. A delegation of around 2,000 people, including hostage families and a released hostage, will lead the march. The JCRC has printed out thousands of signs calling for the release of the captives to distribute to those participating.

Shany Granot-Lubaton, a leading Israeli activist in New York who will be marching, told the New York Jewish Week that she also would rather the politicians stay away from the march — though she said the focus on the hostages “shows where the American Jewish community’s heart is and I’m proud of it.” 

“I think that the parade is a great opportunity for the American Jewish community to show the world that they want to bring back the hostages and that’s the number one priority,” Granot-Lubaton said. “Yes I think that it would be better off if the ministers and Israeli politicians won’t march in this parade because they’re using it.”

Granot-Lubaton did not sign the letters, but on Friday, she helped organize a small group who rallied outside the Israeli consulate while some of the ministers were believed to be there for a meeting. Another group protested outside Hochul’s office.

A third protest is scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Manhattan’s Dante Park, and a group called Standing Together, a left-wing Arab-Jewish Israeli organization that has called for a ceasefire, will demonstrate on the sidelines of the parade on Sunday.

This article originally appeared on JTA.org.

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