Al Jazeera reports that at least four more journalists were killed in Gaza on Sunday in three separate, apparently targeted airstrikes. Photojournalist Aziz al-Hajjar was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting his home in northern Gaza, along with his wife and children, while in central Gaza, journalists Nour Qandil and Khaled Abu Seif, who are married, were similarly targeted in their home, perishing with their daughter from aerial bombardment. Farther south, near Khan Yunis, journalist Abdul Rahman Al-Abadla suffered a similar fate, for a total of five. These latest killings of media professionals in the Gaza strip follow two others from May 15th, and raise the death toll up to at least 222 journalists killed since October 7th, 2023, making Israel’s invasion of Gaza the deadliest war ever for the press.
Meanwhile, in the heart of Manhattan, thousands have come out for the annual Israel Day on Fifth parade, organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. “Since the October 7th attacks, there has been a notable increase in demonstrations and deeply personal emotions on all sides of the conflict,” said Police Commission Jessica Tisch in a press conference detailing increased security measures for the event. “We’ve also seen an unacceptable uptick in antisemitic threats and rhetoric.” Canine units, drones, and additional security cameras have been placed along the parade route and the surrounding area. Access to the parade, which goes from East 62nd to East 74th Streets on 5th Avenue, is limited to checkpoints along Madison Ave, which is also closed to vehicles where it runs parallel to the event. Private security from Jewish organizations were also patrolling the area.
“I’m here to be proud to be having our own country, and to always be proud of who we are,” says David, 19, who is attending the parade. “You should always be proud of who you are, even if you are a loser,” he says, pointing to a protestor holding up signs denouncing the famine conditions faced by half a million Palestinians in Gaza. “The starvation is their fault. They use their money for their stupidities, for rockets,” he says. For David, the fact that some fifty hostages are still being held by Hamas remains a critical factor. “As long as they have our hostages, they have no right to get upset at anything we do, in any way, shape, or form.” Top Israeli government officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have consistently said that even returning all of the hostages would not guarantee a ceasefire, calling also for “the exile of Hamas terrorists, and the disarmament of the Gaza strip,” according to a statement from his office.
There was not a significant show of opposition to the proceedings, with an NYPD lieutenant telling La Voce that a group of counterprotesters were “dispersed” early on because they lacked a permit. A few dozen activists protesting the atrocities in Gaza marched down Madison Avenue from 62nd Street early on in the parade, unable to get closer to the event due to checkpoints, and being steered away at various points by the NYPD. A large contingent that appeared to be leading the protest was Neturei Karta, a Haredi Jewish anti-Zionist organization that has been present at many protests since the start of the Gaza war.
“We, as Jewish people, we are here to cry out, how dare they celebrate this rebellion against God,” says Rabbi Yitzchok Deutsch. The Haredi rabbi told La Voce that he sought to speak with Jews going to the parade, asking them how they believe Jewish teachings justify the atrocities in Gaza, which he says were only responded with “blind-minded” looks and insults. “This genocide, the past 19 months… How can it be that the world is still silent? This is unacceptable.”
