This past Shabbos, when I decided to mention the parade at the end of davening although it was not listed on the announcements, I said that the choice was standing with Mamdani (by not going) or with Israel (by going). Some people were taken aback by my comment. I was happy to note that many people looked at it the way I framed it and showed up. The antisemitism and the anti-Zionism in this country, not to mention globally, plus Mamdani not showing up, spurred people to come out. It was reported that this may have been the largest crowd ever. I do not have any firsthand knowledge about that, but I noticed many more people watching the parade than in many previous years. The crowd stood even a few blocks past where the parade was to end.
Last year I marched with YU, but this year they did not allow alumni to march. Instead, I ended up marching with YCQ with my wife. She and two of my daughters went to YCQ. It ended up working out better this way because I first marched with the Brandeis Association, a group of Jewish lawyers and judges who either live or practice in Queens County. It was the first time in many years that Brandeis marched in the parade. I never would have made it to the YU contingent because they ended up marching early. Some large, successful schools seemed to have relatively few students in attendance compared to prior years. I was told that some students may not have shown up because their parents were afraid that something would happen. There was so much security, and I felt totally safe.
As far as protesters go, most were moved to Madison Avenue. This year I did not see them. There was a small group in front of Temple Emanu-El who held up signs. We had to stop in front of them for about a minute or two. I looked at them and, at the top of my lungs, sang Am Yisrael Chai. Others had a different approach. One person went over to say something to them, and everyone else ignored them.
The grand marshal was Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is a staunch supporter of Israel. How many other members in a Mamdani or any other administration would do something so publicly against the beliefs of their boss?
Mamdani did not show up, just as he said he would not. That is okay. He was busy doing more important things. He was doing his Amsterdam impression—riding a bicycle in a suit with no helmet.
There is still more work to be done. I read about more and more Jews who support a one-state solution. It is not like Netanyahu, who believes that it should be a Jewish state, but rather as Mamdani argues, a democratic state including those Palestinians who left in 1948. It would end up being a de facto Palestinian state with a Jewish minority. We do not have to think too hard to figure out what would happen if that occurred.
I believe that one way to address this problem is understanding that it comes from a lack of knowledge of Jewish history, including what happened in the Holocaust. Many believe that if there had not been a Holocaust, there would not have been a State of Israel. It was only after six million were killed while the world did nothing that the nations were shamed into supporting a state. Many also believe that if there had been a State of Israel, there would not have been a Holocaust, since Jews would have had a place to escape to.
Unlike some prior years, I finished this parade with a good feeling. It was an excellent turnout. I am curious to hear from those who regularly write for the paper, either in a column or in a letter to the editor, if they had the same reaction when they went to the parade this year.
