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New York City Mayor, Police Commissioner Detail Increased Security Measures for Israel Day Parade
Thousands of participants and spectators gather along Fifth Avenue to express support for Israel during the 59th Annual Israel Day Parade in New York City, on June 2, 2024. Photo: Melissa Bender via Reuters Connect
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch held a briefing on Friday morning to detail their “comprehensive security plan” to ensure the safety of New Yorkers at the Israel Day Parade on Sunday.
The theme of this year’s parade is “Hatikvah,” which means “the hope” and is also the title of Israel’s national anthem. Several former hostages — abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attack in Israel — will march in the parade on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, including Andrey Kozlov, Ilana Gritzewsky, Aviva and Keith Siegel, Eliya Cohen, and Doron Steinbrecher. The hostages are marching to raise awareness for the 58 people still held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The logo of this year’s parade is a multicolored tree that has a yellow ribbon on its trunk, in solidarity with the hostages.
Almost daily, there have been anti-Israel protests in New York City, including on college campuses, and the city is facing an unprecedented uptick in antisemitism, according to the New York City Police Department (NYPD).
“We will not tolerate any attempts to disrupt this event or engage those who come to celebrate,” Trish started the security briefing on Friday morning by saying. She then detailed measures that will be taken by the NYPD at the parade on Sunday, which include requiring spectators to enter the viewing area through designated screening entry points. No backpacks, chairs, large bags, and other items will be allowed.
Tisch added that, while currently the NYPD is not aware of any specific or credible threats related to the parade, nevertheless there will be a “robust and visible police presence” at the event, including uniformed police officers as well as bomb squads and both counterterrorism and surveillance teams. NYPD helicopters and drones will also be in the area and intelligence teams will be moderating social media for potential threats.
“The NYPD will be out there to make sure Sunday is safe, joyful, and everything that it’s meant to be,” Tisch concluded.
“We want to ensure we have a safe acknowledgement of Israel’s Independence Day on Sunday,” Adams added. “We look forward to the flags and beauty of this celebration.”
Adams announced earlier this week the establishment of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, the first office of its kind to open in a major city in the US. The new mayoral office will aim to tackle “all forms of antisemitism.”
“There is no place for antisemitism and hate in the state of New York. Plain and simple,” Adams said at Friday’s security briefing. “Those who spread hate want to divide us, but we must remain united. A hateful few will not dictate how the rest of us live.”
Adams is scheduled to march in the parade on Sunday. New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James are also scheduled to attend. The parade is organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York with support from the UJA-Federation of New York.
The post New York City Mayor, Police Commissioner Detail Increased Security Measures for Israel Day Parade first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.