New York is home to the largest Jewish community outside Israel, nearly 1 million in the city, and also has about 6,825 residents who identify as Palestinian,
Since Hamas attacked on Israel on Oct. 7 of last year, the events of that day and Israel’s ensuing war in Gaza have reverberated in New York, as they are again on the first anniversary of the conflict.
The day of remembrance and protest in the city follows a year of demonstrations in support of Israel and of the Palestinian people — turnouts that were largely peaceful but sometimes turned volatile as heightened emotions led to clashes with the police.
It is no surprise that feelings about the conflict have been raw. New York is home to the largest Jewish community outside Israel — nearly 1 million in the city — and also has about 6,825 residents who identify as Palestinian, according to the U.S. census. The anniversary falls at a solemn time for Jews known as the Days of Awe, between Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
In the year since the Oct. 7 attacks, demonstrators in New York have expressed their outrage over U.S. funding and support for Israel’s actions in Gaza, which have killed more than 40,000 Palestinians. Others have focused on the return of Israeli hostages taken to Gaza by Hamas, in addition to the 1,200 Israelis killed on Oct. 7. About 100 of the original 250 hostages are still believed to be held; the rest were returned or rescued, or died in captivity.
As the war has raged and the death toll increased, the city has seen rising instances of antisemitic and anti-Muslim violence and harassment.
Much attention focused on student encampments and counterprotests in the spring at Columbia University and other campuses, some of which led to mass arrests and the cancellation of graduation ceremonies. But protests continued after the encampments were dismantled, and as the new school year began, colleges in New York and around the country created new rules to pre-empt problems. New York University, for example, updated its student guidelines specifying that language targeting Zionists or Zionism could violate its anti-discrimination policy.
