NY’s Israel Parade becomes a point of contention
Rothman loses temper, rips megaphone away from protesters in Manhattan
Jewish organizations across the political spectrum are gearing up for what organizers say will be one of the largest Celebrate Israel parades ever on Sunday to mark Israel’s 75th birthday
Organizers say more than 40,000 people are expected to march – some in sympathy with the Israeli protesters, others who support the government’s proposed overhaul, and still others who say the 75th anniversary of the Jewish state should be an occasion for Jewish solidarity no matter who heads its government or the policies they promote.
To underscore that last message, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the parade’s sponsor, generated, for the second year, a letter signed by area rabbis from all denominations urging participation in the parade.
“Events like the parade bridge the divide between us, whether political, religious, or cultural,” the letter reads. “It’s a chance for us to gather as Jews and walk together, showing the world that we are one community even when we disagree.”
“It will probably be noisy and chaotic, But then again, the Jewish people are noisy and chaotic, and Israel is noisy and chaotic. So we’re just encouraging people to be there, to participate, and to come together and walk together,” Gideon Taylor, executive vice president of New York’s Jewish Community Relations Council, told eJewishPhilanthropy.
Plans by Israel’s acting consul-general in New York, Israel Nitzan, may test that proposition. Nitzan will lead an Israeli delegation of as many as 18 cabinet ministers and other Knesset members, which would be the most ever to attend the parade. They include Nir Barkat, the minister of economy and industry and the minister of Diaspora affairs, Amichai Chikli, as well as Simcha Rothman, the chair of the law and justice committee who is an architect of the judicial reforms.
Four opposition MKs were also slated to attend: Yisrael Beytenu’s Sharon Nir and Evgeny Sova; National Unity MK Orit Farkash-Hacohen; and Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak.
Shany Granot-Lubaton, the organizer of the UnXeptable-Saving Israeli Democracy activist group, said they expect more than 400 of their supporters to follow the ministers as they travel throughout the city for the parade.
That was already shown in action on Friday evening, when Rothman was caught on video forcibly taking a megaphone away from protesters in New York City as they demonstrated against the government’s judicial overhaul plans and policies.
Rothman was returning from a meeting with the Jewish Agency when a group of protesters from the UnXeptable movement and Brothers in Arms walked behind him and his security guards on the route back to his hotel.
Granot-Lubaton stated ahead of the incident: “In Manhattan, there is still democracy here, and therefore we can tell MK Rothman face-to-face what we think, and no police officer will stop us from exercising our basic freedom of expression.”
The protest group followed Rothman and his security guards, speaking into a megaphone as they went.
Rothman appeared to lose his temper with the group, turning around suddenly and snatching the megaphone out of the protester’s hands.
Rothman then continued walking, still holding the megaphone, as his security guards rushed to catch up with him.
In a second video clip, a protester can be seen running up to Rothman in an attempt to take back the megaphone. However, before he could approach the MK, he was thrown to the ground by a security guard, pulling a second protester down with him as he fell.
“He’s a violent man! A violent man,” the person recording the video can be heard shouting in Hebrew as Rothman and his security guards continued walking. “I thought you were just violent with the legislation? Thief!”
After continuing to walk for around 30 seconds, Rothman then returned the megaphone to the protesters without saying anything to them.
According to a statement from the anti-government protest groups, the protester who was assaulted is a lawyer and graduate student at Columbia University and intends to file assault charges against Rothman.
“Even Rothman’s violence will not break our resolve, and the historic protest will only gain momentum,” the protester in question said. “We stand here in solidarity and support with our families and friends in Israel who are steadfastly defending Israeli democracy.”