The Loudest Cheers

I imagine the Celebrate Israel Parade is a bit like how the mitzvah of Hakhel will be: Jews come from all over to gather together and celebrate part of our heritage. Hakhel, the second-to-last mitzvah in the Torah, happens once every seven years. The entire nation gathers in Yerushalayim to hear the king read a portion of the Torah out loud. The text (Deuteronomy 31:12) details who should be there: men, women, children and the “gercha asher bishaarecha,” usually translated as the resident alien — a non-Jew who lives amongst Jews. There are clearly many differences between Hakhel and the annual parade that took place this year on May 18th — but some of the similarities are striking.

The Celebrate Israel Parade is a huge parade through the streets of New York City, with delegations sent from Jewish schools and organizations. For many schools in the New York area, attending the parade is a staple of each year. As with Hakhel, children of all ages attend the parade, proudly marching with their schools. Adults are there as well, serving as teachers, chaperones, observers on the side or marching with their own groups.

This year, the parade, usually in June, was moved to May, right in the midst of YU’s final exam season. Despite finals being scheduled for the next day, many YU students, along with faculty members, chose to give up hours of precious study time in order to show support for Israel. We gathered on Madison Avenue to pick up our YU parade shirts, then made our way across Fifth Avenue to Sixth Avenue and 53rd Street to wait. About an hour later, we set off.

For the first few blocks, we stopped and started several times. There were no people watching along the sides at that point, but there were many police officers. My friend took it upon herself to say “thank you” to every police officer and member of Hatzalah that we walked past. I joined her in this; we were so grateful that the police helped make it possible for us to totally reroute traffic for the day, and, of course, kept us safe.

At some point, crowds of people appeared on the east side of Fifth Avenue, watching us from behind barriers as we marched. People held flags and signs supporting Israel, and we waved and cheered at them as we passed. Initially, our cheering had been for moments when we started marching again after having stopped; now, we cheered along with the people on the sidelines, knowing that we were united in our Judaism and our support of Israel. The camaraderie felt is one that I imagine might be felt at Hakhel as we gather to learn from the Torah and celebrate our heritage in a mini Har Sinai moment. Jewish geography was present as well, a given any time Jews gather, and all the more so in a huge event like the parade or Hakhel. As we walked past the crowds, part of the fun became watching for people that we knew. My friend ran over to the side at one point and excitedly hugged younger students from her high school; a different girl fell behind as someone called her over to the side. I myself waved excitedly upon seeing my grandmother watching at 68th Street and a friend at 72nd. 

There was one group of people there, however, who could not engage in Jewish geography. Yet their presence was felt the most strongly of all: the ger, present at the parade just like at Hakhel. 

They seemed like just another group of people standing on the side, holding signs, but what the signs said made all the difference. I can’t remember exactly if it was “Christians for Israel” or “Christians Support Israel,” but it was some iteration of that. Upon seeing this, we exploded. 

Our cheers, up until then, had been good, loud, but not anything special. But upon seeing the group of Christians standing there and waving in support, we screamed, we waved, we cheered for them more loudly than we had cheered for any of the Jews we had seen, more loudly than we had cheered for any friends or family members. The parade is always full of Jews, and while the gathering of so many of us was so special, it wasn’t unexpected. We had a responsibility to be there.

The Christians, though? They had no responsibility to be there. If they hadn’t been there, we wouldn’t have thought to miss them. And yet, they came. They stood on the sides and came to show their support for us. And wow, how we appreciated them. 

It can be scary to be a Jew in this world. I’ve learned a lot about antisemitism this year from various classes and extracurricular responsibilities, as well as through reading the news. Just the other day, two Israeli Embassy staff members were killed in Washington, D.C. It feels like it’s us against the world, like there is no one who supports us, and even if there is someone who doesn’t hate us, why would they bother speaking up about it?

The presence of these Christians was a reminder that there are people out there who don’t hate us. They may not be the ones who make the news, but they’re there. They showed up for us at the parade, and our hearts exploded as we walked past them. We screamed out our gratitude, our awe, all of the emotions that come with being shown a tiny bit of love in a world so saturated with hate. It was a Hallel in a way, an unplanned outburst of gratitude toward what felt like a miracle.

To those non-Jews who support us, thank you. Whether quietly or loudly, it means the world to know that not everyone hates us.

We’re cheering for you.

Photo Caption: An Israeli flag waves at the Celebrate Israel Parade

Photo Credit: Benjamin Kanter / Mayoral Photo Office