NEW YORK (AP) — Marchers in the Israel Day Parade up Fifth Avenue faced some dissonant spectators: Orthodox Jews who don’t believe Israel should exist.
Standing near them at the celebration May 31 were other Orthodox men heckling gay marchers while hoisting signs that read: “Judaism considers male homosexuality a sin worse than murder.”
But mostly, New York’s annual celebration of Israel was greeted by tens of thousands of spectators devoted to the Jewish state. As usual, security was especially tight for a parade that is a potential terrorist target, as are other prominent Jewish venues in New York City.
The anti-Israel protesters are members of a group that calls for a dismantling of the Jewish state. They believe Jews are forbidden to have their own state until the coming of their messiah.
