Annual pro-Israel march through New York City will be more somber this year: ‘It's all about the hostages’

The annual Israel Day on Fifth march through New York City has a special meaning this year, along with heightened security and special guests, as organizers hope to raise awareness and empathy for hostages captured during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. 

The event, a project of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, has long been billed as a "parade," but is simply called Israel Day on Fifth this year as the Hamas terror group continues to hold hostages. 

"It has a more somber, more meaningful tone to it because it's all about the hostages," Israel Day on Fifth grand marshal Harley Lippman told Fox News Digital. 

FAMILIES OF 5 ISRAELI HOSTAGES OF HAMAS RELEASE GRAPHIC VIDEO TO PUSH FOR THEIR RELEASE

Hamas terrorists killed civilians, including women, children and the elderly, when they attacked Israel on Oct. 7.  (Israel Defense Forces via AP)

Israel Day on Fifth organizers brought over hundreds of the hostages’ relatives from Israel for the event.

"We want to show them the love and support that they so desperately need," Lippman said. 

"To see 40,000-50,000 people marching with them and hundreds of thousands of people on the sidelines, cheering them, saying, ‘We're with you, we love you, we support you,’ will be very, very special and will be a morale booster for the hostage families who have been suffering for so long," he continued, adding that the hostages cannot be forgotten. 

The horrific Oct. 7 attack saw Hamas terrorists abduct hundreds of civilians, including women, children and the elderly. Over 100 remain unaccounted for. Hamas also murdered 1,200 people in the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

"We want to make sure the world puts attention on them. It's going into its eighth month, and the hostages and the families are in terrible agony, and they need to get their families back," Lippman said.

"We want to make sure that the world is watching," he continued. "So, it puts pressure on both Hamas and the Israeli government, and everybody else involved, to finally come to some closure to bring the hostages home now."

BODIES OF THREE HOSTAGES TAKEN BY HAMAS DURING ATTACK ON ISRAEL RECOVERED FROM GAZA

Israeli hostage families carry the photos of their loved ones who are held hostage by Hamas in Gaza as they march to Jerusalem. (Matan Golan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Lippman recently traveled to Israel and toured the site of the Nova music festival, where Hamas terrorists massacred hundreds of innocent people. Lippman said he saw firsthand evidence that women were tortured, repeatedly raped, mutilated and either slaughtered or taken hostage "for no reason other than they were Jewish." 

Israel declared war on Hamas following the attack, and its offensives in Gaza have generated outrage from anti-Israel voices around the world.

Lippman is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at Columbia University’s Graduate School of International and Public Affairs, where anti-Israel protesters have made news by causing havoc on campus in recent weeks. He’s well aware that Israel Day on Fifth could attract bad actors.

ISRAELI ARMY FINDS BODIES OF 3 HOSTAGES IN GAZA KILLED AT OCT. 7 MUSIC FESTIVAL

A student protester parades a Palestinian flag outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York.  (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)

"We do expect there to be many counter-demonstrators, and we've heard that they're going to try to infiltrate the parade, come inside the various groups that are going to be marching and dancing and pretend to be part of the group and do things that are disruptive, like shout ‘Free Palestine,’ and things of that nature," he said. 

"The New York City Police Department has added 700 more police … there's added security in addition to that. So, we're prepared, we’re not intimidated," Lippman continued. "We feel strong, we feel united. And we're going to march, hell or high water."

Israel Day on Fifth begins at 11:30 a.m. Sunday in New York City. 

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