NEW YORK — Several hundred demonstrators rallied in support of the Israeli hostages on Sunday in New York City’s Central Park, after a firebombing of a hostage rally in Boulder, Colorado, last weekend.
The Central Park rally takes place every Sunday, and the latest demonstration drew a larger crowd than usual as participants, including community leaders, showed up in response to the Colorado attack, despite security concerns.
The crowd held photos of the hostages and Israeli flags and chanted, “Seal the deal,” and “You are not alone.”
Speakers repeatedly referred to the attack in Colorado.
“That group in Boulder was attacked by a person with the worst intentions,” organizer Eilon Baer told the crowd. “We will not be stopped by hate, we will not be stopped by violence, we will continue showing up.”
“We know that there are those who try to silence us,” said Eric Goldstein, the head of the UJA-Federation of New York.
“They were not silenced, they’re back again this week,” Goldstein said of the protest group in Boulder. “We cannot be silenced. We must come back stronger.”
Also attending were former hostage Raz Ben Ami, US Rep. Dan Goldman, Jewish Community Relations Council of New York leader Mark Treyger, New York City Councilmember Susan Zhuang, and the parents of Matan Lior, an Israeli killed at the Supernova party during Hamas’s October 2023 invasion of Israel.
Some in the crowd cried as Lior’s mother, Sarah Cohen, described his final moments.
Organizers said they had increased security at the event. The crowd gave a round of applause for the police and the security company protecting the rally.
Bigger crowd than usual at the first Central Park hostages rally since the firebomb attack in Colorado pic.twitter.com/dBnwVpE1AK
— Luke Tress (@luketress) June 8, 2025
The Boulder attack came after a shooter murdered two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, and an arsonist set fire to the home of Jewish Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in April. All three attackers said they were motivated by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The series of attacks has fueled fears of further violence from left-wing anti-Israel activists.
Organizers at the New York rally encouraged attendees to ignore any protests.
A handful of passersby shouted at the hostage demonstrators. One man on a bike rode past, made an obscene gesture, and shouted “Free Palestine” — the same slogan voiced by the Colorado and Washington assailants during their attacks.
In addition to the turmoil caused by the Boulder attack, there were several hostage developments in Gaza in the past week, when Israeli forces recovered the bodies of three captives — Gadi Haggai, Judih Weinstein, and Nattapong Pinta.
On Saturday, Hamas released a new photo of hostage Matan Zangauker and threatened his execution.
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