Demonstrators are set to gather outside the Regency Hotel on Thursday (Sept. 21) at 6 pm to express their support for Israel on the evening before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations General Assembly.
(Rally will take place at 540 Park Avenue between 61st and 62nd Streets)
Thousands are expected to attend the rally, organized by “Stand with Israel” and sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition, EMET, AFSI, Amcha: Coalition for Jewish Concerns, [former] New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.
“Our focus is pro-Israel. Our messages are positive. We are bringing together American and Israeli Jews and non-Jews who truly love Israel, who don’t want to see her destroyed by leftist ideologues, who appreciate all of Israel’s beauty and goodness and contributions to the world and civil society at large and who want to shout Am Yisrael Chai while cheering her on,” organization spokesperson Lauri Regan Regan told JewishPress.com.
“During these Days of Awe, we Jews have a responsibility to ourselves and to God to ensure Israel’s survival. We want Israelis, the majority of whom voted for the current government and many of whom have rallied in its favor in Israel, to know that we support them, and we love the Jewish homeland,” Regan said.
“The UN is no friend to Israel, as we saw in yesterday’s horrific actions against Gilad,” she added.
The spokesperson was referring to the detention of Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan after he walked the General Assembly Hall holding up a photo of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, who was murdered a year ago by the Iranian regime for the “crime” of not properly covering her hair. This week Iran also approved a new hijab law that imposes a 10-year prison sentence for women who are “inappropriately” dressed.
“Thousands will attend this rally as we support Israel and its right to defend itself against Palestinian terror,” proclaims the flyer announcing the rally. “We will not allow Palestinian flags to be displayed as there continue to be daily terror attacks against innocent Israelis by Palestinian terrorists.”
Interestingly, the flyer says that speakers at the rally will not speak in favor or against the Israeli government’s planned judicial reform, which has sparked months of protests, rallies, and riots and which has prompted a campaign of harassment against the prime minister and his coalition members by a well-oiled left-wing machine.
Acclaimed Professor Alan Dershowitz, author of The Case for Israel, will lead off the speakers at the rally.
