New York Governor, Kathy Hochul, opened Israel Day on 5th Parade and addressed the crowds calling for the release of the hostages in Gaza.
"Families have suffered every single night, wondering the fate of their loved ones. It is cruel. It is inhumane and we stand together united as a state, that says, ‘Let these families be in peace, let them be with their loved ones.’ let that happen not a day longer. We must stop this pain for these individuals and I as the Governor of a state that is so proud, so incredibly proud to be the home of the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, we will continue to stand with these families until their loved ones are brought home.”
Governor Hochul called out: “That is our commitment to you, and we will continue to fight the scourge of antisemitism, which has reared its ugly head in unspeakable ways, even in our home state. We'll continue to pass tougher laws related to hate crime. We'll protect our institutions with more security grants, and we will make sure that Holocaust education is happening in our schools because so many people seem to be not aware of the history of what these individuals and their parents and grandparents have gone through.”
She ended her greetings, with her undertaking to, “Support Israel, to support the hostage families and, of course, Jewish people all over America are united. Thank you very much, let's begin the March.”