This photo essay is part of a series examining how Oct. 7 and its aftermath have changed the Jewish world. You can see the complete project here.
On Oct. 7, as news of Hamas’ invasion of Israel plunged Jews everywhere into shock and mourning, two rallies were called for midtown Manhattan for the next day.
In one, pro-Palestinian and leftist groups rallied against Israel, some celebrating the Hamas attack, drawing widespread condemnation from Jewish and political leaders. In the other, Jews gathered to grieve and express solidarity with Israelis. Demonstrators from the two sides later came together near Times Square, shouting at each other across a police barricade.
The Oct. 8 demonstrations presaged a year of turmoil on New York City’s streets, one in which the landscape of the city was punctuated by protest, graffiti, prayer and, at times, confrontation. A second, quieter transformation also took place, as the posters and stickers of the early days after Oct. 7 were removed, covered up or simply eroded as the seasons passed.
This is what New York City looked like in the year after Oct. 7.
The day after the Hamas invasion of Israel, hundreds gathered to protest Israel and, in some cases, to celebrate the attack, infuriating and unnerving many in the Jewish community, Oct. 8, 2023. (Luke Tress)
At the same time, hundreds of Jews and Israelis gathered in midtown Manhattan to mourn and rally in support of Israel. The two groups later met, with the pro-Palestinian side mocking and taunting the pro-Israel side. (Luke Tress)
Days later, the Jewish community held its first major gathering in support of Israel. Hundreds gathered across from the United Nations in midtown Manhattan to mourn the dead and demand the release of Hamas hostages, Oct. 10, 2023. (Luke Tress)
Pro-Palestinian rallies quickly gained steam, drawing hundreds of supporters to central locations in the city like Times Square, Oct. 13, 2023. (Luke Tress)
A grassroots initiative to raise awareness of the hostages’ plight took off in the week after the attack. Pro-Israel activists plastered city streets with posters of the captives; many were immediately torn down. Oct. 17, 2023. (Luke Tress)
The Jewish community’s focus shifted from mourning and shock to calling attention to the hostages. Some rallies demanded action from the international community with protests at the United Nations, Oct. 24, 2023. (Luke Tress)
A hostage display near the United Nations in midtown Manhattan, Oct. 24, 2023. (Luke Tress)
Some Jewish college students felt under siege in the weeks after the attack, as some classmates and faculty expressed support for the Hamas invasion of Israel. Hundreds of Jewish NYU students and supporters gathered in solidarity in Washington Square Park, Oct. 26, 2024. (Luke Tress)
A woman puts a hostage poster on the entrance to Cooper Union college after Jewish students were harassed, Oct. 26, 2023. (Luke Tress)
Customers pack into Caffe Aronne in the Upper East Side after staff members quit due to the store’s pro-Israel activities, Nov. 7, 2023. (Luke Tress)
Pro-Palestinian rallies expanded to target city landmarks and holiday events, and brought in groups like high school students, who rallied against Israel at the New York Public Library in midtown Manhattan, Nov. 9, 2023. (Luke Tress)
A Jewish man and an anti-Israel activist argue about street posters in midtown Manhattan, Nov. 9, 2023. (Luke Tress)
Some Hasidic communities expressed an outpouring of solidarity with the Jewish state and Israelis, such as at the annual Chabad conference in New Jersey, which drew rabbis from across the world, with a focus on Israel and the war effort, Nov. 12, 2024. (Luke Tress)
Jews from New York and around the country traveled to Washington, D.C., for a landmark pro-Israel rally, Nov. 14, 2023. (Luke Tress)
Defaced hostage posters in midtown Manhattan, Nov. 18, 2023. (Luke Tress)
Anti-Israel stickers in Manhattan, Nov. 30, 2023. (Luke Tress)
As evidence mounted of Hamas sexual violence against Israeli women, pro-Israel activists expressed outrage with the international community for its silence on the issue, holding rallies outside the United Nations, Dec. 4, 2024. (Luke Tress)
Left-wing Jews split from the mainstream, demanding a ceasefire at a Hanukah rally in Columbus Circle, Dec. 7, 2024. (Luke Tress)
Tensions spiked at colleges, especially Columbia University, as anti-Israel groups increasingly targeted Jewish students. After a rally on campus, anti-Israel activists blocked Jewish students from walking down a street next to campus, Feb. 2, 2024. (Luke Tress)
The hostages remained a focal point for the Jewish community with weekly rallies in Central Park. Keren Munder, a former hostage, protested to demand the release of her father, Avraham. His body was later recovered in Gaza. March 10, 2024. (Luke Tress)
In some quarters, Jewish life continued as usual. The Satmar Hasidic sect in Williamsburg, which opposes Zionism on theological grounds, held Purim festivities like any other year, March 24, 2024. (Luke Tress)
Purim in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, March 24, 2024. (Luke Tress)
Graffiti near Columbia University in Morningside Heights, April 28, 2024, offered a stark symbol of the battle between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel forces playing out on and near the campus. (Luke Tress)
Tensions reached a high at Columbia University when the administration called in the police to clear anti-Israel protesters from a campus building they forcibly occupied, April 30, 2024. (Luke Tress)
The college protests and surge in antisemitism compelled some Jews to step up security measures and train in self-defense, with one group practicing krav maga in the basement of a midtown Manhattan synagogue, May 21, 2024. (Luke Tress)
At a mincha service in midtown Manhattan in May 2024, observant Jewish activists associated with a progressive group called the Halachic Left prayed for the release of the hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza. (Gili Getz)
The annual Israel parade marked a major show of support for Israel and the hostages, with families of the captives leading the parade through midtown Manhattan, June 2, 2024. (Luke Tress)
In some places, as at Baruch College over the summer, anti-Israel protesters expressed open support for Hamas by wearing headbands and bearing flags associated with the terror group, June 5, 2024. (Luke Tress)
Chalk graffiti, including an inverted triangle, a Hamas symbol, in Union Square, June 10, 2024. (Luke Tress)
Anti-Israel rhetoric spurred political action in and around the city, with a Jewish get-out-the-vote effort helping to unseat Israel critic Jamaal Bowman from his congressional seat in Westchester County and the Bronx, June 19, 2024. (Luke Tress)
Hostage posters are placed among prayers at the gravesite of Chabad leader Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson on the anniversary of his death, in Queens, July 9, 2024. (Luke Tress)
Graffiti reading “Kill a cop, safe a life,” and “Viva Hamas,” accompanied by the inverted triangle, a Hamas symbol, near Union Square, Sept. 12, 2024. (Luke Tress)
A volunteer with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum shows a tattoo commemorating the Oct. 7 attack at a rally for the hostages in midtown Manhattan. Volunteers handed out stickers with the number “351,” marking the number of days since the captives were taken. Sept. 20, 2024. (Luke Tress)
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