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<\/a><\/p>\nDillon Perez waves a Jewish pride flag at the New York City Pride March on June 29, 2026. (Grace Gilson)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Marching earlier in the day with \u201cJew York Pride,\u201d Perez was greeted with cheers and cries of \u201cJewish pride\u201d from spectators. But hours later, after joining a second Jewish contingent hosted by the liberal pro-Israel group Zioness, Perez endured booing and spectators shouting \u201cfree Palestine, f\u2013ck Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a sensitivity over this word, a Zionist,\u201d Perez, 30, said. \u201cThe way that it sparked something in the crowd was definitely different between the two, you know, that\u2019s just a fact.\u201d<\/p>\n
While both groups waved Pride flags featuring the Star of David and aimed to celebrate the intersection of their identities Sunday, the split-screen experience reflected the complicated reality many LGBTQ Jews say they face at Pride events post Oct. 7, and in the LGBTQ community at large.<\/p>\n
Sheri Krell, 39, marched with the Zioness contingent, which carried a large banner featuring the name and slogan \u201cunabashedly progressive, unapologetically Zionist.\u201d She said that despite the heckles the group faced, the experience underscored the importance of showing up with outwardly Jewish symbols at Pride.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, there was verbal harassment, but on the other hand, I think it was important to still be there and still take up space and to still represent queer Jews in the Pride parade,\u201d Krell said. \u201cBecause as much hate as we received, we also received a lot of positivity.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nJewish marchers join the “Zioness” contingent at the New York City Pride March on June 28, 2026. (Courtesy Alex Kaufman)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Alex Kaufman, 33, a partner of Zioness who organized their contingent Sunday, said that things had come to a \u201cboiling point\u201d in queer communities, with spaces becoming \u201clargely inhospitable to Jews, often who are Zionist or who maintain some semblance of ties to Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason why we came together today was to offer Jewish queer people a safe space to celebrate Pride, where they could bring their full identities in safely and be who they are without any reservation,\u201d Kaufman said.<\/p>\n
But while the Zioness group was met with hostility Sunday afternoon, the Jew York Pride group experienced a much different reaction.<\/p>\n
A marcher in the Jew York Pride contingent, Rivka Schafer, had also braced herself for the antisemitic heckling she had endured in past years at NYC Pride, but the boos never came.<\/p>\n
Instead, as Schafer and dozens of LGBTQ Jews made their way down the parade route under the blazing sun, they were met with cheers from spectators as they handed out hundreds of Pride flags featuring a star of David.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings definitely have cooled down a lot in the past few years,\u201d Schafer, 21, said. \u201cI think the Pride two years ago was pretty scary. I think this year, I was not afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nThe “Jew York Pride” group marches in the New York City Pride March on June 28, 2026. (Grace Gilson)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
An estimated 75,000 marchers, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and 2 million spectators packed the streets for the 56th annual NYC Pride March Sunday, which was themed \u201cFor All of Us.\u201d<\/p>\n
But for many Jewish participants, the festivities unfolded against a backdrop of growing unease.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a lot harder to be Jewish in queer spaces, and often hard to also be queer in Jewish spaces as well,\u201d Schafer said. \u201cAnd so I think that we\u2019ve seen record numbers of people here needing to find community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, Ottawa\u2019s Pride Parade was cancelled after pro-Palestinian protesters blocked the route, and in 2024, Jewish Lesbians in New York began hosting their own Pride celebration, Shalom, Dykes, after organizers of the Dyke March hosted their parade under the theme \u201cDykes Against Genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Saturday, California Jewish State Sen. Scott Wiener said in a post on X that he had been harassed \u201cverbally and physically\u201d while attending a trans march in San Francisco earlier in the week.<\/p>\n
Nate Shalev, the co-founder of Shalom, Dykes, said that LGBTQ Jews had begun to \u201cunderstand where they\u2019re being excluded and where it\u2019s okay to go.\u201d<\/p>\n