The Macys Thanksgiving parade started in 1924 through 34th Street in New York. Two hundred fifty thousand people watched it from the streets with a few vast balloons and floats like Felix the Cat. The parade has evolved with more people watching and more abundant with floats. Thanksgiving Day of 2024 has officially marked the 98th annual of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. Millions of people watch it from the streets or on their television. It has become a growing fan favorite event to watch on Thanksgiving. With so much happening on West 77th Street and Central Park West, something wrong is bound to happen.
Bright and early, at 8:30 am, the parade starts. Many people are watching from their TVs now, unlike when the parade was launched when TVs didn’t exist. It’s a great way to get people’s attention or advertise something. That’s the exact idea and reason why a group of anti-Israel protesters tried to stop the parade. “Autonomous Anti-Genocide activists,” said Talia Jane on X.
Roughly 25 of them were all on the sidelines and hopped the fence to run into the middle of the street. They all wore brightly colored rain ponchos because it was raining outside to grab your attention. A few held a huge sign saying “Don’t Celebrate Genocide” with additional text surrounding it. The rest sat on the ground, almost making the situation look like a group photo. Smaller signs were also held with just the Gaza flag on it.
Ultimately, they are protesting genocides and wars in Gaza and want to bring awareness to it. They purposely blocked the Ronald McDonald float because McDonalds supports Israel. McDonalds kept their restaurants open during the war in Gaza, unlike many other franchises, and they also gave food to Israeli soldiers.
Eventually, after yelling chants, enforcement showed up. One was taken and arrested by a cop until the NYPD took all. They were all escorted off the street and taken into custody. The parade then went on as usual, except for the exponential downpour of rain.
This is a common issue, though, around most parades. Due to the many people viewing, it’s easy to grab everyone’s attention. Recently, this applies to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war; it seems almost every week, you hear about someone protesting it. Whether in a parade, courtroom, or university, it’s everywhere.
The War they are protesting has been going on for a year. The 2023 Israel–Hamas war started when Israel invaded Gaza. Israel wanted to make their country safer, but as a result, they killed many, and the same with Hamas. Tens of thousands are being injured or killed, and some are taken hostage.
The protesters jumping in the parade while in session was a bad crime and disturbance. What they are protesting is a serious topic, though. But It is still a crime. This isn’t the first time protesters disturbed the Macys Thanksgiving parade; they also did it last year but weren’t in the same group. Is this becoming the normal now every year?
