LGBTQ Jews face cheers and heckles at NYC Pride

Dillon Perez, 30, experienced a stark contrast at New York City's Pride March on Sunday, being both embraced and heckled for his Jewish identity. Marching with "Jew York Pride" earlier in the day, he was met with cheers. However, hours later, after joining a second Jewish contingent hosted by the liberal pro-Israel group Zioness, Perez endured booing and shouts of "free Palestine, f**k Israel."

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There's a sensitivity over this word, a Zionist. The way that it sparked something in the crowd was definitely different between the two, you know, that's just a fact.

"There's a sensitivity over this word, a Zionist," Perez said, noting the different crowd reactions. He highlighted that while both groups waved Pride flags featuring the Star of David and aimed to celebrate their intersecting identities, the split-screen experience reflected the complex reality many LGBTQ Jews face at Pride events, particularly after October 7 and within the broader LGBTQ community.

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Yes, 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. Because as much hate as we received, we also received a lot of positivity.

Sheri Krell, 39, marched with the Zioness contingent, which displayed a banner with the slogan "unabashedly progressive, unapologetically Zionist." Despite facing heckles, Krell emphasized the importance of outwardly displaying Jewish symbols at Pride. "Yes, 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," she said. "Because as much hate as we received, we also received a lot of positivity."

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The 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.

Alex Kaufman, 33, a partner of Zioness and organizer of their contingent, stated that queer communities have reached a "boiling point" with antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment, making spaces "largely inhospitable to Jews, often who are Zionist or who maintain some semblance of ties to Israel." Kaufman explained their group's aim was to provide Jewish queer people a safe space to celebrate Pride with their full identities. In contrast, the "Jew York Pride" group, including marcher Rivka Schafer, 21, found the atmosphere significantly calmer than in previous years, receiving cheers and handing out flags with a Star of David. Schafer noted, "Things definitely have cooled down a lot in the past few years."

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Things definitely have cooled down a lot in the past few years.