“Every dead child is a loss for all.” This past Thursday, hundreds of people dressed in black gathered in a silent, solemn processional through midtown New York City, to mourn the thousands of children killed during the October 7th Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and the Israeli bombardment of Gaza that has followed. The procession was more like a funeral than a political rally. People marched silently in twos to a mournful drumbeat, holding up signs with photographs of Palestinian and Israeli children who have died since early October, and carrying effigies of deceased babies wrapped in white cloth. Led by the Jewish Elders for Palestine and JVPNY, the group wound its way up 6th Avenue from Bryant Park to Times Square, and then down a few blocks to a plaza where the mourners, some in tears, laid the effigies of the babies down in front of a banner that read, “Ceasefire Now.”
This is one of the drawings I made of people lining up for the procession. You can see the rest of the story HERE.
I don’t pretend to have any answers to the horrible situation in the Middle East, Ukraine, or in so many other areas of conflict around the world. All I know as we enter 2024 is that too many children are dying. It feels futile, but still, I hold hope for peace in 2024. For the world at large, and personally, for all of you who follow this blog.
Happy and Hopeful New Year 2024.
Posted by Veronica
