Yash Roy Photo
Pro-Palestine protesters gather at Thursday's tree-lighting.
As close to a thousand people gathered for New Haven’s annual tree-lighting celebration on the Green, hundreds protested mere feet away in support of Gaza and Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem, where there will be no Christmas celebrations due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
Jewish Voice for Peace New Haven and Yalies4Palestine responded to that call Thursday night during New Haven’s annual tree lighting-ceremony, with nearly 350 protesters gathering near the tree. They later marched around the Green, chanting and calling upon New Haven and Connecticut elected officials to support a permanent ceasefire for the conflict.
The Jewish Voice for Peace protest was led in part by Rabbi May Ye of the New Haven Mending Minyan, who told the Independent that the protest was her way to “mourn for the dead and fight like hell for the living.”
Thursday’s protest marked just marked just the latest effort by New Haveners and Yalies to publicly reckon with and grieve the violence in the Middle East.
The protesters alternated between moments of silence and songs that ranged from gospel, the civil rights era, and Jewish liturgy, including Lo Yisa Goy, the Hebrew song whose words translate to “may no nation rise up in war against another nation.”
Rev. Allie Perry of the Shalom United Church of Christ was also at the protest and spoke out for the rights of Gaza and Palestinians. “Today we are witnessing another slaughter of innocents, this time in Gaza,” Perry said. “We in this vigil are responding to the cry from Palestinian Christians to act on Jesus’ message and to call for peace, for a permanent end to the war and atrocities in Gaza, and for an end to Israel’s occupation.”
Ye also called out New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, Governor Ned Lamont, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro for their continued support of Israel. “I am so disappointed in my elected officials for not speaking out in support of a ceasefire and an end to Israel’s bombings,” Ye said.
After the tree was lit, the protestors marched around the Green with chants calling for a ceasefire, admonishing Elicker and Lamont for their support of Israel and denouncements of the Israeli Defense Force. At the end of the protest, organizers from the New Haven Citywide Youth Coalition and Yalies4Palestine also spoke, including a call by both groups for the New Haven Board of Alders to support a resolution during the Board’s meeting in December calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Sheelah Howard (left) with her business's eponymous cheesecake.
At the same time that the protest took place, close to a thousand New Haveners gathered for a wholly different reason — to celebrate the kick-off to the holiday season with musical performances, food stalls, and a carousel.
Vendors gathered to sell everything from ceramics and t‑shirts to kettle corn and cheesecakes throughout the festival. Those vendors included Sheelah Howard, who founded Auntie Sheelah’s cheesecakes right before the pandemic. This tree-lighting ceremony was the first time she sold her sweets at the festival, and it was a big hit. She brought close to 70 cheesecakes to the fest and by 7 p.m. had only five left.
“I just love this so much because I love my city and want to show up when it celebrates,” Howard said. “I’m getting to see people who I’ve met through selling my cheesecakes and meet even more people.”
For some, the tree lighting has been a tradition, like mom Tina Zalawski and her kids Joel and Lex Olriveras, who she has been bringing to the tree lighting ceremony since they were babies.
Miguel Bueno and Mayra Juahuazo, sharing their first time at the tree lighting fest
“I just love Christmas, and over the years, it’s been a great way to celebrate family and have everyone together,” Zalawski said. “It’s gone from being something I bring my kids to now also bringing my grandkids to, which I love so much.”
For others, this tree lighting was their first time, like residents Miguel Bueno and Mayra Juahuazo.
“My friends and customers at my business have told me to come for a long time, so we finally did this year, and I’m really happy that we did,” Bueno said.