Rockland County Exec Comes Out Strongly in Favor of Israel, Blasts Hamas for Palestinian Suffering

Rockland’s State of the County address took an unexpected turn, shifting from a review of the past year’s accomplishments to an unwavering expression of support for the State of Israel.

Giving his annual speech highlighting key initiatives over the past year on March 26th, County Executive Ed Day was interrupted more than ten times by pro-Palestinian hecklers, all of whom were escorted out of the lobby of the building by members of law enforcement. A former commanding officer with the NYPD who also served as chief of detectives for the Baltimore Police Department, Day appeared unruffled by intrusions, occasionally stopping for lengthy pauses as his eyes swept the audience, sending the silent message that intrusions would not be tolerated.

But 14 minutes into his speech after his remarks on how Rockland had turned the tide on a 2022 polio outbreak were interrupted by yet another pro-Palestinian protestor, Day shifted gears, sharing personal own thoughts on the ongoing war in Gaza.

“Well since he brought it up, I’ll say it,” said Day. “I support Israel, fully and completely.”

Day’s unexpected remarks elicited sustained applause, which lasted for 13 seconds until he began speaking again.

“And for those who suddenly found an issue that they want to make a stink about, think about this. April 1942… would we have pushed the United States of America to turn around and cease fire?” remarked Day. “We cease fire when we have unconditional victory. Unfortunately, we have people who are in the middle of this but, frankly, when you keep putting fighters in hospitals, you’re going to have a problem and it’s just really a shame that the Palestinian Hamas caused such grief and pain to people through what they’ve been doing.”

According to News 12 (bit.ly/3PHzlI6), the protestors were organized by Rockland for Palestine and Rockland for Ceasefire, who criticized Day in an email for not showing compassion to Palestinians who have lost loved ones in the war. Their efforts to get Day to take a stand on Gaza clearly fell short and won them no points with the county executive.

“Those folks who come and interrupt everything, they’re entitled to that, to a degree,” said Day, in an interview following his speech. “But they’re not entitled to not allowing other people to hear the other side of the coin, which in this case, is the condition of our county.”