Walking and cheering for Israel
Big Apple hosts one of the largest displays of support for Israel during annual parade
Rockland county's delegation (Photo: Josh Hamerman)
The parade held annually since 1964 and organized by the Israel Tribute Committee Inc., attracted politicians such as Governor Eliot Spitzer and Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-New York), Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey), and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
Dan Gillerman, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, and Arye Mekel, the Israeli consul general in New York, also marched, as did Dr. Ruth Westheimer and the first Israeli player in the WNBA basketball league, Shay Doron of the New York Liberty team.
One of the grand marshals, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, marched alongside his Jerusalem counterpart, Uri Lupolianski, and the other grand marshal, American actress Tovah Feldshuh.
“It was the first time I linked arms with Mayor Bloomberg at the parade, and even though I’m a Democrat it was a pleasure to do so,” Feldshuh told Ynetnews. “I have a wonderful time every year with the mayor, and this time I also got to walk with my good friends Dan and Janice Gillerman.”
Feldshuh won a Tony Award nomination in 2004 for portraying former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in the Broadway play “Golda’s Balcony.”
The parade, which featured the theme “Israel lights up our lives” this year, was sponsored by the UJA Federation of New York, Jewish National Fund, and State of Israel Bonds. Its route extended along Fifth Avenue between 57th and 79th Streets in Manhattan.
Feldshuh said she found the participation of schoolchildren in the parade especially moving because “it embodied the Jewish concept of ‘l’dor v’dor’ (‘generation to generation’) – passing on our love for Israel to our children.”
