Salute to Israel Parade set Sunday By Steve Lieberman The Journal News Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties in New York http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/052104/b0321israelparade.html (Original publication: May 21, 2004) Malky Rosenthal fits right into the theme for Sunday's annual Salute to Israel Parade on the streets of Manhattan. The 21-year-old Spring Valley woman wants to live in Israel after graduating in January from Yeshiva University's Stern College for Women. "My plans are to move to Israel as soon as I can," she said. "I believe that's the place for me. I lived in Israel for 1 1/2 years, going to school there. My bond is strong to my heritage. I have lived life there and it doesn't scare me to go." The 40th annual New York City parade's theme this year is "Let's Go to Israel... NOW!." It's an effort to encourage tourism, solidarity and immigration to Israel, while pumping much-needed revenue into the country's economy. The New York City parade salutes the 56th anniversary of Israel, created by a U.N. resolution in November 1947. The state's first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, declared statehood on May 15, 1948. The parade comes as fighting between Israeli and Arab militants escalates, a continuation of 56 years of Arab conflicts with the Jewish state. The New York City parade usually draws more than 100,000 marchers, 25 marching bands, and 30 floats up Fifth Avenue, from 57th up to 79th Street. Hundreds of thousands of people line the streets along Central Park. Hundreds of Rockland residents will participate in the parade, with dozens of synagogues, schools and organizations sending busloads of people. Each marching group will depict a place or an activity as tourists in Israel. The Reuben Gittelman Hebrew Day School's 75 adults and children have built a typical Israeli marketplace, with a camel on wheels, to create a slice of Israeli life. They are marching with a Westchester school, so their contingent could reach 175 people. "The kids love getting involved with Israel and the parade," said Sharon Sasson of Reuben Gittelman. "The parade is always one of those feel-good days. You are showing your solidarity to the Jewish state." The Orangetown Jewish Center's marchers will dress as hikers climbing Masada, a historical site of Jewish defiance of Roman rule. Others will dress as swimmers wading through the Dead Sea. "We're paying tribute to the beauty of Israel," Rabbi Craig Scheff said. "The parade is important for the participants and for us to witness the stand of solidarity with the state of Israel." Scheff, a frequent traveler to Israel, said 65 members of the synagogue were traveling to Israel in June, with plans to visit the Negev desert and the biblical sites. Another perennial marcher, the Adolf H. Schriber Hebrew Academy of Rockland in Monsey, will again participate in the parade with its children and parents. A first-time parade participant will be the volunteer Monsey Fire Department, which boasts a membership that is 80 percent Jewish. As many as 20 members will march, along with the department's fire pumper, Fire Chief Andre Schlissel said. A firefighter got the department invited as a marcher. "We want to show our good will and our solidarity with Israel," he said. "This is going to be an adventure for those going. A lot of our people work down in the city. And the parades in the city are very good." The parade is just one way of cementing historical, religious and emotional bonds among diaspora Jews and the state of Israel, a country created following the murder of 6 million European Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. The United Nations partitioned the British mandate of Palestine into two states - one Jewish and the other Arab. The Jews of Palestine accepted a state, while the Arabs declined and a half-dozen Arab countries invaded Israel. "I think the parade becomes more important every year," Nanuet Hebrew Center Rabbi Paul Kurland said. "We need to show Israel that we stand with her - now and always." Kurland said the Jewish connection to Israel must go beyond solidarity and celebration on the shores of the United States. He said the parade was a fabulous experience. Israel still offers Jews a hope after 2,000 years of diaspora. "We need to connect more American Jews to Israel," he said. "We need to travel to Israel, experience the country first-hand and see what it offers Jewish people. I don't think I am fantasizing, but I see more apathy. "So many people say they are Jewish in their hearts," Kurland said. "There is no such thing. Judaism is a religion and a culture that demands action. Action is the foundation that nurtures us as Jews." Rosenthal has attended the parade at least 10 times. Her connection to Israel comes from her family. She went to school in Israel in 2001 and 2002. Her younger sister, Leba, 18, also plans to attend school in the Jewish state this year. "I know a lot of people are very scared to go to Israel," Malky Rosenthal said. "Israel is not as dangerous as people think. There are places you should not go, like anywhere else. I have lived there and there are plenty of places you can live. What's important is that all people support Israel." ---------- Steve Lieberman slieberm@thejournalnews.com