• Copy to clipboard
• Share on Facebook
• Share on X
• Share on Bluesky
• Share on Reddit
• Share on Email
• Print Article
• Republish Article

Image by esther rabinowitz

By Charlie McLagan, Josh Nathan-KazisMay 31, 2012

Zionist Bikers: Youth groups and day schools dominate the annual Israel parade in New York. But there?s room for bikers, too. Image by esther rabinowitz

Click to enlarge.

New York City’s Celebrate Israel Parade is one of a kind. An annual Zionist promenade up Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, the 47-year-old festival is a Jewish take on the classic New York City ethnic parade. There’s nothing else quite like it in the country. In fact, it’s probably the biggest annual celebration of Israel in the world, outside of the Jewish state itself.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

But what is the parade, besides countless Israeli flags, glad-handing politicians and oceans of day school kids? The Forward has crunched the numbers. A picture emerges of an event that is largely Modern Orthodox, heavily suburban and mostly made up of groups of young people.

This year’s parade, organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, is scheduled for June 3. The day begins with a Celebrate Israel Run through Central Park at 8 a.m. The parade kicks off at 11 a.m. on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, and will air on local television station WWOR channel 9.

Read the Forward’s profile of Ted Comet, the founder of the parade.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount