The annual Israel Day parade will march up Fifth Ave. on May 31 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
ISRAEL DAY ON 5th
62nd to 74th St. up Fifth Ave.
Sunday, May 31, free, 11:30 am – 4:00 pm
israeldayon5th.com
On May 14, 1948, “The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel” proclaimed, “The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice, and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race, or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education, and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.” Israel’s existence has been fraught with controversy since the very beginning, but especially now since the October 7 attacks by Hamas and Benjamin Netanyahu’s military response in Gaza, but the nation perseveres, and on May 31 its seventy-eighth birthday will be honored with the annual Israel Day parade. This year’s theme does not back away from the growing vitriol, making a point: “Proud Americans, Proud Zionists.”
On Sunday, tens of thousands of marchers are expected to make their way from Sixty-Second to Seventy-Fourth Sts. up Fifth Ave., including members of synagogues and youth organizations, musicians, dancers, political figures (but not Mayor Zohran Mamdani), community and advocacy groups, civil servants, with lots of flag waving and singing, but the specific roster of entertainers is not being made public in advance of the event. There will be tighter security than ever, for participants as well as viewers; you can check out the details here. As a sign of the times, the grand marshal is police commissioner Jessica Tisch, who said in a press conference, “To be blunt, we are not messing around with security at this year’s parade.”
Onlookers. celebrants, and well-wishers can enter on Madison Ave. at Sixty-First, Sixty-Third, Sixty-Sixth, Seventieth, and Seventy-Third Sts.; the parade will also be broadcast on MY9 and livestreamed here.