The Israeli-American Council (IAC) earlier this week hosted the Celebrate Israel Unity Festival, sponsored by UJA-Federation of New York.

Around 3,000 people attended the festival, which featured Israeli food, art, live entertainment, and activities for families, kids, and teens.

The festival featured the parents of Naftali Frankel, Eyal Yifrah, and Gilad Sha'er – the three yeshiva students who were kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in 2014. The parents stressed the importance of unity among members of the Jewish community.

“It’s incredible seeing this gathering of such a diverse crowd coming together, just like two years ago, when we saw similar images of groups that were all completely different but they all came to help and support us.”

“The support you gave us then gave us strength, gave us hope, showed a light at a time of extreme darkness.”

“During the shiva, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat came to us with the idea of honoring our boys through unity. It is to honor their memory that we founded the Unity Prize and Unity Day,” said the parents.