The largest annual gathering of Jews will be celebrating Jerusalem Unification Day in a mammoth parade and concert in New York on Sunday. Jerusalem Day will be celebrated in Israel Sunday night and Monday. The free concert will take place following the parade on Summer Stage in Central Park from 2:30-6:30 p.m. (EDT).
The Salute to Israel event in New York is being sponsored by the Concert-in-the-park Committee with sponsorship by the National Council of Young Israel. New York State and international political leaders also will attend.
Dr. Joseph Frager, long-time Organizer of the afternoon concert, and Chairpersons Dr. Paul and Drora Brody, are bringing to the stage top artists from the Jewish music world including Piamenta Band , Yood, Shlomo Haviv, Chaim Kiss, Shloimy Bluth, Simply Tsfat, Yechiel Lichtiger, Jerry Markovitz, Hamakor, Yaakov Chesed, Shlomo Aharoni, and the father and son duo Dr. Meyer and Baruch Abittan.
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The concert will be broadcast live over the Internet on Israel National Radio, with show host Tovia Singer.
The parade is the largest Jewish community parade in the world, with more than 100,000 participants, one million spectators and millions more on television. Approximately 20,000 men, women, teenagers and children are expected to attend the concert which will launch its message hopefully to be heard from the Knesset to the White House and the world-over.
This year's event celebrates 60 years of Israel’s independence and brings together groups from different segments of the American-Jewish community. Sixty shofar blowers will open the parade at 11 a.m., and 60 motorcycle riders bearing flags of Israel will close it at 4:30 p.m. The Empire State Building will be lit in blue and white during the entire weekend.
Another feature will be a human ribbon of color and movement by international dance troupes in an array of costumes as they perform their national dance. Participants include the Russian Ballet, Bukharin and Georgian dancers, Israeli folk dancers and Klezmer bands.
Street performers, clowns, jugglers, and face painters, horse-drawn carriages, antique cars and super-luxury limousines will join the parade, along with the largest hora in the world since 1948, floats and 20 marching bands.