Noontime ceremonies in City Hall Plaza today honored Israel on the eve of her 25th anniversary. May 6-7, and launched a six-week "New York Salute to Israel" to be observed by numerous public and private bodies throughout the city. Mayor John V. Lindsay officially proclaimed the City’s "Salute" at today’s gathering, attended by some 3000 people including civic and communal leaders and students from New York’s Jewish day schools.
The ceremonies, conducted by Abraham Feinberg, chairman of the New York Committee for Israel’s 25th Anniversary Celebration, were carried out in a jubilant atmosphere. Hundreds of students carried Israeli flags and Jewish and Israeli songs resounded throughout the plaza. In his welcome to the gathering Feinberg declared:
"New Yorkers are proud to lead the way in hailing Israel’s first twenty-five years of achievement. The celebration we begin today salutes the great contribution Israel’s people have made to the same ideals of freedom, self-reliance and democracy which are at the heart of the American credo." Feinberg also noted that the celebration "expresses our hope that the next twenty-five years will see real peace and prosperity come to all the peoples of the Middle East."
Ambassador David Rivlin, Israel’s Consul General, presented, Lindsay with an Israel 25th anniversary album and said: "We draw confidence and high hopes for the future as we enter the next 25-years, even as we all know of the challenges and dangers with which we shall have to cope and which will require all our dedication and devotion."
Rivlin also said that Israel pledges to continue its constant vigilance in the field of the security and defense of its borders and to struggle for a true and stable peace for Israel and for all peoples in the Middle East.
Rabbi Israel Miller president of the American Zionist Federation, reminded the gathering of the plight of Jews in the Soviet Union and in Iraq. Bess Myerson, former Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, read excerpts from Israel’s Proclamation of Independence, which established the State on May 14, 1948.
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