The 13th annual “Salute to Israel” parade took place today as marching bands, colorful floats, and the marching contingents of around 300 schools and youth groups paraded up New York’s Fifth Avenue. Parade organizers said approximately 75,000 youths participated. More than 100,000 spectators watched, according to the police.
Representatives of Israel, and government officials from New York City and State greeted the marchers as they passed before the reviewing stand where an orchestra played Jewish and Israeli songs.
The Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, delivered a prayer for Israel and addressed the crowd. He said: “Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) are the heart and soul of the holy land and will be an integral part of Israel . . . We shall continue to settle all of Israel. We shall not remove anybody from the land. We shall grant equal rights and shall prove there is no racism and discrimination in Israel. The holy places were never so well protected as they are now.”
DINITZ: NO COMPROMISE ON SECURITY
The theme of the parade, sponsored by the American Zionist Youth Foundation, was “If I Forget Thee, O Jerusalem,” in honor of the 10th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification. Simcha Dinitz, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, said, “Through the unification of Jerusalem we will reassert the unification of Jewry,” adding: “There is going to be no government in Israel that is not willing to negotiate for peace. But no government of Israel will compromise its security.”
Chaim Herzog, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations warned: “Let us never forget the three weeks of waiting [before the Six Day War] in which we were promised another holocaust [by the Arabs].”
Among others who addressed the crowd were New York Mayor Abraham Beame, New York State Lt. Governor Mary Anne Krupsak, City Council President Paul O’Dwyer, and Shmuel Katz, who represented Menachem Begin, expected to be Israel’s next Premier. A featured participant was the widow of General Mickey Marcus, hero of the 1948 War of Independence.
The colorful floats set the tone for the festive mood as they led the way for marching bands and Israeli dancers from several states and Canada. The theme float depicted the Western Wall.
Little children took front row seats and ruled the curbs. Two total strangers, a gray haired man with a bushy beard and a woman spontaneously started dancing.
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