Salute to Israel parade celebrated by kids and characters

By Sergey Kadinsky

Issue of May 28, 2010/ 15 Sivan 5770

In front of the flagship Apple store on 59th Street in Manhattan, the day of the Salute to Israel parade, an elderly Bronx resident banged his spoon on a metal plate. “This came out perfect — it’s my birthday today,” said Freddy Schuman, 85, as some of the parade participants sidled up to hit the plate for luck. “But I can’t understand those idiots across the street,” he said, referring to the dozen Neturei Karta demonstrators protesting the existence of Israel. Known to Yankee fans as “Freddy Sez,” the octogenarian baseball fanatic also carried one of his trademark homemade signs, “I love America, I love Israel, I love Yankees.” On 53rd Street, a line of floats carried representatives of the organizations that sponsored the parade. The Jewish Channel’s float carried an extra touch of character. “I’m Jelvis, the Jewish Elvis,” said impersonator Will Morgan. Clad in a white jumpsuit, Morgan wore several large stars of David atop his hairy open chest. “If everyone was Elvis, there would be peace,” he said. On the same float, Brooklynite Yitz Jordan, known by his stage name Y-Love, was preparing for a rap jam session with Kosha Dillz, a New Jersey-raised rapper known to his family as Rami Even Esh.   “It’s like family for me,” said Jordan. “I remember all the bands I’ve performed with. They’re here at the parade.” His rap partner added, “Look, it’s a three-star float.” Following the elected officials, HAFTR was the first local Jewish school to march, on the account of sixth-grader Matthew Hoenig, who designed the winning poster to promote the parade. “We have close to 1,200 people marching, between kids, parents, and staff,” said Rabbi Gedaliah Oppen, principal of HAFTR High School. “We’re excited to show our full support.” The yellow-shirted students carried signs for the different waves of aliyah to Israel, and wore corresponding national costumes, with students dressed as immigrants from Iraq, Ethiopia, and Yemen. “This represents all of Am Yisrael coming to Israel,” said HAFTR middle school teacher Yisroel Moshe Siff. “It brings tremendous enthusiasm to be at this parade.” A small contingent of Ethiopian Jews was also represented in the parade. “That’s my way to connect to Israel,” said Smadar Maharat, 27. “Ours is a very small group, but at the parade you can hear a lot of Hebrew.” Joining the Ethiopian contingent, Great Neck resident Randy Agadi, 27, spoke of their struggle for civil rights in Israel. “The controversy last year when a school in Tel Aviv refused to admit Ethiopian Jewish students motivated me to march with them this year,” said Agadi. Following the parade, the annual Dr. Manfred R. Lehmann Memorial Israel Day Concert drew a star cast of speakers, including World Likud Chairman Danny Danon, and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele. “The American government has abdicated its traditional solidarity with Israel,” said Steele. “That’s not to say however, that Israel has been abandoned by the American people.” Steele’s visit to the concert was slammed by Americans for Peace Now president Debra DeLee. “This event, which is dedicated to an undivided Jerusalem and a refusal to negotiate over the West Bank, is not consistent with support for Israel,” DeLee wrote in a letter to Steel, which was published on her group’s website. “These groups lead efforts to thrust provocative Jewish settlements into Palestinian towns and neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.” Undeterred, Steele accused Democrats of abandoning Israel and appeasing Iran. “The Republican party that I head is inherently friendlier to Israel,” said Steele. “The only way Israel will lose is if we quit on her.” Steele was preceded by Shomron Regional Council spokesman David Ha’Ivri, an oleh from Far Rockaway who now resides in Kfar Tapuach. “The people pressuring Israel do not see the difference between Jerusalem, Yehuda, and Shomron,” said Ha’Ivri. “It is all occupied territory to them. We must say the same message, that they will not be divided.” Ha’Ivri was a student of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, and his ideology was shared by some concertgoers, who wore shirts with the logo of a fist inside a Star of David. “I got mostly cheers today, and lots of curious youngsters,” said West Hempstead resident Robert Schondorf, who spent the day selling Kahane shirts and literature on the parade route. “There were only a couple of dissenting voices, but our books were selling fast.” Related: Editorial: Missing from Fifth Avenue