LI Herald reporter marches with pride on 5th
Marching in the Israel Day Parade with 40,000 other Jewish people from all across Long Island, the five boroughs and beyond felt like a dream.
I had the incredible opportunity to march with my temple, East Meadow Beth-El Jewish Center, on May 18. There were 17 of us total, and although we were a small group, our voices were loud.
What started out as a simple bus ride to New York City turned into a traffic-jam debacle in which were we rerouted away from the Long Island representation lining up off 5th Avenue. When we finally joined our Long Island cluster, we busted out the new banner and waved our Israeli flags high!
We started walking up Fifth Avenue from 52nd street, but the parade officially started on 57th Street and ended 18 blocks uptown.
While marching in-between other Nassau County synagogues, I was reminded that no matter how you end up there the wait is always worth it.
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I spent some time holding the banner and smiling from ear to ear knowing that I was not only representing my temple, but Jewish people all over.
Seeing and hearing the spectators cheer for us and commend our efforts made the hectic experience simmer away. No matter how religious and observant you are, the Jewish people came together for their love of Israel.
It was truly the most beautiful day for a parade through New York City. It was 70 degrees and sunny with little boughs of wind here and there. You couldn’t have asked for a better day.
This parade was filled with people of all ages and levels of observance. We were lucky enough to be behind one of the floats that had live entertainment on it. It felt like a dance party through the streets of Manhattan.
This was my second time marching, but the last time was over 10 years ago. Safe to say, I will definitely be back to represent my people and show how proud I am to be Jewish even during these tough times.
When the parade was over, our group trekked to 80th and Park Avenue to meet up with our bus driver and sit through traffic to return home.
It was an incredible experience being with other like-minded people and sharing our love for Israel and being Jewish. Am Yisrael Chai!
Melissa Berman covers the Five Towns for the Nassau Herald. Her synagogue, East Meadow Beth-El Jewish Center, was formed in 2020 through the consolidation of the East Meadow Jewish Center (founded in 1953) with Temple Beth-El (founded in 1956).
Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
