The parade’s grand marshal was Israel’s Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora, Yuli Edelstein. With Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Israel’s ambassador in Washington, DC., Michael Oren, at his side, he led the parade down Manhattan's 5th Avenue past hundreds of thousands of onlookers.
Participants included Rep. Jerrold Nadler and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as well as leaders of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), representing Jewish communities. Numerous Jewish groups and communities were represented in the parade.
“It is exciting and important to see tens of thousands of Americans marching down the avenue and supporting Israel, especially in days in which there are attempts to delegitimize the state,” said Edelstein.
