An estimated 40,000 marchers took to the streets of Manhattan Sunday to take part in the annual Celebrate Israel Parade held under the shadow of anti-government protests back in Israel.

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This year's parade also celebrated Israel's 75th anniversary of independence, which the country marked in May.
An anti-reform demonstration was held in parallel to the parade and took place just blocks away.

The celebrations were attended by numerous senior Israeli and US officials, including US Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, city mayor Eric Adams as well as Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, Public Diplomacy Minister Galit Distel Atbaryan, and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu.

Speaking at the event, Adams said that support for Israel must be "both substantive and symbolic," adding that "we are focused on ending antisemitism."

A number of prominent rabbis urged community members to participate in the parade to bridge the divides between the quarreling factions.

This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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Some 250 organizations, including many Jewish youth movements, took part in the event, along with senior figures from Israel, the United States, and from all over the world.

Among the marchers were New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Israeli Consul General in New York Dani Dayan, who told Israel Hayom: "It is such a great feeling to march here in New York with the tens of thousands of people and to celebrate Israel's independence. In these challenging days, when anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are on the rise, the march serves as a clear answer, and it is also a testament to the ironclad alliance between Israel and the U.S. and between Israel and America's Jews in particular."

The post Tens of thousands march in New York's Celebrate Israel Parade appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.