New York Jewish Schools to Be Closed on Salute to Israel Parade Day

All Jewish schools in Greater New York will be closed on April 25. 1971, the day of the Salute to Israel Parade, it was announced by the American Zionist Youth Foundation. The New York Board of Jewish Education has declared April 25 to be a day of Israel celebration in the Greater New York area, and Dr. Alvin E. Schiff, executive vice-president of the Board has urged all school personnel, pupils, and parents to participate in the parade both as marchers and spectators. This is the first time in the history of New York Jewish schools that they will be totally closed on the day of the Salute to Israel Parade. The decision of the Bureau of Education was praised here in a statement by Dr. Arnulf M. Pins, chairman of the American Zionist Youth Foundation, the sponsor of the parade. “The action of the Board of Jewish Education should serve as a model for the communities all over the country that are having parades this year,” Dr, Pins stated. In addition to the Salute to Israel Parade in New York, now in its 7th year, there will be community-sponsored parades in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami and Pittsburgh. Independence Day Youth Rallies will also be held in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cleveland, Denver, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Oakland and other cities, the AZYF stated.

Israel Ambassador to the United States, Yitzhak Rabin, Ambassador to the United Nations Yosef Tekoah, and Consul General Rechavam Amir will be guests of honor at the parade. Mordechai Bar-On, the head of the Youth and Hechalutz Department of the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem will be a special guest of the parade. The chairmen of the New York parade are Theodore Comet, Margy-Ruth Greenbaum, Arnulf Pins, and Stanley Stern. According to the announcement, 75,000 young people are expected to participate in the parade, which will take place on Fifth Avenue between 57th and 86th Streets, April 25. The theme of the parade is: “Am Israel Chai” (the people of Israel live). More than 40 bands will participate, and there will be 62 floats from the Jewish youth movements and the general Jewish youth organizations. A Folk-Rock Be-In, Jubilee 1971, to be held in Central Park after the parade is expected to attract over 50,000 college students. It will be sponsored by the New York Union of Jewish Students. The Salute to Israel Parade is a project of the AZYF in cooperation with all major Jewish organizations and agencies.