For the 21st year, a mid-afternoon concert and political rally in Central Park overlapped with the day-long Celebrate Israel Parade on Sunday. Musicians and dignitaries rubbed shoulders at Summerstage as crowds poured past security to enter the Rumsey Playfield near the park’s 72nd Street entrance. more

Everyone stood to honor Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski as he walked to the front of the Young Israel of Woodmere’s main sanctuary to talk about the “Pursuit of Happiness and the Retreat from Happiness,” in memory of Rebekah Ann Frucht who died on the second day of Shavuot two years ago. more

It is a conversation I will remember forever. We were in the midst of basic tank training, enjoying a brief respite from the grueling pace of maneuvers and marches. more

A large map of the New York–Long Island area linking photos of Israeli soldiers and their home communities hung on a wall of the Sephardic Temple in Woodmere. In Israel, these are the Lone Soldiers; in the Five Towns they are a source of pride. More than 500 supporters of the Israel Defense Forces came to the Long Island Chapter of Friends of the IDF at its third annual event on May 28, raising $350,000 for FIDF. more

Supporters of Israel turned out in force on Sunday, with hundreds of thousands of spectators lining Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue as an estimated 35,000 marchers, in colorful T-shirts, carrying large banners and fluttering blue and white Israeli flags, participated in the 50th Celebrate Israel Parade. more

When a newspaper long perceived to align with a particular political slant is actually transparent about that slant, does it say anything new about the paper? more

Thousands of celebrants are expected at the 21st Annual Israel Day Concert, Carl Freyer, z”l, Tribute and Dr. Manfred Lehmann Memorial event at Central Park’s Summer Stage on Sunday June 1. This also marks the 47th anniversary of the Six-Day War and Reunification of Jerusalem. more

Who we are as a people begins with what we hold dear and what we truly value. There are many burdens we carry in this world. The challenge may well be in how we choose to carry them. This week’s portion, Naso, contains a case in point. “Ki avodat HaKodesh Aleihem ba’katef yisau’.” (“For the holy [items of] service they shall carry upon the shoulder.”) (Bamidbar 7:9) more

When May rolls around and Shabbat is over after 8:30 pm, there aren’t many choices of what to do on a Saturday night. There is bowling, which I love, but not a reality, as most of our friends would rather have root canal work. more