Yom Huledet Sameah

By Alisha Deluty
KOC Assistant Editor
JTS / Columbia University

Every year for as long as I can remember, I have attended the Israel Day Parade on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Whether it was a rainy or a sunny day, I excitedly stood across from Central Park and waved to friends, family and strangers from schools, synagogues, camps and other organizations as they marched down the street. The parade always consisted of both religious and secular groups. In addition, there were non-Jewish marching bands, and I remember one year when a Native American group participated. This variety of people who attend and are part of the parade has shown me how Zionism affects people here in America.

Whether I’m tasting food, listening to music, talking about politics or just savoring Israeli culture, I constantly feel connected to Israel despite living thousands of miles away. Every time I see barrels of olives and other pickled vegetables in Amalia’s Grocery, an Israeli store near my house in Queens, or buy freshly baked pita at the Queens Pita Bakery, I am suddenly reminded of the shuk (open-air market) Mahaneh Yehudah in Jerusalem. This past fall, as I was listening to the singer and musician Idan Reichel perform at JTS, I imagined myself at a concert in Tel Aviv.

As we approach Yom Ha’atzmaut in a few days and celebrate Israel’s 60^th birthday, I cannot help but marvel at this country that is home to so many different types of Jews as well as other peoples. My Zionist feelings here in America will only be enhanced as I prepare to spend next semester at Ben Gurion University in the Negev. I know that whether I am in America, Israel or somewhere else in the world, I will always feel a deep connection to the land of Israel.

[Posted 5/5/08]