June 28, 2008 / 25 Sivan 5768
A Huge Public Celebration of Israel's 60th Anniversary
Tens of Thousands Expected at "Salute to Israel" Parade and Rally
this Sunday 29th June
in Central London and Manchester
In a huge public display of support for Israel on her 60th birthday and a demonstration of the unbreakable connection between British Jews and Israel, tens of thousands of people, including many non-Jewish supporters, are expected to march in parades in Central London and Manchester and join concerts in Trafalgar Square and Manchester's Heaton Park this Sunday 29th June.
We complain loudly when we feel Israel is being treated unfairly in Britain, and we watch while unrepresentative, miniscule fringe Jewish groups speak out publicly using extreme anti-Israel language - well, here is our chance to show people how the vast majority of the community really feels about Israel. Don't go missing on Sunday....
The ZF is proud to be one of the many mainstream organisations supporting this event, which is being directed by the Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council. The Central London parade, featuring floats and marching bands, will start at 12 noon at Piccadilly and Berkeley Street and proceed down to Piccadilly Circus and Haymarket before ending up at Trafalgar Square and Whitehall. See parade route map plus flyer below.
The concert in Trafalgar Square, which begins at 2:00pm and features live Israeli music, promises to be amazing and will include the following:
- Popular LBC breakfast radio presenter Nick Ferrari
- Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks leading a special version of Oseh Shalom, the song for peace that has already been watched by over 225,000 people on YouTube
- Grammy Award-winning hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari
- Israeli pop sensation Liel
- Israel's #1 punk pop band Useless ID
- Klezmer band Shir
- Chasidic musical star Yoni Shlomo
- Israeli Government Minister Isaac Herzog MK
- Ed Balls MP, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
The Manchester event will include a street parade starting at 1:00pm in North Manchester followed by a three-hour "Party in the Park" in Heaton Park. For further details email manchester@salutetoisrael.org or call the JNF office on 0161 795 7565.
Watch a YouTube preview of the event created by the lead organisers.
If for some reason you can't make it on Sunday or if you live outside Britain, a live webcast of the event will be shown at www.salutetoisrael.org.