CELEBRATE ISRAEL PARADE - WALK WITH EZRA USA

By OLGA HENKIN, Ezra USA Staff

I can't think of a better reason for thousands of people to gather together in order to honor and to celebrate something that has become the world's largest show and entertainment than the Israel Day Parade.

It evolved into tradition for Ezra USA volunteers to proudly walk down Fifth Avenue holding Israeli flags, wearing Jewish stars and shouting "We Stand with Israel" slogans in order to unite with Israel in a very colorful, vibrant and diverse way. Our Madrichim and volunteers form a very strong bond towards Jewish education, Jewish people and the State of Israel through a number of post-Taglit activities. On June 5th we will Celebrate Israel Parade marching down Fifth Avenue and we will make a statement that we stand with Israel today and always!

We will see you on Sunday, June 5th!

SHALOM SPAIN TRIP

Two months ago, a group of forty-five young men and women embarked on a Ezra World Trip to Spain. They visited Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Granada, and Cordoba. They saw ancient Jewish sites, old and new Jewish quarters, and medieval Synagogues. Along with the Jewish tour of Spain, the Ezra group explored the non-Jewish highlights of this beautiful country, including the Gaudi Museum and

architecture, Flamenco, bull fighting, the Sagrada Familia, the Prado Museum and much, much more. One of the highlights of the trip was the Shabbat Dinner in Madrid. David Roitman, Executive Director, joined Shalom Spain Ezra group on Shabbat where everyone enjoyed a wonderful traditional Friday night dinner with the local Jewish community.

DID YOU KNOW?

- Jerusalem Day

On June 1^st the state of Israel will celebrate the Yom Yerushalaim - The Jerusalem Day. This day is commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the old City in June 1967. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel declared Jerusalem Day a minor religiou

s holiday to celebrate the 6-day victory and for answering the 2,000-year-old prayer of "Next Year in Jerusalem".

The day is marked by state ceremonies, memorial services for soldiers who died in the battle for Jerusalem, parades through downtown Jerusalem, lectures on Jerusalem-related topics, singing and dancing, and special television programming. Schoolchildren throughout the country learn about significance of Jerusalem, and schools in Jerusalem hold festive assemblies. The day is also marked in Jewish schools around the world.

As this day is coming we would like to share with you 10 interesting facts about the holiest city:

1. Jerusalem is the city of readers. On average 68% of the population reads one book per month, and 33% of the population reads three books per month.

2. Around 79 people living in Israel have the name Jerusalem.

3. On average 1,100 tons of trash are picked up and thrown away and 8,500 km of road are swept daily.

4.  Jerusalem has over 2,000 archeological sites.

5.  Jerusalem has over 70 cultural centers that teach art, music, poetry, literature, and performance to young people.

6. There are 30 annual festivals in Jerusalem, the most in all of Israel.

7. There are 26 wineries in Jerusalem.

8.   A lion is the emblem of the municipality of Jerusalem.

19.   There are over 6,000 species of plants in the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens.

10.   Jerusalem has one of the highest rated night clubs in the world: Haoman 17.