Celebrate Israel Parade To March Up 5th Avenue Sunday: What To Know

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — After a three-year hiatus, the Celebrate Israel Parade will be back on the Upper East Side on Sunday, with supporters of the State of Israel planning to proceed up Fifth Avenue for the annual event.

Having gone virtual during the pandemic, the theme of this year's parade will be "Kalanu B'Yachad," or "Together Again."

After forming between 51st and 56th streets, marchers will kick off the parade around 11:30 a.m. at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, then continue along the avenue up to East 74th Street. It will conclude by 4 p.m.

More than 40,000 marchers are expected to turn out, including "fabulous floats, Jewish and Israeli musical performers, and guests including U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres and musicians Nissim Black and Kosha Dillz, according to the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, which organizes the parade.

For those who can't attend in-person, the parade will be livestreamed starting at noon on celebrateisraelny.org, and televised on My9.

According to the NYPD, street closures will include:

• 5th Avenue between 52nd Street and 74th Street (parade route)
• 5th Avenue between 52nd Street and 51st Street (formation)
• West 51st Street between 6th Avenue and 5th Avenue (formation)
• East/West 52nd Street between Park Avenue and 6th Avenue (formation)
• East/West 53rd Street between Park Avenue and 6th Avenue (formation)
• East/West 54th Street between Park Avenue and 7th Avenue (formation)
• East/West 55th Street between Park Avenue and 6th Avenue (formation)
• East/West 56th Street between Park Avenue and 6th Avenue (formation)
• 5th Avenue between 74th Street and 79th Street (dispersal)
• East 74th Street between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue (dispersal)
• East 75th Street between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue (dispersal)
• East 76th Street between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue (dispersal)
• East 77th Street between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue (dispersal)
• East 78th Street between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue (dispersal)
• East 60th Street between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue (miscellaneous)
• East 61st Street between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue (miscellaneous)
• East 62nd Street between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue (miscellaneous)
• East 63rd Street between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue (miscellaneous)
• East 68th Street between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue (miscellaneous)
• East 69th Street between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue (miscellaneous)
• East 70th Street between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue (miscellaneous)
• East 72nd Street between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue (miscellaneous)
• East 73rd Street between Madison Avenue and Lexington Avenue (miscellaneous)
• East 74th Street between Madison Avenue and Lexington Avenue (miscellaneous)
• East 75th Street between Madison Avenue and Lexington Avenue (miscellaneous)
• East 76th Street between Madison Avenue and Lexington Avenue (miscellaneous)
• East 77th Street between Madison Avenue and Lexington Avenue (miscellaneous)
• East 78th Street between Madison Avenue and Lexington Avenue (miscellaneous)
• East Side of Madison Avenue East 70th Street and East 79th Street (miscellaneous)
• West Side of Lexington Avenue East 70th Street and East 79th Street (miscellaneous)

The parade began in 1965, when young Zionists staged a walk down Riverside Drive to support the State of Israel, according to organizers. It eventually evolved into a large-scale Fifth Avenue event, initially dubbed the Salute to Israel Parade, before being renamed when the Jewish Community Relations Council took over management in 2011.