Israel Day on Fifth

In 1964 pro-Israel activists planned a demonstration of American Jewish solidarity with Israel. They coordinated with the Manhattan Day School to march from the school to a theater on Broadway, a march known as the Youth Salute to Israel Parade.^[2]

In 1965 David Ben Gurion visited New York City. Thousands of people stood on Fifth Avenue watching Ben Gurion, in an impromptu event. This later created the parade route that would be followed in future years.

In 1971, more than 150,000 spectators and 75,000 marchers attended the annual event. Participants marched with shackled wrists held high to highlight the plight of the Jews in Russia.^[3]

In 1977, an estimated 300,000 spectators attended as 75,000 participants marched from 57th Street up Fifth Avenue and across 86th Street. The theme of the 1977 parade was "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem," to commemorate the anniversary of taking back Jerusalem after the Six-Day War of 1967.^[4]

In 1979, celebration of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty was an underlying theme of the 15th annual Salute to Israel Parade ^[5]

In 2011, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York assumed management of the parade.^[6] That same year, the parade was renamed the Celebrate Israel Parade.^[1]

In 2024, the parade was renamed Israel Day on Fifth (IDO5).^[7] In the 61 years from 1965 until the 2025 event, the Mayor of New York City participated at every annual celebration.^[8]

In May 2026, Zohran Mamdani committed to protect the safety of the parade marchers and announced that he would not participate.^[9][10] The 2026 parade was attended by American poltiicians including Chuck Schumer, Kathy Hochul, Letitia James, Thomas DiNapoli, Mark Levine, Eric Adams, Michael Bloomberg, Jessica Tisch, and Julie Menin. Israeli cabinet ministers Bezalel Smotrich, Ofir Sofer, Amihai Eliyahu and Yitzhak Wasserlauf were also in attendance as part of a delegation of 26 Israeli elected officials, as was Knesset speaker Amir Ohana.^[11][12][13]