What One Woman’s Goal Could Achieve For All

​Tomorrow is the sixty-second Israel Day Parade, which began in 1964 to celebrate the bind between American Jewishness and the State of Israel.

The parade was launched to achieve a few specific goals:

• Community Solidarity: Modeled after other ethnic pride parades in Manhattan, it was designed as a highly visible, public display of support and celebration for Israel.
• Global Unity: It provides a platform to celebrate the spirit of the Israeli people and honor Jewish heritage in New York.
• Historical Commemoration: It serves as an annual tribute to the creation of the State of Israel, which was established in 1948.

It is now enjoyed by many Americans, Christians and Jews alike, to foster better relations by people of all faiths. And this year, a brave Muslim activist, who has devoted her life to promoting religious freedom and denouncing violent extremism is vowing to lead the first Muslim group ever to march in the Israel on Fifth Parade in spite of threats to “wear a bulletproof vest.,”  Anila Ali, a Pakistan native turned fearless DC-based civil rights activist.

The 58-year-old powerhouse founder of the American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council said she plans to march with a few dozen Muslim supporters, including an imam and children, despite a barrage of intimidation tactics from “nefarious forces” for daring to show solidarity with Israel. 

For her and her supporters, this is a display what religious harmony can bring when hate, by a extreme few, is silenced by those who would rather live in peace and with respect for others of different beliefs.

Showing up now in the wake of unprecedented anti-Semitism in the Big Apple sends a strong message, said Ali, who added she’s been targeted by the Islamic regime for her interfaith work, which has included taking groups of Muslims, including the first Pakistani delegation, to Israel. 

“I want to show I’m a proud Muslim. I try not to think about the threat, but about what we’re doing, standing with Israel’s right to exist,” Ali said in the wake of accusations of being an “Islamonazi” and a “grifter” cashing in on Jewish money.

Ali, who has lived in the US for 30 years and found support in the Jewish community after 9/11, blasted Mayor Zohran Mamdani for being a no-show at the Sunday parade, the first ever mayor to skip the festivities since its 1962 inception. 

She called out the “dangerous” Democratic socialist for “empowering radicals” who target the Jewish community.

Perhaps other Muslims will find the courage to support Jewish issues, as Anila Ali and her group have. The City, the Country and the World  would be better off than what a small, radicalized minority constantly tries to wield.

And this may be the first step in achieving the peace and respect we all yearn to enjoy.