Hundreds of MetroWest residents came out in support of this year's Salute to Israel Parade May 6 celebrating the Jewish state's 59th birthday. Parade organizers said some 100,000 people took part in the annual celebration, whose theme was "Israel Lights Up Our Lives."

The MetroWest community had its own theme, "Jerusalem Is the Light of Israel," as part of its the Lions of Jerusalem project. Initiated by the Legow Family Israel Program Center, the Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life, and JCC MetroWest, the project commemorates the 40th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. Members of area synagogues, schools, and Jewish organizations marched 10 painted lions up Fifth Avenue.

MetroWest's three day schools contributed marching delegations. More than 125 students, family members, and staff from Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union's West Orange and Cranford campuses participated, with banners reading "Israel's Sunny – You Should Be Too!" and "We Found the Sun," a reference to SSDS' ninth-grade class visiting Israel for the first time this year.

Over 300 Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy/Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School students, parents, and faculty marched. A delegation from Nathan Bohrer-Abraham Kaufman Hebrew Academy of Morris County in Randolph also paraded.

With relative peace prevailing in Israel, aside from the political uncertainty, the mood was even more celebratory than in recent years. Held a few weeks earlier than usual, the parade drew extra effervescence from the brisk spring breeze and bright sunshine that blasted the crowds marching up Fifth Avenue or lining the route, calling out their support over the blare of taped music and live marching bands.

Among the participating dignitaries were New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski.