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On LI, celebrations for Israel's 60th

BY MICHAEL AMON | michael.amon@newsday.com

5:48 PM EDT, May 7, 2008

The 60th anniversary of Israel's birth as a nation will be celebrated Thursday across Long Island with free food, traditional music and birthday cakes offered by Jewish community centers, synagogues, colleges and government offices.

Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi will host Israel's Deputy Consul General Benjamin Krasna at an 11 a.m. ceremony outside the Executive and Legislative Building in Mineola with Israeli music and art by school children.

"We thought it would be a good way to show our respect and honor for this important day," Suozzi said.

Israel was recognized by the United Nations on May 14, 1948. Because Jews traditionally observe a lunar calendar, Israel's independence is celebrated on varying dates in April or May -- this year, it's May 8.

"It's a major day of celebration. It's such a central part of what it means to be Jewish," said Rabbi Meir Mitelman, the Jewish chaplain at Hofstra University, which plans a party with free falafel and music outside the student center at 11 a.m.

A 20-foot-long birthday cake in the shape of Israel will be featured at a celebration hosted by the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center in Commack. "We believe it's the largest cake of its kind on Long Island," said Bat-Sheva Slavin, director of the center's education program.

The Stony Brook University Hillel Foundation is hosting a celebration featuring a speech by Ruth Gruber, a journalist and former U.S. government official who rescued thousands of Jews from Nazi Germany.

In Nassau, the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center in East Hills will teach visitors to sing the Israeli national anthem and offer games and music during a day-long event. The Temple Beth Sholom in Roslyn Heights will present a zimriyah, a musical festival with children's choirs from eight congregations.