Top musical performers will entertain hundreds of thousands of spectators for the largest celebration of Israel in the world, the Celebrate Israel Parade on Sunday, June 2. In addition, the parade will feature 28 floats, 17 marching bands, and 35,000 marchers. It will be televised live on WWOR My9 from noon to 2 p.m.

This year’s talent includes guest entertainer Gilad Segev, one of the most talked about artists in both the mainstream and world music scenes in Israel. Amir Gwirtzman, a world-renowned Israeli multicultural jazz artist who plays more than 20 different woodwinds, reeds, horns, pipes, flutes, and percussion instruments as a one-man band called Inhale-Exhale, also is on board. DJ Eyal Rob, an Israeli musical curator, musical producer, screenwriter, lecturer, and music reporter, will also perform along with the Mama Doni Band, and Soulfarm.

Players from Israel’s national soccer team, ranked 59th in the world, will ride on a specially designed float before its Sunday evening match against Honduras at Citi Field. World-famous American pop artist Peter Max is the official artist for the 2013 Celebrate Israel Parade, designing its posters, fliers, and street banners.

The parade is the marquee event of the JCRC-NY’s Celebrate Israel Initiative — largely sponsored by UJA-Federation of New York, Jewish Communal Fund, and Consulate General of Israel in New York.

Locally, the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey will send a contingent. Meet at the Jewish Community Center of Paramus at 10:30 a.m. to ride with the group by bus. It costs $18 a person or $65 a family. No large backpacks or strollers are allowed. Call (201) 262-7733 or http://www.celebrateisraelny.org.

Raquel Kohn, left, with her magnet. Photos provided

As a tzedakah project for her upcoming fall bat mitzvah, Raquel Kohn, a student at the Moriah School in Englewood, has designed a car magnet to call attention to world hunger. Each $5 donation includes a magnet; 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale benefit Mazon, a national nonprofit organization working to end hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds in the United States,and Leket Israel, Israel’s national food bank.

This Sunday, Raquel will sell the magnets and accept donations outside the Pathmark in Bergenfield from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Raquel is the daughter of Drs. Michelle and Daniel Kohn and the sister of Sophia and Emily. For information on donating, call (201) 244-8838.

Yeshiva University alumnus Rabbi Joshua Fass, who is executive director of Nefesh B’Nefesh, will give the keynote address and receive an honorary doctorate at Yeshiva University’s 82nd commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 30, at the Izod Center in East Rutherford. YU President Richard M. Joel also will confer honorary doctorates on entrepreneur Tony B. Gelbart; businessman and philanthropist Abraham Naymark, and Merryl H. Tisch, chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents.

Fass and Gelbart founded Nefesh B’Nefesh, an organization that has helped thousands realize their dream of aliyah (immigration to Israel). Under his leadership, Nefesh B’Nefesh has assisted more than 36,000 western olim (immigrants) and has maintained a retention rate of 97 percent.

The Bergen County High School of Jewish Studies holds its annual graduation ceremony at Congregation Beth Sholom in Teaneck on Tuesday, at 7:30 p.m. Closing exercises for all other students will be on Sunday.

BCHSJS, a regional Hebrew high school for students in grades 8 to 12, meets on Sunday mornings during the school year. For information, go to http://www.bchsjs.org.

Jewish Family Service of Bergen & North Hudson hosts Café Europa’s Joy Lunch Club, on Wednesday, May 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at Care One at Teaneck, 544 Teaneck Road. The choir from the Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey will entertain the Holocaust survivors. Transportation can be provided. To register, call and ask for IRA - Information and Referral, at (201) 837-9090 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

The Pastoral Care Committee of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center is hosting a spring seminar and luncheon in response to recent events, including Hurricane Sandy, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, and the Boston Marathon bombing.

Participants in the event, “Spiritual First Aid in a Time of Crisis, Trauma or Disaster,” include Rabbi Lawrence Zierler of the Jewish Center of Teaneck, Margaret A. Niederer, and Revs. Mark Ennis and Dean Weber.

The program includes discussions on the importance of developing effective coping strategies, implementing support systems, and connecting with community resources and outreach programs during times of crisis. Religious leaders from a variety of faiths will discuss personal insights and experiences in an effort to help individuals, families, and caregivers manage grief and despair following a loss or crisis.

The Thursday, May 23 event will be at the hospital in Conference Rooms A and B, on Thursday, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Registration is requested. The cost to attend is $7 and is payable at the door. To register, call Letitia Corrigan at (201) 894-3228.

As part of the Morris Pinsky A”H Simcha program, Ohel held a dating evening at the Essen on Coney Island for participants and staff.

The Simcha Program offers single men and women with psychiatric or developmental disabilities the opportunity to engage in social and dating activities that can lead to marriage.

Recent events have been held in restaurants, reception halls, sporting facilities, and parks.

Before the event, proper dating etiquette is discussed, including paying for a meal, appropriate attire, and feeling nervous before the date.

Ohel works to help people challenged with disabilities improve their social skills and confidence. For information about Ohel’s programs, call (800) 603-OHEL, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or www.ohelfamily.org.

Chabad of Fort Lee will be celebrating 13 years of growth at its gala dinner on May 19 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York City.

Honorees are Shulamit and Shimon Avadi, Sabrina and Peter Tiflinsky, and Galit Karva Machlof, director of Chabad’s summer camp, who will receive the Chesed award.

Chabad of Fort Lee serves more than 500 families in the Jewish community through its preschool, Hebrew school, synagogue, and teen and adult education programs.

Event chairs are Howie Siegel, Alex Balanevsky, and Alice Lekht. For information, call (201) 886-1238 or www.ChabadFortLee.com.