Independence Day campaign: Israeli faces on Fifth Avenue

An Israeli who visits New York's Fifth Avenue next month will encounter more than a few familiar faces, and bigger than life: 10 Israelis, including basketball player Derrick Sharp and "A Star is Born" finalist Sasha Grishkov, will appear on giant banners along Fifth Avenue.

Israel's Consulate General in New York launched the promotion as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations, which includes the annual Salute to Israel parade along Fifth Avenue on June 1.

Entitled "Faces of Israel," the campaign is designed to present the diversity of Israeli society to the American public.

"The goal is to introduce Israelis as they are, without media filters or prejudice," explained Consul General Assaf (Asi) Shariv.

Well-known and less-familiar figures will be depicted in the campaign, and each is supposed to represent a sector of Israeli society. The most familiar face is that of Derrick Sharp, captain of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team and a former member of Israel's national team. Born in Florida, Sharp immigrated to Israel in 1993 to play for the second-league Maccabi Hadera team. He married an Israeli a few years later and became a citizen, which made him eligible to be drafted to the national all-star roster.

Another participant in the campaign is Dao Rochvarger-Wong, who was born in Vietnam and came to Israel in a refugee boat in the 1970s. Then-prime minister Menachem Begin agreed to absorb the refugees and grant all of them Israeli citizenship. Rochvarger-Wong now represents Bank Hapoalim in Singapore.

"A Star is Born," the Israeli television version of "American Idol," will be represented in the campaign by former contender Sasha Grishkov, who immigrated to Israel from the Soviet Union as a little girl, and Cabra Kasai, an Ethiopian who immigrated with her family in the "Operation Moses" rescue mission in 1984. Kasai is now a member of the Idan Reichel Project, the musical fusion of electronics, traditional Hebrew texts, and Ethiopian songs.

"Millions of people will walk along Fifth Avenue during May and be exposed to these portraits, which show the incredible diversity of Israeli society," said Shariv. "It is a society in many ways similar to that of New York - a fascinating combination of immigrants who have come together to create one multi-faceted society. This is the Israeli story."

Other participants in the campaign include Rania Jubran, an Arab diplomat in the Foreign Ministry; Mirit Greenberg, winner of the 1997 Miss Israel competition; and violinist Miri Ben-Ari, who won a Grammy Award in 2005.

In addition to the 10 Israelis who have already been chosen to appear on banners, the consulate intends to choose another 50 among those whose stories will be published on the www.60israelis.com Internet site.

	New York's upscale Fifth Avenue (Reuters)