NEW YORK--16 Jun--PRNewswire-AsiaNet/InfoQuest "Sir Ivan" Wilzig aka Mr. Mitzvah, the first Jewish superhero on TV, wowed the crowds as the Honorary Grand Marshal for the Salute to Israel Parade in New York. This year's parade marked the country's 60th Anniversary. The internationally famed recording artist marched next to New York's top political leaders, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor David Patterson. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080616/NYM042 ) Although his late father Siggi B. Wilzig, an Auschwitz survivor and legendary banker, bought over $100 million dollars worth of Israel Bonds in his lifetime and received the Prime Minister's Medal for supporting the State of Israel, it was his son's hysterical over-the-top performance as Mr. Mitzvah, the world's first Jewish superhero, that inspired the Israel Independence Day Parade organizers to pick "Sir Ivan" Wilzig to be the Honorary Grand Marshal of the parade this past Sunday. According to I.M.D.B., the television industry's internet measurement guide of popularity, "Sir Ivan" was by far the most popular contestant on the Sci Fi Channel's hit reality show "Who Wants To Be A Superhero?" produced by comic book superhero creative genius Stan Lee. The Mr. Mitzvah character stood out from the pack and was particularly unusual because "Sir Ivan" looked like the bleach-blonde rock star Billy Idol but sounded like the Broadway comedian Jackie Mason. Sixty shofars were blown in unison to start things off in style. "Sir Ivan" in his Mr. Mitzvah superhero costume marched alongside Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Grand Marshal of the Parade and Governor David Patterson of New York. Fellow marchers also included "Dancing with the Stars" Steve Guttenberg and Marissa Jaret Winokur, along with Valerie Harper, Lainie Kazan,Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa and hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari. Marching bands, horse-drawn carriages, antique cars and luxury limousines carrying the waving celebrities worked their way north alongside street performers, clowns, jugglers and face painters. Afterwards, the parade hosted the largest hora, the traditional Israeli dance, ever attempted since 1948, with hundreds of dancers covering all 22 blocks of the parade's route -- from 57th Street to 79th Street. About 200 pro-Palestinian counter demonstrators watched from behind police barricades. Pro-Israel parade-goers hoisted the country's blue and white flag and sangJewish folk songs. Contingents from yeshivas and Jewish day schools around the region marched in their school T-shirts. The Salute to Israel Parade is the largest and most exciting Jewish community parade in the world. In this 60th Anniversary year, over 100,000 participants marched proudly up Fifth Avenue, cheered on by more than one million spectators. Millions more watched theparade on television. For more information, please go to www.sirivanmusic.com. SOURCE: "Sir Ivan" CONTACT: Edward Callaghan or John Wegorzewski, for "Sir Ivan", +1-631-283-9130/ PHOTO: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080616/NYM042 AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN2 PRN Photo Desk, [email protected]/ WEB SITE: http://www.sirivanmusic.com / --Distributed by AsiaNet ( www.asianetnews.net )--