New York City - Watermill's Sir Ivan Wilzig was the Honorary Grand Marshal at the Salute to Israel Parade held on Sunday, June 1, in New York City. Billionaire banker turned musician/peace activist and television Superhero, Sir Ivan Wilzig, marched as Mr. Mitzvah alongside Mayor Mike Bloomberg, and Governors Patterson and Corzine to salute Israel's 60th Anniversary.

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 coming 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.

Curtis Sliwa and Sir Ivan Wilzig as Mr. Mitzvah

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 and Governor Jon Corzine of New Jersey. Fellow marchers also included "Dancing with the Stars" contestants 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 sang Jewish 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 the parade on television.