West Indian Parade Honors Leiby Kletzky

I'm trying to remember the last time a Hasidic or Yeshivish group ran a program to raise money in memory of a non-Jewish child. This is why:

New Yorkers with Caribbean heritage have been packing Brooklyn's streets for 43 years to celebrate the West Indian American Day Parade.

But this year, organizers decided to add a religious element to the lineup - a gospel concert that featured calypso, hip hop and reggae with spiritual themes.

"We normally go for the party, but Caribbean people are people of faith," said the Rev. Caleb Buchanan of the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, who helped organize the event. "We wanted to showcase that."

The gospel concert was also intended to raise awareness and to prevent youth violence.

A chunk of the proceeds went to benefit the Leiby Kletzky Memorial Fund, set up in memory of the young Orthodox Jewish boy found butchered by a madman.

"We're a community that should be together, united and peaceful," said Yolanda Lezama-Clark, president of the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association.

In response, a Hasidic guy I invented, replied, "What?! I should be united with a shvar---?"

Read more about the concert at : http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2011/09/05/2011-09-05_theme_is_spiritual_at_w_indian_parade.html#ixzz1XBkBm5kx

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