Jewish Teens Fill Times Square with Jewish Pride

7,000 Jewish teens from 60 countries filled Times Square on Saturday night, singing, dancing, and declaring their Jewish pride in the most public square on earth. After a year of challenges, they didn’t gather to explain who they are. They came to live it—out loud and together.

They came from across the globe—some from communities shaken by war, others from countries grappling with rising antisemitism, and still others from regions recovering from natural disasters like wildfires and hurricanes. Together, they came to live their Judaism—proudly, unapologetically, and in full view of the world.

“Shavuah Tov, CTeen!”
The words rang out from the stage, declared by Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Chairman of CTeen International, cutting through the neon glow and weekend crowds. Thousands of teens answered back, launching a night that brought Jewish life into full view at the heart of New York City.

In the middle of it all stood Alan Krasnov, a 12th grader from Buenos Aires, surrounded by 7,000 others who came to take Jewish pride public.

Together, they covered their eyes and recited the Shema—7,000 voices declaring their faith in the middle of the most public square on earth.

Alan was joined by 42 of his peers from CTeen El Lazo in Buenos Aires, led by Rabbi Ari and Hindy Levy. Their chapter is one of 841 CTeen chapters worldwide, the largest Jewish teen network in the world. They came to New York for the 17th annual CTeen International Shabbaton, where 4,000 teens from 60 countries spent a meaningful Shabbat together in Crown Heights before turning Times Square into a global stage for Jewish action and leadership.

“Back home, most of my classmates aren’t Jewish. I’m usually explaining who I am and why I do things differently,” Alan said. “Tonight, no explanations were needed. We all knew why we were here, and we knew we weren’t alone. I can’t wait to take that energy back home.”

That sense of clarity stood out after a year marked by war in Israel, rising hostility in schools and online, and global crises that reached Jewish teens everywhere.

At the center of the high-energy evening came a pause. Thousands of teens stood shoulder to shoulder and sang a prayer for peace in the holy land and the safe return of the hostages still held in Gaza. Orange balloons were let go into the night sky as the crowd dedicated a prayer to the Bibas family murdered in cold blood.

The night’s program brought Jewish life into full public view. The teens koshered an iconic New York City food truck live on stage, completed a public Siyum HaRambam, and ended Shabbat with a Havdalah ceremony led by IDF reservist Noam Buskila.

The koshering team got to work—showing teens, many for the first time, that kosher isn’t just a rule, but a physical process that transforms the ordinary into something holy. The koshering marked 50 years since the Rebbe’s Kosher Campaign and was dedicated to Rabbi Tzvi Kogen, Shliach to the UAE who devoted his life to bringing kosher to the region and was murdered in a terrorist attack earlier this year.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon stood alongside the teens, as did Jewish music stars Lipa and Tal Vaknin who led the teens in an electric celebration of Jewish life and identity at the crossroads of the world.

The Times Square event is a highlight of the annual weekend where teens gathered for empowering workshops, uplifting visits to 770 and the Ohel, and drawing strength from each other’s stories and experiences.

“The Rebbe taught that Jewish youth have a unique power to lead because of the idealism and boundless energy they bring to everything they do,” said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Chairman of CTeen International. “That’s exactly what you see tonight—thousands of teens, representing hundreds of communities, standing completely unfazed, stepping up with the confidence to take that light back home and share it with their peers.”