Yom HaAtzmaut: Happy Birthday Israel

May 3, 2017

by: Ilse Posselt

Wednesday, 03 May 2017 | Yesterday, the modern State of Israel turned 69. “Happy birthday Israel!” screamed blue and white posters adorned with Stars of David on social and traditional media. “3,000 years old. 69 years young.” Yom HaAtzmaut (Independence Day), started on Monday night and an infectious joy pulsed through the country as the people of Israel celebrated their sixty-ninth year of re-establishing their nation in their ancient homeland.

Nearly seven decades have passed since that Friday afternoon in May 1948 when the Jewish state’s first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, took to the podium in the Tel Aviv Museum (now known as Independence Hall) and started his historic address to officiate the re-birth of a nation with the following simple words, “I shall now read to you the scroll of the establishment of the State.”

“The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people,” the declaration states. “Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books. After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom.”

Following nearly 2,000 years of longing, prayer and yearning, the Jewish people’s hope was about to be fulfilled as Ben Gurion continued, “We… are here assembled on the day of the termination of the British Mandate over Eretz-Israel and, by virtue of our natural and historic right and on the strength of the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.”

Today, sixty-nine years later, the Jewish people continue to mark this miraculous day with joy, thanksgiving and festivities. The Proclamation of Independence was made on the eve of 14 May 1948. Yet Israel commemorates its historical, significant and biblical feast dates according to the biblical calendar and marks the re-birth of their nation on the 5th day of the month of Iyyar. Using the Gregorian calendar, this year’s celebration started at sundown on 1 May.

Independence Day festivities in the Jewish state begin in earnest after nightfall. City streets teem with fathers, mothers, grandparents and young ones, all decked out in blue and white. Young men and women take hands to dance to the tunes of Jewish folk songs. Thousands of Israeli flags stream from windows, balconies and car windows. Concerts, street parties and spontaneous get-togethers often last until dawn.

The official celebration program starts on Mount Herzl, where Israel’s independence is commemorated with a torch-lighting ceremony. Each year, 12 exceptional Israelis are chosen to light 12 torches—one for each of the tribes of Israel. This year, the theme of the ceremony was the liberation and unification of Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem.

Celebrations continue into the next day, with family and friends coming together for a traditional Independence Day barbeque. The smell of roasting meat wafts from parks and backyards. The mood is exuberant, festive and relaxed. Everybody celebrates. The rebirth of an independent Jewish homeland was, after all, a miraculous feat.

The first item on yesterday’s official agenda was the Presidential Awards for Excellent Soldiers and Officers. Hosted by President Reuvin Rivlin at his residence in Jerusalem, the ceremony recognized the best and brightest among those who stand guard over Israel for their service.

One of the highlights on the traditional Independence Day agenda is the annual Israel Air Force fly-over air show. Between 9:40 and 14:00, fighter jets, helicopters and cargo planes crisscross the skies of the Promised Land from north to south in an aerial salute to Israel and its people. This year the fly-over featured the Jewish state’s newly acquired F-35s for the first time.

Next in the line-up was the 59th World Bible Quiz for Jewish youth hosted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Jerusalem Theater. Every year young participants flock from every corner of the world to Israel to be tested on their in-depth knowledge of Scripture. This year, the winner was 18-year-old Sagiv Lugassi from Israel.

The Independence Day celebrations drew to a close last night with the Israel Prize gala event ceremony to honor exceptional Israeli academics, humanitarians and athletes for their outstanding contribution to the country. This year’s nine recipients included the “father” of the Jewish state’s lone soldiers, a ten-time Olympic medalist and a pioneering cancer researcher.

In his Independence Day greetings to the nation, Netanyahu pointed out that the chronicles of the modern State of Israel served as beacon of hope—not only for the Jewish people but also for all of humanity.

The prime minister started his address by hailing the Declaration of Independence in 1948 as a “moment of triumph” for the Jewish people. “We had been scattered around the world for millennia. And then we returned to our ancient homeland, to build a safe haven, where we could live and thrive.

“Many doubted that this tiny State of Israel would survive,” Netanyahu continued. “We were surrounded by hostile enemies, who attacked us again and again. So perhaps, for some, this skepticism was warranted. But survive we did. Much more than that. We thrived.

“Israel today is strong, democratic and prosperous. And I have no doubt that in the coming 69 years, Israel will continue to thrive, be strong and prosperous. We persevered through adversity against all odds. Anyone fighting for a just cause, fighting against seemingly insurmountable odds, could draw inspiration from our story.”

For his part, Rivlin shared his memories of Israel’s very first Independence Day. “Sixty-nine years ago, in the moments just after David Ben Gurion declared the birth of the State of Israel, we all went out to dance in the streets,” he recalled. “We celebrated a hope which came true: to be a free people in our land, in Jerusalem,” he said in reference to a phrase in Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah.”

His generation, Rivlin continued, “dreamed to see an Israeli pilot fly above them.” That dream has been achieved—and surpassed. Today that same generation can “see Israeli satellites circle the globe. The nation that wandered for hundreds of years looking for shelter, has built universities and yeshivot (schools of Torah study). The people of the Book, in the land of the Bible.”

“On our Independence Day,” he concluded, “let us all work to be sure that our national home is a home that looks after the weak, and cares for its sons and daughters. This is the duty of our leaders, but it is also the duty of each and every one of us.”

Posted on May 3, 2017

Source: (Bridges for Peace, 03 May 2017)