Yom HaAtzmaut - Independence Day

Israel Independence Day is celebrated annually, according to the Hebrew calendar, on 5 Iyar, the anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel. As this date fell this year on the Sabbath, it was celebrated two days early - on Thursday, April 26. Independence Day is a celebration of the renewal of the Jewish state in the Land of Israel, the birthplace of the Jewish people. In this land, the Jewish people began to develop its distinctive religion and culture some 4,000 years ago, and here it has preserved an unbroken physical presence, for centuries as a sovereign state, at other times under foreign domination.  Throughout their long history, the yearning to return to the Land has been the focus of Jewish life. With the establishment of the State of Israel fifty years ago, in 1948, Jewish independence, lost two thousand years earlier, was restored. from www.mfa.gov.il/mfa

or Back to home page

Now, CHOOSE what you want to see: Fireworks - Photos and VIDEO Footage click here Party - Photos from around town; "Party Pics" click here Israeli Dancing - VIDEO Footage of thousands of people dancing click here