Israel Celebrates Its 71st Anniversary with Pride and Pageantry

The 71st annual Israel Independence Day (Yom Ha’atzmaut) — which took place from sundown May 8 to sundown May 9 — was a joyous celebration of everything the nation has achieved during its short and perilous history. (The day prior to Independence Day was the Day of Remembrance, or Yom Hazikaron, a somber annual event that honors all those who have fallen in the defense of Israel, as well as those who have been killed by terrorism.) As always, Independence Day featured numerous festivities around the country; it’s also a day when Israeli families and friends hold picnics and barbecues.
 
Quote: Israeli historian Michael Oren wrote the following about the day in 1948 when David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel…
 
“The Jews of Palestine… were dancing because they were about to realize what was one of the most remarkable and inspiring achievements in human history: A people which had been exiled from its homeland two thousand years before, which had endured countless pogroms, expulsions, and persecutions, but which had refused to relinquish its identity — which had, on the contrary, substantially strengthened that identity; a people which only a few years before had been the victim of mankind’s largest single act of mass murder, killing a third of the world’s Jews — that people was returning home as sovereign citizens in their own independent state.”
 
Source: Wikipedia
 
Learn more about Israel Independence Day on Wikipedia. >>
 
The main official ceremony for Israel Independence Day takes place on Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl, where the founder of the modern Zionist movement, Theodore Herzl, is buried. Perhaps the most moving part of the ceremony is the lighting of 12 torches for the 12 tribes of Israel. To be selected to light a torch is considered a great honor.
 
Learn about some of the 12 honorees for 2019 on this video clip [2:34]. >>
 
Watch the beautiful and inspiring Independence Day ceremony on Mount Herzl. It’s long, but you don’t need to watch the whole thing to get a feel for the event. Despite the fact that the clip is in Hebrew, we think you will enjoy it!
 
Watch the Mount Herzl ceremony [1:55:40]. >>
 
Photo: prophecyinthenews.com