What is Israel Independence Day?
On the Jewish calendar, the 5th of the month of Iyar is a very special day Israel Independence Day, marking Israel’s birth as an independent, Jewish nation. Known in Hebrew as Yom HaAtzmaut, it is a day of celebration and joy, remembering May 14, 1948, when Jewish leaders gathered in Tel Aviv to sign the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel – Israel’s Declaration of Independence. What kind of a nation was created by Israel’s founding fathers who drafted the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel? It is a Jewish state, but one where freedom of religion is written into law and respected in practice. It is a democratic, multi-ethnic state where differences are addressed through an orderly – though sometimes rambunctious – political process. It is a state whose founding citizens followed the call of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, to “make the desert bloom,” transforming barren desert into lush and productive farmland. It is a state form
