Israel’s 76th Anniversary: More of a Protest than a Celebration
Israel had very little to celebrate this Yom Ha’atzmaut—Israel’s National Day of Independence, that began May 14, 1948. Every year the state sponsors a torch lighting ceremony honoring twelve exceptional citizens who light twelve torches on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Every year crowds of flag waving Israelis attend the event dancing, singing, and watching fireworks. Not for number 76. This year’s ceremony was pre-recorded so Prime Minister Netanyahu wouldn’t get heckled.
Many Israelis protested the government’s celebration because it has been seven months since Hamas slaughtered 1200 innocent civilians taking 252 hostages on October 7, 2023, sparking the current war in Gaza. Relatives of those hostages and families losing loved ones in the war were the most vocal voices against holding the traditional ceremony.
In lieu of the Mount Herzl celebration, a thousand people attended an alternative “torch-dousing” ceremony held in an amphitheater in Binyamina, a suburb of Haifa. They held placards which read, “No hostages; no independence.” The event featured major celebrities, singers performing on stage, and 12 torches, but these twelve were lit. Once the service started, each torch was extinguished, one at a time, a reversal of the annual Jerusalem celebration. It was an anti-government protest against an administration that presided over the deadliest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust, and its failure to secure the 132 hostages still held in Gaza. To these protesters, the Israeli government had no legitimacy to preside over the first Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration since October 7, 2023. A similar rally was held at Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square.
Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square
Seventy-six years ago, Israel stood alone fighting for its life. Its people, the Jewish people had a secret weapon—the soul of an ancient tribe who refuses to die. In his address to the Israeli people, President Isaac Herzog pointed out that Israel’s 76th year “has been marked by enormous pain and loss.”
And Jewish communities in the diaspora face ferocious antisemitism. But this won’t stop the tenacity of the Jewish people. We have survived 3,300 years since our Exodus from Egypt. Our longevity is because we care for each other, are taught from a very young age to be kind to others, to pursue peace, and to repair a fractured world.
2023 was an off year for us; perhaps a test of our endurance. But, as we have done throughout history, we have prevailed and will do so again. And next year Yom Ha’atzmaut will be celebrated with its usual joy.
Michael Thal is the author of The Lip Reader a novel about a deaf/Jewish woman.
