Yom Ha’atzma’ut
The New Rosh HashanahWednesday, April 17, 2013 by Elli Fischer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Jewish New Year is characterized by an uneasy combination of stock-taking and solemn celebration. Yom Ha’atzma’ut, as the birthday of the Jewish state, is beginning to acquire a similar character.
The Challenge of SovereigntyTuesday, April 16, 2013 by Michael B. Oren | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
On the eve of Israel's independence, David Ben-Gurion sat alone, questioning whether a people so long accustomed to being the victims of sovereign power could take responsibility for themselves.
The Sigd Festival Comes Home to JerusalemWednesday, December 5, 2012 by Shai Afsai | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
On the Sigd, Ethiopian Jews would walk to a mountaintop and pray to return to Jerusalem. Now they are in Jerusalem, and the Sigd is a national holiday in Israel.
Editors' Picks
65 Years On Isi Leibler, Israel Hayom. "Our spectacular success has far exceeded the expectations of our idealistic founders. By any rational benchmark it would be deemed a modern day miracle."
No Thanks Yossi Klein Halevi, Hartman Institute. On Yom Ha'atzma'ut, haredim are conspicuous for refusing to acknowledge the country that guarantees their survival. But "non-haredim have also been remiss in expressing gratitude—to the haredi world."
Don't Just Celebrate Mishael Zion, eJewish Philanthropy. "How fitting would it be if the week of Yom Ha'atzma'ut would be a time in which American Jews educate themselves on Israel’s challenges and opportunities."
Remembrance Before Celebration David Hartman, Hartman Institute. “We affirm the dignity of our existence only as we feel the memory of those who are not here with us. We cannot celebrate unless we feel total solidarity with those who came before us.”
Israel's High Holidays Donniel Hartman, eJewish Philanthropy. Once scorned as a representation of the Old Jew's weakness, Yom Hashoah is now as much a Zionist commemoration as Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzma'ut. But is that right?