Yom HaAtzma’ut: A Time of Hope

By Rachel Raz, Jewish Life Specialist

Israel Independence Day, celebrates and commemorates the historical moment in modern times of the declaration and establishment of the state of Israel. After almost 2000 years of yearning and praying, and years of preparation such as the founding of the city of Tel-Aviv in 1909, The Technion Institute of Technology, in 1912 and the Betzalel Art school in 1906 (to name a few) – The moment that Jews were waiting for arrived! On Friday, the 5^th of the Jewish month of Iyyar, the 14th of May 1948, David Ben Gurion (The future 1^st Prime Minister of Israel) – Proclaimed in Tel-Aviv: “By the virtue of our historical and natural right, and on based on the United Nations General Assembly Resolution, We declare on the establishment of a Jewish state in Israel, The State of Israel.”   

David Ben-Gurion publicly pronouncing the Declaration of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948, in the old Tel Aviv Museum of Art building on Rothschild Street.(photo credit: RUDI WEISSENSTEIN/GPO)

  This year, as we commemorate that moment and celebrate Israel 76^th Independence Day, Israel and the Jewish people are again challenged for our right to be who we are wherever we are around the globe, and our right to live freely in our homeland עַם חָפְשִׁי בְּאַרְצֵנוּ  (am chofshi b’artzeinu). We are reminded that freedom is not free and is not guaranteed, but we need to work together to secure it. And as the Israel anthem “The hope” states לֹא אָבְדָה תִּקְוָתֵנוּ עוֹד (od lo avdah tikvateinu). We didn’t lose hope and we will not lose hope! May this Yom Ha’atzmaut strengthen you wherever you are, and together we will bring hope and light to the Jewish People, the State of Israel, and the world. Here are some ideas to enhance your commemorations and celebrations this year: #CreatingHope – host a “Creating Hope” event – Discuss the idea of “Hope” (Tikva in Hebrew) – What images and colors come to your mind? Paint them and/or make a collage (see below example by artist Mimi Ziv). #WeRemember – Invite a speaker to share with your community stories and history about the birth of Israel and the organizations that were founded as part of the vision to build a Jewish state. For example: Hadassah, the Weizmann Institute of Science, The Technion #WeListen – Host “Humans of Israel” Event and learn from Israelis about life in Israel (local Israelis or guests) – inspired by Humans of Tel-Aviv Project #Celebrate – Host a Yom Ha’atzmaut Celebration with Israeli music and food. #WeCare– host Tikkun Olam event to support an Israeli cause such as writing letters to displaced people, soldiers, wounded people from October 7^th, first responders etc. #WingsOfHope – Wings of Hope’ was created in July 2023 by the late Livnat Kutz and kibbutz Kfar Aza community. The exhibit is an artwork consisting of old plastic toys collected from the wall of the shelter in Kfar Azza and symbolize values of sustainability, creation and optimistic community belonging that illuminate the late Livnat and her special family. You can learn more about it HERE. #CreatingHope  – Join the Israeli initiative of creating hope. In this photo you can see artist Mimi Ziv and her art “We’ll Dance Again”. Since October 7^th, she has been creating art to express her feelings. In this photo, you can see Mimi in Tel-Aviv with her art in the background, exhibited on a large digital screen of the Azrieli shopping center. In Mimi’s words: “Hope for me is choosing life every morning, both during these difficult days and during the 20 years since my son Lior was killed during operational documentation in Rafah as a photographer for the IDF Spokesperson. Hope is my belief that it is possible to live with the pain and longing. Art helps me breathe, for me it is therapy for the soul. Only two weeks after that terrible Shabbat (Oct 7^th 2023) did I manage to hold onto a brush for the first time, and since then I’ve been painting non-stop. In this painting I incorporated musical notes from Lior’s music book, Lior was a drummer and loved music very much, and I also incorporated the pink color that symbolizes love, spring and blossoming for me, a symbol of the fleeting nature of life like nature that is renewed and changed every season. Dedicating this painting to all the survivors of Nova, I called the painting “We’ll dance again!” in the hope that the music would soon return to their lives (Photograph by Yoram Gutman)