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Friday May 27, 2005

Independence Day memories

In first person

What was your most unforgettable Independence Day celebration? We asked, and these are some heartfelt responses …

A celebration like no other

One of the joys of the sabbatical year we spent in Israel in 1997-98 was the communal celebration of the many Jewish holidays and festivals. Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, begins with joy and with relief from the previous day, Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day. In Jerusalem, where we spent our year, people stream downtown, where the streets are closed to traffic. Bands play at many intersections — Israeli rock, old folk songs, classical orchestras. There is dancing in the street and an air of mischief and playfulness overcomes the thousands of people gathering there. Street vendors sell those funny plastic hammers that squeak when you hit someone, and many cans of Silly String. Teens wearing the March of the Living jackets gleefully participate in these Yom Ha’atzmaut rituals.

Another bonus of our year in Israel was our attendance at Israel’s 50th birthday celebration, held outdoors in a local park. This was an extravaganza of Hollywood proportions, with set pieces marking every era of Israel’s development. Immigration, war, kibbutz life, the pioneers were all represented, some by Israel’s most beloved stars. Vice President Al Gore represented the U.S. as he saluted the country in Hebrew!

If you have never been to Israel during these two inseparable holidays, take a trip sometime. You will understand the significance of Israel’s Memorial Day and Israel’s Independence Day in a way that will affect you deeply, and waving the Israeli flag in America will never feel the same.

Hope Alper | Berkeley

Joy and sadness

Although I was only 12 years old at the time, I vividly remember Israel Independence Day as if it was only yesterday. We lived in Egypt, the home of 80,000 Jews. On May 15, 1948, we were all afraid, as five Arab armies were waiting to pounce on the new state of Israel.

In the previous year, Abdel Rahman Azzam, the secretary-general of the Arab League, stood in front of the United Nations and proudly said: “This will be a war of extermination, and a momentous massacre that will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacre and Crusades.” During these fateful years, all over the Arab world, Jews were being attacked, shops looted, property seized and “Zionists” put in jail. No trial, no jury no justice.

My family was huddled over the radio, listening intently to Kol Israel. We made sure our maid was not around — she might have informed the authorities that would jail us as enemy spies. Finally, to the music of “Samson and Delilah,” by Saint Saens, the announcer, speaking proudly in fluent Arabic, broadcast the birth of Israel. Our hearts leapt with joy as “Hatikvah” came on the air.

But the Arab armies, defeated and humiliated, bent their revenge on the Jews, expelling nearly all one million of them from 10 Arab countries. And by a twist of fate, this was our second Exodus. Most left behind their entire belongings and a 3,200-year-old rich culture and heritage. But at last we were free from bondage.

Joseph Abdel Wahed | Moraga

A shared bar mitzvah

My fondest memory of Independence Day was of the first one.

Late in the afternoon on Friday, May 14, 1948 in southwest Philadelphia, our family received the news that the state of Israel was born. Immediately we ran outside to tell our neighbors. We sang and danced the hora. The crowd attending late Friday night services at Congregation Beth Am Israel was huge, and Rabbi Morris Goodblatt (of blessed memory) had difficulty maintaining decorum.

The next morning, May 15, on Shabbat Kedoshim, I became a bar mitzvah. As the cantor called out “HaBochar HaBarMitzvah,” I beamed as my Hebrew name, “Yisrael ben Moshe,” was sung.

Sharing my name and bar mitzvah date with the state of Israel has always been something special for me, and I will celebrate this upcoming Shabbat Kedoshim by chanting the Haftarah, as I have done for the past 57 years. Long live the state of Israel!

Saul Hoffman | Ben Lomond

ISRAEL IN THE GARDENS

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