I will turn their mourning into gladness;
Jeremiah 31:13b
I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
Israeli flags and blue and white are everywhere. Yesterday was Yom Hazikaron (Day of Remembrance), remembering fallen soldiers and terror victims. Today is Yom Haatzmaut (Israel Independence Day). (The Western, Gregorian calendar marks it on May 14 – stay tuned) One of my profs called these celebrations “civil religion”. This year is special because it marks 70 years since the modern state’s birth.
It’s interesting how they put these two holidays back-to-back. They are connected. What if Memorial Day was on July 3 in the US? We first remember those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom and then celebrate the outcome. We had two sirens (8:00 pm Tuesday and 11:00 am Wednesday) sound, remembering those lost. Then after the sun set Wednesday evening, the parties started.
Stages had been erected and DJ booths set up. People were out to party, dancing in the streets. The music lasted nearly all night. One of the traditions is to bop people on the head with inflatable hammers. At 10:30 pm and midnight there were short fireworks shows. I watched the first show from Independence Park where they were being launched and the second from the roof of JUC.
It’s amazing to think of Israel’s struggle to become and stay a nation. Nations around were hostile, trying to destroy the fledgling state. While not as bad as it was in 1948, there are still real threats, especially from Iran and various terror groups. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.