Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut, Israel\u2019s Independence Day, is not a religious holiday. It is a national one, marking the establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948. So why do American Jews, who do not live in Israel, celebrate it so widely?<\/p>\n
The answer lies in history and identity.<\/p>\n
For nearly 2,000 years, Jews lived without sovereignty, dispersed across the globe and often subject to persecution. The creation of Israel marked a turning point. It was the first time in centuries that Jews had a state of their own and the ability to defend themselves.<\/p>\n
That reality resonates far beyond Israel\u2019s borders. For many Jews in the diaspora, Israel represents more than a country. It represents security, continuity, and the idea that Jewish life is no longer dependent solely on the goodwill of others. The existence of a Jewish state means there is a place that can offer refuge in times of crisis.<\/p>\n
Celebrating Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut is also a way of acknowledging that transformation. In a relatively short span of time, Israel has developed into a society that contributes in fields ranging from science and technology to culture and the arts. The holiday reflects not only survival, but growth and achievement.<\/p>\n
For American Jews, then, Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut is not about celebrating a distant country. It is about recognizing a shared history and a connection that continues to shape Jewish life around the world.<\/p>\n
Found this video interesting? Follow the HonestReporting<\/a> page on Facebook to catch more videos, and read articles debunking news bias and smears, as well as others explaining Israel\u2019s history, politics, and international affairs. Click here<\/a>\u00a0to learn more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut, Israel\u2019s Independence Day, is not a religious holiday. It is a national one, marking the establishment…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[62400,1902,42,46,185379,43,40,38,41,39,192320,183523],"class_list":{"0":"post-406956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-american-jews","9":"tag-diaspora-jews","10":"tag-headlines","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-israel-independence-day","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-top-news","15":"tag-top-stories","16":"tag-topnews","17":"tag-topstories","18":"tag-us-jews","19":"tag-yom-haatzmaut"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}