70 Miracle Years; 70 años milagrosos

Tomorrow, 18 April 2018, Israelis begin celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Jewish state, as marked by the Hebrew calendar. 

Israel’s Independence Day will begin with a torch-lighting ceremony the evening of Wednesday, April 18, (lyar 3, Omer 18) and continue through Shabbat which begins in Jerusalem at 6:31PM. 

Culture Minister Miri Regev said the annual state ceremony at Mount Herzl on April 18 will be accompanied by an official song to celebrate Israel’s 70th, followed by the largest fireworks display in the country’s history.

This will be followed by an all-night beach party stretching “along 70 kilometers (some 43.5 miles), from Tiberias to Eilat.”

April 19 will feature a “light parade” honoring Israeli innovation, the annual International Bible Quiz, and the Israel Prize ceremony, among other events.

On Friday, April 20, street parties will be held throughout the country in homage to the spontaneous hora dances that erupted in streets after David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the state on May 14, 1948. This will be followed by public Shabbat services.

Official events will end Saturday night with a musical event that Regev promised will represent a soundtrack of Israeli society.

The creation of Israel was on May 14, 1948; David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel on that day. U.S. President Harry S. Truman recognized the new nation on the same day.

The overall theme for Israel’s 70th is “Heritage of Innovation,” drawing upon Israel’s successes as the Start-Up Nation and the cutting-edge technology developed locally. Israeli society is creative, looks to the future, thinks outside the box, and is a trailblazer in research, medicine and agriculture, thereby providing a vital contribution to all of humanity.

The 70th anniversary official logo , below, features the number 70; a Star of David in modern design, drawing a historical continuum from King David’s days and modern Israeli sovereignty; and Israel” as written by a scribe in a Torah scroll, expressing the unbreakable bond between the modern State of Israel and ancient nationalism, between 2018 and biblical times, between heavenly Jerusalem and earthly Jerusalem.