{"id":87564,"date":"2025-05-01T04:34:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T09:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=87564"},"modified":"2025-05-01T04:34:38","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T09:34:38","slug":"israel-celebrates-77th-independence-day-in-shadow-of-wildfires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/israel-celebrates-77th-independence-day-in-shadow-of-wildfires\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel celebrates 77th Independence Day in shadow of wildfires"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_87565\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/F250428YS425-1320x880-1.webp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87565\" class=\"wp-image-87565 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/F250428YS425-1320x880-1-300x200.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/F250428YS425-1320x880-1-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/F250428YS425-1320x880-1-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/F250428YS425-1320x880-1-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/F250428YS425-1320x880-1.webp 1320w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/200;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87565\" class=\"wp-image-87565 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/F250428YS425-1320x880-1-300x200.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/F250428YS425-1320x880-1-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/F250428YS425-1320x880-1-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/F250428YS425-1320x880-1-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/F250428YS425-1320x880-1.webp 1320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-87565\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The rehearsal of the 77th Independence Day ceremony, held at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, April 28, 2025. Photo by Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>(<em>JNS.org<\/em>) \u2013&nbsp;Israel ushered in its 77th Independence Day at sunset on Wednesday night, with nightly celebrations canceled or postponed throughout the country as massive wildfires continued to engulf the Jewish state.<\/p>\n<p>The Jerusalem torch-lighting ceremony that traditionally marks the start of Yom Ha\u2019Atzmaut, Independence Day, and the end of&nbsp;Yom Hazikaron, the Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism, was canceled due to a massive blaze in the nearby hills and strong winds. Instead, footage of the rehearsals held earlier this week was aired.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike the 2024 event, which was pre-recorded without an audience due to the ongoing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, this year\u2019s torch-lighting ceremony was supposed to take place live at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p>However, the ceremony was canceled amid fears that the high winds could interfere with lighting the torches or even endanger participants. Additionally, Israeli authorities had concerns that the weather could compromise the stability of the event stage, potentially endangering the thousands of spectators.<\/p>\n<p>Israelis and Diaspora Jews in the taped event lit 12 torches, symbolizing the 12 tribes: The torch of the hostages, the torch of determination, the torch of the Israeli soundtrack, the torch of the bridge to the world, the torch of the strength of spirit, the torch of the Israel Defense Forces, the torch of the people in the shadow, the torch of mutual responsibility, the torch of generation to generation, the torch of rehabilitation and healing, the torch of connecting communities and the torch of giving.<\/p>\n<p>The theme of this year\u2019s national ceremony was \u201cBridges of Hope.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlso this year, the torch-lighting ceremony will take place under the shadow of the multi-front war, and I deliberated a lot about the central theme,\u201d Miri Regev, minister of transport, national infrastructure and road safety, who organized the event, stated ahead of the ceremony.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are all experiencing the divisions and pains prevailing in Israeli society, but at the same time, there is much more that unites us than separates us,\u201d explained the Cabinet minister. \u201cI decided that the theme expresses the recognition that\u2014although it sometimes seems that there is a deep chasm between the two sides\u2014there are bridges of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ceremonies and events that required the presence of firefighters were scrapped throughout the country on Wednesday night, the National Security Ministry announced following a situational assessment.<\/p>\n<p>Independence Day was marked with festivities throughout the Jewish state on Wednesday evening and during the day on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>The Israeli Air Force flyover, which traditionally takes place on the day of Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut, had been canceled&nbsp;due to the military\u2019s focus&nbsp;on the war.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_87566\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/PresIndependenceMay54.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87566\" class=\"wp-image-87566 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/PresIndependenceMay54-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/PresIndependenceMay54-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/PresIndependenceMay54-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/PresIndependenceMay54-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/PresIndependenceMay54-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/PresIndependenceMay54.jpg 1600w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/200;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87566\" class=\"wp-image-87566 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/PresIndependenceMay54-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/PresIndependenceMay54-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/PresIndependenceMay54-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/PresIndependenceMay54-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/PresIndependenceMay54-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/PresIndependenceMay54.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-87566\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Issac Herzog receives members of the Israel Defense Forces on May 1, 2025. (Photo by Elad Malka)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>On Thursday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his wife received 120 IDF troops for the traditional ceremony honoring outstanding soldiers.<\/p>\n<p>Also on Thursday, the International Bible Contest will be held at the Jerusalem Theater, followed by the annual Israel Prize ceremony, in which the state\u2019s highest civilian honor will be awarded in four fields: Jewish studies, humanities and social sciences; natural and exact sciences; culture and arts; and the lifetime achievement award.<\/p>\n<p>Israeli Independence Day, celebrated on the fifth day of the Hebrew month of Iyar (this year it is on the third to avoid interference with Shabbat), commemorates the signing of the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948.<\/p>\n<p>Independence Day is celebrated immediately after Memorial Day, creating a distinction between the pain suffered and the triumph and ultimate reward for the sacrifice of those who fell.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Israel%20celebrates%2077th%20Independence%20Day%20in%20shadow%20of%20wildfires\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":87565,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5417,6527,8790,11242,8788,14616,8880],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87564"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87564"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87567,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87564\/revisions\/87567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}