Yom Ha’Atzmaut Reflections
- p2ghese
- Apr 19
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 21
As we approach Yom Ha’Atzmaut this year, we pause to reflect on what it means to celebrate independence in a time that continues to hold complexity, resilience, and deep emotion.
We invited members of our community to share a brief personal response to a simple question: Where does Yom Ha’Atzmaut meet you this year?
In the words that follow, you will find moments, memories, feelings, and thoughts - each offering a unique and personal lens on what it means to mark Israel’s independence in this present reality.
Allison Jacobs, P2G SE Co-chair
This Yom Ha’Atzmaut feels different for me than any before it. A day meant to be filled with celebration and joy now carries the weight of three years of war, and yet, in this moment of a fragile ceasefire with Iran, I find myself holding both heaviness and hope together. Israel is still here. We are still here.
Through our Partnership2Gether community, I feel that connection more than ever. Even in the hardest chapters, we are bound together in peoplehood, in shared responsibility, and in love.
And maybe that’s what this Yom Ha’Atzmaut is teaching me: that hope doesn’t come from perfect peace, but from connection, from peoplehood, and from the belief that even in uncertainty, we are still moving forward…together.
Happy Independence Day to our beloved Israel!
Dalia Lahmany, P2G Israeli Co-chair
Just before Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut, this is a moment for reflection and soul-searching. The week between Holocaust Remembrance Day and Memorial Day is always a difficult one, and this year, even more so.
The wars of recent years, the antisemitic incidents around the world, and the rising waves of hatred reinforce the understanding that we are marking days that may have begun decades ago, but they are also here and now.
Just as then, like our grandmothers and our mothers, and like mothers in many generations before us, we too, as Jewish mothers, pray quietly for the safety of our children, that they return home safely. Nothing can be taken for granted - and perhaps that is the true story of Yom Ha'Atzmaut
It is not self-evident that we would have a state,
that we would have a strong and established economy,
that we would have an army,
that we would develop sophisticated defense systems,
and that we would stand firm against our enemies.
It is not self-evident that we would remain united even when we have differences of opinion, and that we would stand together in Israel and throughout the Diaspora, because we have no other choice.
Our togetherness is our strength, and our partnership is our resilience.
So, if there is something hopeful I can hold on to in these difficult days,It is the knowledge that wherever we may be in Israel, in America, in Australia, or anywhere else in the world, we will never be alone.
All of Israel is responsible for one another. Am Yisrael Chai
Joan Levin, Northeast Florida
Although I live in the United States, Israel is very special to me. Yom Ha'Atzmaut reminds me of our history as we celebrate after 2000 years of exile and after the horrors of the Shoah. Israel is where our ancient history comes alive, where Jewish life thrives and where we know there is always a safe place for our people. Yom Ha'Atzmaut is not only a holiday in Israel, but a celebration for Jews all over the world. I am proud of and grateful for my second home, the State of Israel.
Ron Yardenay, Greensboro, NC
I am filled with pride on Yom Ha’Atzmaut as I see our people celebrating a nation that is our safety, our culture, and our home - a vibrant mosaic of many heritages, all rooted in a shared origin.
Alon Rabkin, Pardes-Hanna Karkur
As an Israeli who's lived abroad, I feel like Yom Ha'Atzmaut has somewhat of a different meaning for me. Back when I lived in Portugal, every mention of Israel, every sight of its flag, my flag, was something that instantly made me feel at home, made me feel a part of something, made me feel proud.
Since I've come back to Israel, Yom Ha’Atzmaut has had a lot more meaning for me, I understood the reality of living in a place that isn't completely yours, where you and your people are not always welcome, and having a place where I am always welcome, a place that is completely mine, that I am completely part of, really deserves celebrating.
That is Yom Ha’Atzmaut for me.
Sam Hammer, Florida's Gulf Coast
Last year, we had the privilege of lighting a torch for Yom Ha'Atzmautin in Eretz Yisroel. No experience can touch that moment. This year, we are celebrating with quiet hope and confidence that the people of Israel will be strengthened to overcome our enemies.
Carolyn Gora, Lee & Charlotte Counties, FL
This year is the year of the freedom of the captives and the uncertainty of the conflicts surrounding and affecting Israel. As Israelis celebrate their Independence Day, they have to take one day at a time but still look to the future.
Maya Wielinsky, Pardes-Hanna Karkur
This year I thought I didn’t feel there was anything to celebrate. But despite everything, we survived for 78 years. And with all the sadness and pain, no matter what, we have a home we can call ours and an army to protect us, something our parents didn’t have in Europe, where they were born. So this holiday makes me proud, angry, and sad.
Nina Kaufman, Charleston, SC
I spent many years trying to "fit in" and not make waves. This Yom Ha'Atzmaut, I stand firmly as a grateful Jew, a proud Zionist, and fiercely pro-Israel. This is where I belong. I am home. Am Yisrael Chai!
Guy Nutman, Hadera
Yom Ha'Atzmaut is always a happy day for me. I always hang out with friends and watch the fireworks. I also love the fact that it comes right after Yom Hazikaron, because that is like a reminder to ourselves and our enemies that, although many have tried to eliminate us, we have always survived.
Eran Ben Ze'ev, Hadera
This coming Yom Ha'Atzmaut is catching me with a prayer for real Independence and peace in our little country. It’s time to give us a real chance to live a normal life in this beautiful place.
Brittany Salem, Lee & Charlotte Counties
For me, it’s about community and bringing people together to celebrate shared heritage, reflect on our history, and look ahead with hope.
Erez Gilad, Aviel
My grandparents from Hungary survived the holocaust. They met during Zionist Educational Program, and they arrived in Israel on the Argentina ship from Italy on May 14, 1948 - the date on which the State of Israel was officially declared.
Last week I went to my daughter's high school, and both of us shared our stories with all the students. For me, to tell my grandparents' story is the strongest moment these days, and to do it with my daughter is actually to remember and never forget, and Yom Ha'Atzmaut is the close-up for the beginning of my family.
Allison Oakes, Florida's Gulf Coast
While my heart is in Israel and I suspect that events will be on a small scale, in the US, I am overly excited to celebrate Israel's birthday with 200-300 of my closest friends at our community's celebration! Joe Buchanan, a Jewish country musician, will entertain us. The goal is that our ruach is so high, it makes up for the smaller-scale events in Israel, and our spirit reaches our Israeli family and friends!
Maia Talmor, Hadera
I hope for a better Israel for my kids. As the song of Ehod Manor says “אין לי ארץ אחרת גם אם אדמתי בוערת״ (I have no other country, even if my land is burning).
Lina Miriam-Shalev, Hadera
This year, after everything we’ve been through as a country, I find myself wishing Yom Ha'Atzmaut could symbolize something deeper - our ability as a nation to survive and even thrive, despite it all.
I wish we could celebrate differently. With more humility, more depth. In a way that actually brings together the different parts of our society. Because if there’s one thing these past years have made clear, it’s that we cannot afford to be complacent. Nothing - not even our very existence here - can be taken for granted.
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