Israel Independence Day 2005

Remembrance Day for the Fallen of Israel’s Wars and Israel Independence Day 11-12 May 2005 – 2-3 Iyar 5765 The national anthem: Hatikva Israel Independence Day is celebrated annually, according to the Hebrew calendar, on 5 Iyar, the anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel. As this date falls this year on the Sabbath, Independence Day will be celebrated two days early, on Thursday, May 12. The day preceding this celebration is devoted to the memory of those who gave their lives for the achievement of the country’s independence and its continued existence. On Yom Hazikaron, Remembrance Day, which will begin on Tuesday evening, May 10, the entire nation remembers its debt and expresses eternal gratitude to its sons and daughters who gave their lives for the achievement of the country’s independence and its continued existence. It is a day of collective and personal anguish mingled with awe and honor for the fallen. Yizkor David Ben-Gurion declares the establishment of the State of Israel Israel’s 57th Independence Day celebrations will commence on Wednesday evening, May 11, when the state flag is raised to full mast at a national ceremony on Mount Herzl, at which twelve torches are lit. With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Jewish independence, lost two thousand years earlier, was restored. Independence Day is a celebration of the renewal of the Jewish state in the Land of Israel, the birthplace of the Jewish people. In this land, the Jewish people began to develop its distinctive religion and culture some 4,000 years ago, and here it has preserved an unbroken physical presence, for centuries as a sovereign state, at other times under foreign domination. Throughout their long history, the yearning to return to the Land has been the focus of Jewish life. Independence Day greetings to the Jewish communities in the Diaspora Greetings from President Moshe Katsav Greetings from Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom Related documents and websites Izkor – Memorial to Israel’s Fallen (in Hebrew) In Memory of the Victims of Terror in Israel (in Hebrew) Remembrance Day/Independence Day – Selected Readings „The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly…” – In memory of those who have fallen while on duty in the Israeli foreign service The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel Fascimile of the Declaration of Independence (Hebrew) The State of Israel Is Born: Headlines from the world press May 1948 Map of Israel within Boundaries and Ceasefire Lines – 2000 FACTS ABOUT ISRAEL: The State FACTS ABOUT ISRAEL: History – Independence History of the IDF: War of Independence