OU
Celebrates 53rd Anniversary of Israel’s Independence
The Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the nation’s largest
mainstream Orthodox Jewish organization, today marks this eve of Yom
Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, for those who gave their
lives for the achievement of Israel’s independence, and Yom
Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day.
Together with the people of Israel, we pause to remember
those sons and daughters who sacrificed everything so that the
Jewish people could be free in their own homeland.
Freedom and independence for Israel was not handed to us on a
silver platter. Every
inch was gained only through the bravery of many soldiers, boys and
girls and men and women, who fell fighting for the reborn state of
Israel. We join with
Israel on this Yom Hazikaron in a day of collective remembrance and
recognize the debt that we owe.
On Yom
Ha’atzmaut, we celebrate the fact that so much has been achieved
by the people of Israel in fifty-three years, a short period of time
that has seen so many great accomplishments.
We celebrate
the miracles that we have had the merit to witness in our time,
namely the ingathering of the exiles, the immigration of Jews who
were locked behind the Iron Curtain and of those from Ethiopia who
many thought were lost to Jewish history.
They have all found a home in Eretz Yisrael, together with
the immigrants who have come from so many countries all over the
world. We celebrate the
fact that Israel is today a Jewish state and a democracy, a free
country whose citizens flourish in a modern society, determined to
thrive and progress in spite of the many difficulties faced in this
tumultuous time.
As Israel
continues to face terrorist attacks each day, we realize more than
ever that so much is at stake for Jewish survival.
We do not stand idly by when our brothers and sisters in
Eretz Yisrael are the victims of bus bombings and drive-by
shootings. We continue
to express our solidarity through our ongoing visits in
identification with Acheinu kol beit yisrael and to encourage
Aliyah. We continue to
recognize our primary obligation to be active on behalf of the
safety and security of the state of Israel, to strongly advocate our
nation’s support of our only reliable and democratic ally in the
Middle East, Israel. We pledge to strengthen our efforts to fight
the attempts of Israel’s enemies to acquire weapons of mass
destruction as Iran, Iraq, and Syria develop these weapons at an
alarming rate, with Israel as their target.
We’ll continue the battle for the release of Israeli
soldiers missing in action, our missing sons, whose families have so
cruelly been denied any information as to their conditions or
whereabouts. We will
continue to defend the right of Israel to choose its own capital,
Jerusalem, the eternal and undivided capital of Israel and the
Jewish people, a right that is denied only Israel and no other
nation in the world.
The Jewish
people, born in the land of Israel, have preserved their unbroken
physical presence for thousands of years in Eretz Yisrael.
By the establishment of the State of Israel fifty-three years
ago, Jewish independence was restored in our modern times to our joy
and wonderment. We
thank God today for the privilege of witnessing this miracle in our
day and pray that He will bless Israel and the Jewish people with
peace.
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