Independence Day (Hebrew:יום העצמאותYom Ha'atzmaut, lit. "Day of Independence") is thenational day ofIsrael, commemorating theIsraeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948. For many Israelis, it celebrates the establishment of a Jewish state after centuries of persecution and exile. For many Palestinians, it marks theNakba ("catastrophe"), associated with displacement during the 1948 war. The day is observed with official ceremonies, public events, and cultural activities.

The holiday is typically observed on the 5th ofIyar in theHebrew calendar, corresponding to the 1948 declaration. To avoidSabbath desecration, it may be shifted by one or two days if 5 Iyar falls near theSabbath.Yom Hazikaron, a remembrance day for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism, precedes Independence Day. In the Hebrew calendar, days begin at sunset, so the holiday is observed from nightfall to the following evening.^[1]

The most recent observance occurred from sunset to sunset, 21–22 April 2024. In the Hebrew calendar, days begin in the evening and Independence Day is observed from nightfall until the following evening of the designated day.^[2] The most recent occurrence of Yom Haatzmaut took place from sunset to sunset, 4-5 May 2022.

History

Independence Day commemorates the establishment of the State of Israel, declared byDavid Ben-Gurion, leader of the Jewish community inMandatory Palestine, on 14 May 1948.^[3] The declaration, made hours before theBritish Mandate of Palestine expired on 15 May 1948, fulfilled the Zionist vision of a Jewish homeland, driven by centuries of antisemitism, pogroms, and the Holocaust, which claimed six million Jewish lives.

Israel's statehood is grounded in theUnited Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 of 1947, which proposed independent Jewish and Arab states.^[4] For the residents of the territory named Palestine, this event is known as theNakba, marked by the displacement of approximately 700,000 Arabs who fled or were expelled during the1948 Arab–Israeli War.^[5]

TheDeclaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel invoked the Jewish people's natural and historic rights, alongside the UN resolution, concluding with Ben-Gurion's proclamation ofthe establishment of a Jewish state inEretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.^[6] The new state gained swiftde facto recognition from the United States, theSoviet Union, and other countries.^[7] However, neighboring Arab states rejected the declaration, and escalated the ongoingcivil conflict into the1948 Arab–Israeli War. ...Read more

Yom Ha'atzmaut is Israel'snational day, commemorating theIsraeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948. It is marked by a variety of official and unofficial ceremonies and observances.

Because Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, which corresponded with the 5th ofIyar on theHebrew calendar in that year, Yom Ha'atzmaut was originally celebrated on that date. However, to avoidSabbath desecration, it may be commemorated one or two days before or after the 5th of Iyar if it falls too close to theSabbath. The day preceding Israel's independence day isYom HaZikaron, which is dedicated to the memory of fallen Israeli soldiers and Israeli civilian victims of terrorism.

In the Hebrew calendar, days begin in the evening; Yom Ha'atzmaut is observed from nightfall until the following evening of the designated day.^[8]

History

Israelis observe Yom Ha'atzmaut to commemorate theIsraeli Declaration of Independence, which was proclaimed by future Israeli prime ministerDavid Ben-Gurion on behalf of theYishuv on 14 May 1948.^[9] The mood outside of Ben-Gurion's residence just prior to the announcement was joyous:

TheJews of Palestine ... were dancing because they were about to realize what was one of the most remarkable and inspiring achievements in human history: A people which had beenexiled from its homeland two thousand years before, which had endured countlesspogroms,expulsions, andpersecutions, but which had refused to relinquish its identity—which had, on the contrary, substantially strengthened that identity; a people which only a few years before had been the victim ofmankind's largest single act of mass murder, killing a third of the world's Jews, that people was returning home as sovereign citizens in their own independent state.^[10]

TheState of Israel was founded eight hours before the termination of theBritish Mandate for Palestine, which was due to finish on 15 May 1948.The operative paragraph of theDeclaration of the Establishment of State of Israel of 14 May 1948^[11] expresses the declaration to beby virtue of our natural and historic right and on the basis ofthe resolution of the United Nations General Assembly. The operative paragraph concludes with the words of Ben-Gurion, where he thereby declaresJewish state in Eretz Israel, to ...Read more