Israel Independence Day is a holiday for the Jewish people, a day to mark the rebirth of independence in 1948. The date varies slightly from year to year, as the day cannot be celebrated on the Sabbath or on the day either before or after it. This ensures that all Jews, even the most orthodox, can participate in the Independence Day celebrations.
The festival is also actively marked in Jewish communities outside Israel. This is testament to the importance of Israel as the Promised Land of Judaism and as the only earthly nation state where Jewish people are in the majority. Having a state of their own has become vitally important to Jewish people since the horrific persecutions of the Second World War. The celebrations of Yom Ha’atsmaut are far more upbeat and carnival-like than, for instance, Finland’s Independence Day celebrations.
