Yom Ha'atzmaut,
Israel Independence Day, celebrates the proclamation of Israel's independence
and sovereign statehood on Iyyar 5708 (1948). The day before Yom Ha'atzmaut
is Yom ha-Zikkaron (Memorial Day), which is marked by services held at military
cemeteries and prayers for those who died defending the State of Israel.
In celebration of Israels' 55 Independence Day, we include here 3 posters which
evoke the idealism of the early Return to Zion. The first two illustrations
are from the early years of the Zionist movement.
An 1906
illustration depicting three early Zionist leaders (Herzl, Nordau and Mandelstamm),
a farmer seeding a field, and Jews praying at the Wailing wall
An early-century
illustration depicting Theodor Herzl's portrait along with the idealized
(almost-biblical) vision of returning to physically working the Land of
Israel.
Illustration issued
by the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet L'Yisrael)
poster, distributed in Poland in the early 1930s. The poster uses
three languages - Hebrew, Polish and Yiddish, to invite potential
settlers to the Valley of Jezreel in Palestine. The Keren Kayemet
was established by the World Zionist Organization for the acquisition
and development of land in Palestine.
Yom Ha'atzmaut was declared a religious holiday by the chief rabbinate,
which formulated a special order of prayer for the evening and morning services,
now incorporated in many Israeli and diaspora prayer books. Included in this
service are Psalms 97, 98 and 107, and a special Haftarah reading from
Isaiah 10:32-12 (chanted following the Torah reading when Yom Ha'atzmaut falls
on a Monday or Thursday). We include here Psalm 98, and a few verses from the
Haftarah in popup menus.
