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U.S. and Israeli flags are flown in preparation for a media event during Austere Challenge 2012 in Israel Oct. 24, 2012. Austere Challenge 2012 is a three-week bilateral exercise designed to increase air defense interoperability between the United States and Israel. (U.S. Air Force photo by Maj. Stephanie Addison/Released)

Barbecue!

Goal: Participants will develop a common language for celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut between Americans and Israelis. How: Family together time Virtual mifgash Israelis celebrate what it means to be a free people…

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Yom Ha’atzmaut – Four Hatikvah Exclamation Marks!

“For 364 days of the year we are busy with criticism. We criticize the nation’s priorities, and the nation’s leaders. But a nation must have one day in a year that is a real celebration... all the harsh criticism must stop…” Klausner wrote this back in 1953, when the State of Israel was only 5 years old!

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Yom Ha-atzma’ut – 31

Yom HaAtzmaut – Israel’s Independence Day -has become an accepted almost universally in the Jewish world as a day of celebration and identification with the State of Israel. Jewish communities the world over mark the day with gala dinners, Israel parades, picnics, youth activities etc. This date, more than any of the traditional holidays, expresses Jews’ connection to the State and the land. In this lesson we will examine some of the issues and different perceptions of Yom HaZikaron and HaAtzmaut in various segments of Israeli society. This study will help illustrate issues and ideologies discussed in Israel today and question how these might be relevant to Diaspora Jewry’s perception of the state as well as the day.

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