Israel at 75
As we have done for 74 previous years, Israel has stumbled from Memorial Day to Independence Day, but this year, despite the “round” number birthday, we are limping and bruised into the celebrations. Civic strife still bubbles beneath and above the surface, our enemies lurk in wait at signs of weakness, yet despite it all, the celebrations are taking place thank G-d.
To mark this wonderful day, Assuta Hospital in Ashdod dressed all the newborns in Israeli flag outfits. Aren’t they cute?
Assuta Hospital in Ashdod dresses the newborns in Israeli flag outfits
For a more optimistic view of our beloved country, here are some statistics on Israel at 75 provided by the Times of Israel:
The population of Israel is edging toward 10 million, making it a dozen times larger than it was on the day the Jewish state was established, according to figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Monday ahead of the country’s 75th Independence Day celebrations.
There are 9,727,000 people living in Israel, the CBS said. Of those, 7,145,000 are Jewish, or 73.5 percent, along with 2,048,000 Arabs (21%) and 534,000 members of other minorities (5.5%).
Since last year, the population grew by 216,000 people, an increase of 2.3%. There were 183,000 babies born and 79,000 new immigrants arrived, while 51,000 people died.
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When the state was founded on May 14, 1948, there were 806,000 people living in the country, meaning it has grown twelve-fold over the decades.
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According to the figures, at the end of 2021, 46% of the world’s total Jewish population was living in Israel.
On the economic front, 2022 saw real growth per capita reach 4.4% compared to an average of 3.3% for countries in the European Union. Over the period 2012-2022, Israel’s real growth per capita reached 23.4%, the CBS said, compared to an average of 14.7% for EU countries.
These numbers are quite staggering when you think of the circumstances in which Israel was founded. Truly a Divine miracle taking place in front of our eyes.
Tonight we went to our own synagogue for a change where they had a lovely prayer service, and we still had time to pop into the Central Shul for the second half of a boisterous musical tefila. Tomorrow we shall be heading over to our daughter for our traditional family BBQ (aka a “mangal”).
Several videos caught my eye this year which are very meaningful to me, and I hope you will enjoy them too.
A video by the late and very lamented Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l, originally produced for Israel’s 60th anniversary and re-released now for the 75th, is profoundly moving and evocative:
The following video was posted by “Imshin” on Twitter, it’s short and very sweet and very uplifting:
And here is a video on a similar theme, with historical film in the background, produced by the songwriter Yoni Leviatan:
And here is the video of the central Yom Ha’atzmaut ceremony held at Har Herzl this evening:
May we merit to see many more years of love, unity and brotherhood in this crazy, wonderful little country of ours, till 120 and beyond!
זה היום עשה ה’ נגילה ונשמחה בו
This is the day that Hashem made, we will rejoice and celebrate on it.
Anne's Opinions 
75 years young. Not bad for the 4th happiest nation on Earth. You know if Israel really tries she might get to number 1 some day.🥰
Think about this- the Jewish People are the only ancient indigenous Peoples of the world to have reclaimed any of their indigenous lands…
When you’re right you’re right! 😀
It truly is literally a miracle that Israel is not only standing but thriving in spite of everything. Or maybe because of everything? Maybe davka because life is not easy here, it toughened us up and made us capable of the almost impossible. Food for thought.
There were many lists circulating on whatsapp and social media with Israel’s achievements, but I just couldn’t wade through them all. I’m sharing them off-blog as I see them.
What a great post! I love the clips,and that picture of the babies dressed in the flag!!!
With all our internal arguments, we must and will survive. This is the essence of pure democracy. We can argue and shout, as families do, but at the end of the day we are family, and care about our neighbours, friends, work colleagues even if we disagree with them.
And only in a truly democratic state would I as a Jew be able to work with Arabs, Christians, Religious Orthodox, and totally secular Jews with no arguments and no worries about taking time off for our own holidays, each according to their religion. Long may this continue , in peace!!!
Chag Haatzmaut Sameach!
Amen! So true what you write. Thank you.
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Mazel tov, indeed, to Israel.