Yom Ha'atzmaut

It seems like it's always a holiday in Israel (at least that's what my mom says). Last week was no exception, two in one week. I'll let Max tell you about his Yom HaZikaron experience (Memorial Day) and instead I'll focus on Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day). It came at the beginning of last week, so pretty quickly after the move to Jerusalem. We were all in a rush to get settled so that we could make the most of the experience, for most of us the first time we've celebrated the holiday in Israel.

As all holidays start at sundown Yom Ha'atzmaut started Monday night. That night I went with friends to explore the celebration on Ben Yehuda street and the surrounding area. We found people of all ages from all different sects of Israeli society excited and thrilled to welcome the holiday. It seemed like there was another stage with another band playing every couple of blocks. The party went on until all hours of the night with kids running around, teenagers standing in packs, families trying to stay together in the chaos, and of course us. There were blow up toys with the Israeli flag and water guns and glow sticks.

The night was held in stark contrast to the way I spent my previous evening, at a very emotional ceremony marking Memorial Day in Israel and all of the fallen soldiers. You never would have known hours before this enormous street party people were mourning everyone they knew and didn't know. The contradiction was difficult to wrap my head around but at the same time the juxtaposition managed to make each experience more powerful in and of itself.

The next day all of Israel spends the day in the same way: barbecuing. So in true Israeli fashion, we had a barbeque. But because we were too lazy to leave our dorms and because a park in the center of Jerusalem would have been impossible to penetrate, we didn't travel too far. We had our barbeque in the open courtyard/quad we have next to our building (all within the same complex of our dorms). The rest is pretty predictable: good food, good company, and a lovely farmer's tan for me. It was a great way to spend the entire day (especially since I started work the next morning). It was relaxing and delicious and we still felt like we were taking part in the holiday's tradition.