Page 22 - Issue 24

Independence Day to

Independence Holiday

By Joseph Klausner

There is no argument about the fact that Independence
Day, the fifth day of Iyar, is a day of commemoration for
one of the greatest events that happened in Israel
during the last two thousand years: On this day the
State of Israel was established ...

But this awesome day deserves more than that:
Independence Day should turn into Independence
Holiday.
... Throughout three hundred and sixty-four days of the
year, we engage in criticism. We criticize the state
orders and the heads of state. We count the many
mistakes our leaders and our ministers have made. We
accumulate and stack up piles and piles of defects,
which we see and feel in every corner we turn to in our
young state ...

But one day a year the nation in its country must have a
true holiday. In this very day, all disapprovals must be
silenced, and all harsh criticism must come to a stop. Of
course, this day must also be a day dedicated to self-
searching, but the calculations must differ: they should
consist of what has been achieved, of what has changed
for the better in general and of what has been
particularly advanced and improved in the past year. On
this single day a year, Independence Day, we must
present the people with an account of the big and small