This Month in Israel: Holiday Time

This month has been an interesting one. 


The holiday mood and return to normal food after Passover was quickly dampened by the commemoration of

Holocaust Remembrance Day (May 3)  In honor of the six million Jews who met their end at the hands of Nazi Germany, a monotone air-raid siren sounded for 2 minutes during which people stopped what they were doing.  In the office, everyone stood for the duration of the siren.  On the road, most cars pulled over, drivers got out of their cars and stood up.  Walkers on the beach froze where they were.  It was amazingly silent.  Stores were closed that day but the beach restaurants remained open because they are always open.
After Holocaust Day the festivities returned bigger than ever.  Israeli flags began popping up everywhere on all buildings, on cars, and on roadways.  If a flag could be affixed to a surface, it was.  At work we had a delicious barbeque and the first watermelon of the season.  This was all in preparation for

Memorial Day (May 9)  Like Holocaust Day, this one was very somber, but at least we got a half-day holiday from work.  Memorial Day is dedicated to all of the soldiers and civilians who have died for the country.  Since military service is nearly universal, many families have a personal loss to commemorate.  The cemeteries on the hill across from our hotel were packed.  At 10:00 the same monotone siren sounded for 2 minutes, during which everything stopped, as before.  Except, unlike, May 3rd when only most of the cars stopped, on May 9th, every car pulled over.  After the siren, we watched the ceremony at Mt. Herzel in Jerusalem which is Israel's national cemetery.  It was on all channels, even cable.  At noon, the ceremonies at the cemeteries finished up and tons of people went back on the road.  Kenny drove out to the Galilee that afternoon and you could tell that the normally impatient Israeli drivers were in an especially black and aggressive mood.  But all that was forgiven at sun down as the fireworks lit the sky over Atlit to kick off

Navy parade outside our window for Independence Day

Flyover in celebration of 63 years

Independence Day (May 10)  If Memorial Day is like a funeral, Independence Day is the wake when everyone celebrates life.  We had especially wonderful weather and it seemed like the entire country was in a partying mood.  The navy paraded down the Mediterranean right in front of our window, followed by a fly-by of planes in tight formation.  Flags were flying all over and it was easy to feel proud to be an adopted Israeli for this day.  We went out to Akko/Acre and were surprised how many Jewish people were enjoying themselves in this Arab seaside town.  For once, there were more women around who had their hair uncovered.  It was a really great day.  Flags are still flying, but the mood became more tense this week as the Palestinians celebrated

Nabka Day (May 15)  Nabka, or "catastrophe" in Arabic, is the commemoration of the incredible defeat of the Arab armies by the young Israeli army in 1948.  This year protesters mobbed the fences in Syria, Lebanon and the West Bank.  Palestinians paraded with oversize keys, illustrating their "right to return" to the houses they left when they fled the land that became Israel in 1948.  This is a big problem for the two-state solution, as any agreed-upon border will leave the refugees without a right to claim land in a sovereign state where they hold no citizenship.  I'm curious to see what the US president has to say on the matter.  That will probably simmer until September and will be forgotten when Israel celebrates


Lag Ba'Omer (May 21-22) This, I kid you not, is a "festive day celebrated with outings on which children traditionally play with bonfires, bow and arrows, and other joyous events."  Wait, children + bonfires? bow and arrows??  Where are the child safety advocates?  Don't they know that bonfires and bow and arrows are dangerous?!  Fortunately, there is not a strong litigious culture here in Israel to dampen the fun.  A coworker of mine also pointed out that in addition to being a festive holiday, Lag Ba'Omer is a bit of an environmental disaster as all of the smoke from the bonfires pollutes the air.  "Make sure to keep your windows closed," he advised.

This dangerous and environmentally semi-abusive holiday will bring the month of May crashing to a close, or the End of the World (May 21) might bring everything to a close, according to some. (We're still here)


Enjoy the barbeque and melons during your relatively uncomplicated Memorial Day in the US and think of us in Israel cleaning up the ashes and preparing for another holiday, Shavuot, on June 8.