Articles by Rabbi Chaim Druckman, the head of the nationwide Bnei Akiva Yeshiva movement and one of the leading rabbis in the religious-Zionist public, were published in several "weekly Torah portion" sheets distributed in synagogues around the country this Sabbath. In one of them, Rabbi Druckman wrote:
"...After 2,000 years of terrible Exile, after everything that we have undergone - terrible decrees, persecution, and tortures - we have merited [that which is written in Psalms 126], 'When G-d brought back the captivity of Zion.' What an amazing event has occurred in our own generation: The Nation of Israel has been granted the privilege of standing upright; we have merited to see Israel renewed, we have merited the State of Israel.
"Yet we 'were like dreamers' [ibid.]; we were involved in various problems - genuine problems, true, but they caused us to be detached from the greatness of the event. We no longer realize what has happened to us and that which we have been granted - otherwise, despite all the problems and complications and hardships, we would realize the great privilege that we have been granted: We live in the State of Israel!
"The State of Israel is now 58 years old. Most of the people living here were born here; for them, the State is a given, as if it was always here. And therefore we only see its faults and deficiencies. True, it is not perfectly pure. But beyond all its faults, we have to try to repair these, to fight them and to fix them. How can we not see what a great privilege we have?!"
Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, the rabbi of Elon Moreh in the Shomron, wrote the following in issue #18 of a Torah sheet published by the Gush Katif Heritage Center:
"...The Master of the Universe has done us a great kindness, in taking us from Exile to Redemption, from subjugation to independence. We cannot give orders to G-d and tell Him that we accept this kindness only if it fits in with our desires and our standards. We thank G-d both in the morning [for the kindnesses that we recognize] and at night [for those we do not]. Israel's Independence Day was instituted as a day of thanksgiving for the long way that we have come before He brought us to this day. We will never cede the right and the obligation to thank G-d...
"Intellectually, it is easy to understand the need to be happy on this day - but emotionally, it is hard to rejoice as we did in previous years... Both of these approaches are correct. We must turn to G-d with a heart full of thanks and joy, on the one hand, and with great prayer, on the other hand. Synagogues and yeshiva study halls are proper places for gathering together [on this day] to learn and understand G-d's ways, and to pray for His nation...
"Brotherly meetings between veteran communities and those that were expelled from their homes and lands and had their homes destroyed, are an intrinsic part of the broad vision we need. In the past, when Jewish communities were banished, they were fated to be killed and to wander among the nations. But today, even after our brothers acted like enemies, there are still open hearts throughout the country, extending supporting hands...
"Let us study the past, face the present eye-to-eye, and believe in the future. We will thus be able to attain joy and thanksgiving on Independence Day this year, and with G-d's help, to increasing perfection in the coming days."