Tens of thousands of American Jews, Israeli Americans and others from coast to coast came together Sunday in an unprecedented celebration of Israel’s 73rd Independence Day, culminating in a musical experience from Israel connecting these communities in the Israeli-American Council (IAC’s) “Celebrate Israel.”
Celebrate Israel featured major festivals nationwide Sunday included a historic global live-streamed hybrid musical experience direct from Jerusalem with an array of Israeli headlining stars including the Idan Raichel Project; Rami Kleinstein; T-Slam; and Sarit Hadad. Celebrate Israel events provided giant outdoor screens as participants experienced the magic of this first-time concert.
Covid-safe drive-in and in-person events took place simultaneously nationwide, including in Atlanta; Boston; Denver; the East Bay of San Francisco; Fairlawn, NJ; Greater Washington, DC; Houston; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; New York City’s Times Square; Orange County, CA; Orlando, FL; Philadelphia; Rochester, NY and Seattle, among other locations.
Israel Independence Day took place this year on April 15, with Celebrate Israel kicking off the festivities with a series of first-time events from coast to coast. Beginning Wednesday night, city building and landmarks across the US lit up in blue and white, in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs; Boston’s City Hall and Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge; Cleveland’s Terminal Tower; Denver City Hall; the Charles Braga Memorial Bridge in Fall River, MA; the Guitar Hotel at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, FL; Houston City Hall; Las Vegas City Hall; Los Angeles City Hall; Lake Orlando in Orlando, FL; Rockville, MD City Hall, representing the Washington, DC region; and New Jersey town halls in Closter, Demarest, Fairlawn, Fort Lee, New Milford and Tenafly.
“This year we celebrated Israel like never before, by coming together from coast to coast and across the globe, showing our devotion to the homeland of the Jewish people and our pride in her incredible accomplishments in just 73 years as a nation ,” said IAC Co-Founder and CEO Shoham Nicolet.