Thousands of olim, young and old, joined together Monday night at OU Israel’s Yom Ha'atzmaut (Independence Day) prayer session at Gan HaPa'amon in Jerusalem, alongside senior staff of OU Israel and the Deputy Mayor.
Among the OU Israel’s senior staff in attendance were Executive Director Rabbi Avi Berman, OU Israel Program Director Rabbi Sam Shor, Executive Vice President & COO Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph, who came from New York, and Stuart Hershkowitz, President of OU Israel, and joined by Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Arieh King.
The event opened with a transitional ceremony for Memorial Day. Jen Airley, the mother of Sgt. Binyamin Airley, who was killed in battle, inspired the crowd and spoke about her son who was killed in battle in Gaza.
“We are all struggling with the same piece,” she said.“ There’s not a single soul that’s not wondering how do we balance this. For six months I’ve been saying we are broken and whole at the same time. We are very much a shattered broken heart but very much full and vibrant and excited at the same time. Here we are at a night that’s bringing the two together.”
Jen also explained why she feels we need to celebrate this year: “Binyamin was killed and gave his life so that we can enjoy living in Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel), and that’s the bigger picture. How do we celebrate and observe a night like tonight? If there’s ever a Yom Ha'atzmaut where we have to be thankful for our Land, this is it. If there’s a day we’re going to say Hallel (the prayer of thanks) with all of our hearts - this is it.”
After the ceremony was the musical prayer, with thousands of participants from English-speaking locations including the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and South Africa, many of whom made aliyah (immigrated to Israel) in recent years, thus kicking off the celebrations of the 76th Independence Day of the State of Israel. After the beautiful singing and prayers led by Rabbi Shlomo Katz, rabbi of Kehillat Shirat David, and the blowing of the shofar, participants continued to dance and sing together in celebration of the existence of the State of Israel.
Executive Director Rabbi Avi Berman said, at the opening of the event: "Despite the deep pain we all felt today on Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day), and in general since Simchat Torah, we are all celebrating this Independence Day to show our enemies that they cannot bring us down. They cannot take away from us even a single minute of gratitude to the State of Israel and to the people of Israel. We are honored to have this tefila (prayer) tonight as part of the OU’s offerings for the absorption of English-speaking olim."
Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Arieh King said: “This is the biggest tefila of Yom Ha'atzmaut in Jerusalem, maybe in Israel and maybe even in the world. Thank you OU for being our partners, and thank you all of you for coming here.”
OU Israel Program Director Rabbi Sam Shor said: “Ever since we started an annual OU Israel prayer and gathering on Yom Ha'atzmaut seven years ago, it has become one of the flagship events of OU Israel, and certainly many people’s highlight of the year. Every year, people of all ages and backgrounds come together for an evening full of prayer, song, and joy. We feel so blessed for the success of this amazing evening of strength and community every year."