Yom+Ha'atzmaut

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 * יוֹם הָעַצְמָאוּת** **Yom Ha'atzma-ut**

We never lost our hope, the hope of 2000 years, to be a free people in our own land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem. From the destruction of the Second Temple until 1948, the Jewish people did not have a State to claim as their own. Yet, during these 2000 years, Jews yearned for Jerusalem and the holy land surrounding it. In the late 1800s, when anti-Semitism was on the rise in Eastern Europe, the quest began for a land where Jews could live as a nation like any other. In 1947, members of the United Nations (partially in response to the atrocities of the Holocaust), voted to partition the land of Palestine between the Jews and the Arabs. The Jews accepted the plan while the Arabs did not. On May 14, 1948, on the eve of the end of the British political mandate over Palestine, Israel officially declared itself a nation. David Ben-Gurion became the first Prime Minister of Israel. On the same day that Israel became a state, it was attacked by five of its Arab neighbors. After fighting in its War of Independence, Israel was victorious. Thus, the creation of the State of Israel fulfilled the age-old dream of living as a "free peple inour own country." While the current standard to living in Israel rivals that of ther modern countries, life has not been easy for Israelis in the years since it became a state in 1948. Economic hardships and war marked the early years of the state. Continued conflict and terrorist attacks have shaped its recent years. However, Israel has worked hard to live by the words of its Proclamation of Independence and the values that guide us as Jews. It has served as a land of refuge for Diaspoa Jewry in need and is central to Jewish life worldwide. In celebration of its founding and of the values it brings to the world, Israel's birthday is clebrated on he 5th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, a day in early or mid-May. יוֹם הָעַצְמָאוּת is translated as the day of independence.
 * __BACKGROUND__**

__Israel materials that can be downloaded and printed:__ =//Vocabulary - Places in Israel//= 6 pages of flashcards
 * [[image:Israel_-_Yom_Ha'atzmaut_-_Vocabulary_Flashcards.jpg width="274" height="214"]] || [[file:Israel-Yom Haatzmaut Vocabulary Flashcards.dwd]] || [[file:Israel - Yom Ha'atzmaut - Vocabulary Flashcards.pdf]] ||

=//Colors of Jerusalem book//=
 * [[image:Colors_of_Jerusalem-cover.jpg width="182" height="102"]] || [[file:Colors of Jerusalem Eng.pdf]] ||

=//Hatikvah//= This is a recording of Hatikvah being signed in Israeli Sign Language (ISL) =//Israel Wordles//=
 * media type="file" key="HatikvahWithMusic.wmv" width="300" height="300" ||
 * [[image:wordle_-_Hatikvah.jpg width="240" height="167"]] || [[image:wordle2_-_Hatikvah.jpg width="282" height="170"]] || [[image:wordle3_-_Hatikvah.jpg width="166" height="217"]] ||
 * [[file:Wordles - Hatikvah.pdf]] || [[file:Wordle2 - Hatikvah.pdf]] || [[file:Wordle3 - Hatikvah.pdf]] ||

=//Flowers of Israel//=
 * [[image:Flowers_of_Israel.jpg width="320" height="208"]] || [[file:Flowers of Israel.pdf]] ||

=//Yom Ha'atzmaut QRs//= Scan the QR codes with your smartphone. Enjoy!
 * ||  || [[image:Picture4.jpg width="215" height="281"]] ||