From grief to joy, from memory to life, from loss to creation. This is the meaning of the sequence of Yom Hazikaron –the memorial day for the soldiers fallen in defense of Israel and the victims of terror- being superseded by Yom Haatsmaout, Israel’s Independence Day. Both anniversaries include in their very core the history of the creation of the modern State of Israel.

Today, the victims, those who heroically fell in the battlefield fighting for the independence of the Jewish home on the land of Israel, as well as for the safety of the citizens of the State of Israel, are commemorated. More than 50% of the soldiers who fought in the war of Independence of 1948 were Holocaust survivors, who had settled in the British Mandate Palestine in the aftermath of WWII seeking hope.

Tomorrow we celebrate Israel’s 73^rd birthday. Israel, one of the youngest states in the world, has remarkably succeeded in incorporating ancient history, tradition, multicultural origins, pioneering thinking, technology, innovation and progress. A country that in its brief modern history offered its unreserved support on any occasion of natural disaster in any part of the world. The birth and the evolution of Israel have been rightfully described as “miracles”.

The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece and the Greek Jewry as a whole wish to the people and the State of Israel peace and prosperity and hope that its citizens will continue achieving modern-day miracles for the benefit of all humanity.

Athens, April  13, 2021

Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece