That seems like a stupid question, right? Isn’t this 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel worth an extravagant celebration? There should be dozens of fireworks shows to light up the sky across the country! There should be parades with war heroes, politicians, movie stars and television personalities! Men, women and children of all ages should pour into the streets in a flood of excitement and national pride!
In fact, the Israeli government has set aside $28 million for this year’s festivities. It’s not quite the $70 million from the celebration of Israel’s Jubilee year back in 1998, but it’s a serious chunk of change. What better way to unite a country that has gone through so much in the last few years than a day full of natioanlistic festivities?
Apparently the Israel@60 campaign has united the people, but not in the way it was intended. To date, over 90,000 Israelis have signed a petition to request that the government not spend any more money on this year’s Yom Ha’atzmaut than it would in any other year. Buy why?
Petitioners argue that this is no time to spend valuable resources on a celebration that is mainly used for political grandstanding. The irony, they claim, is that the theme of this year’s celebration is “Strengthening Israel’s Children” - yet statistics show that 1/3 of Israeli children are living in poverty, and school teachers held a two-month strike at the beginning of the academic year because of inadequate pay and poor classroom conditions.
The organizers of the celebration have responded to this public demand. They currently plan for only 20% of the $28 million to be spent on Yom Ha’atzmaut itself for the festivities. The rest is going to be spent on educational programs, infrastructure projects, and remembrance projects. School children are going to hike into Jerusalem on the path that was used by Israeli soldiers in 1948. A walking path is going to be built around the Kinneret, along with a bike path that will cross the country. Over 60 picnics are going to be held across the country, and beach parties will be happening along the coast. And yes, there will be fireworks shows in seven different cities from Teveriah to Eilat.
So what are we to make of this? Does this signal a lagging in nationalism by Israelis, or a practicality in spending money where it’s most needed? How would you want the festivities to be?
