From Yom Hashoah to Yom Ha’atzmaut: Israel’s ‘High Holidays’

In these special articles and videos, Shalom Hartman Institute scholars explore the meaning of Israel's Independence Day and the many other holidays this time of year.

We recommend that you begin with Donniel Hartman's essay, "From Yom Hashoah to Yom Ha'atzmaut - the new 'High Holidays' of Israel. This article frames the way that many in Israel view this time of year, and offers a guide to those outside Israel of the depth and meaning of these holidays in Israel.

Donniel Hartman

• From Yom Hashoah to Yom Ha'atzmaut - the new "High Holidays" of Israel
• The Tribes of Israel: Jewish Identities in the Jewish State

David Hartman

• Israel and Judaism's Future
• The Significance of Israel for the Future of Judaism
• The Secret of Israel and its People

Yehuda Kurtzer

• Auschwitz or Sinai: Metaphor and the Meaning of Modern Israel (Video)
• On Kinship in Politics and Suffering

Elana Stein Hain

• 20th Century Philosophies of War: Insights from the Diaspora (Video)

Yossi Klein Halevi

• After the Success and Failure of Zionism (Video)

Rani Jaeger

• Between Personal and National: How Do We Create Meaning Through Memorial Ceremonies?

Declaration of the Independence of the State of Israel

Tel Aviv, May 14, 1948

Read the text of the Declaration of Independence in English and in Hebrew

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