The Meaning of Israeli ‘Independence’

“There is no question that this year, our Yom Ha’atzma’ut celebrations are different,” Israeli President Chaim Herzog said in an Independence Day message to Jews abroad. And indeed, the Jewish state’s transition from Memorial Day to Independence Day—as the former ends, the latter begins—was by all accounts less abrupt this evening, since the solemn and subdued atmosphere continued from one into the other.