from The Feasts of Israel: Seasons of the Messiah
Yom ha-Atzma'ut:
Israel's Independence Day
by Bruce Scott
So long as still within our breasts
the Jewish heart beats true,
So long as still towards the East,
to Zion, looks the Jew,
So long our hopes are not yet lost—
two thousand years we cherished them—
To live in freedom in the Land
of Zion and Jerusalem.
(Hatikvah, by Naphtali Herz Imber, c. 1878)
Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem, expresses the dream that Jewish people have had for centuries—restoration to their homeland and the rebirth of their nation. On May 14, 1948, that dream became a reality. The provisional government of the modern State of Israel declared its independence, and a new nation was born. To commemorate that momentous event, a national holiday was established. It is the Israeli 4th of July and is known as Yom ha-Atzma’ut (lit., Day of the Independence).
Origin and Description of Yom ha-Atzma’ut
To understand the significance of Yom ha-Atzma’ut to Jewish people, we must go back to an important transaction that took place between God and Abraham. “And the Lord said unto Abram, after Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward, For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever…Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee” (Gen. 13:14–15, 17).
Amplified in other portions of Scripture, the implications of this promise are clear. Regardless of how often the Jewish people are disobedient to God, the land of Israel is still theirs. God has given it to them. Although they may not always possess the land or dwell in it, the title deed to that property still belongs to them. Although the owners may be absent for a time, God will always bring them back home. A brief look at Israel’s history validates this point.
In biblical days, the people of ancient Israel were taken into captivity by the Assyrians and the Babylonians because of their rebellion against God. But God in His faithfulness brought a remnant back to the land. Later, as a direct consequence of rejecting their Messiah, Israel was once again thrust from the land of their forefathers and scattered throughout the world. The land itself was occupied by foreign peoples for nearly two thousand years.
During the final two decades of the 19th century, Israel’s long dispersion started to come to an end. Small numbers of Jewish people had always lived in the land, but it was at that time that immigration to the land began to swell, primarily due to increased persecution in czarist Russia. Theodor Herzl, an Austrian newspaper reporter, led the movement to establish a Jewish homeland. Through his vision (“If you will it, it is no dream”), the world’s Jewish community was mobilized to implement the Zionist goal—the establishment of a Jewish homeland in the ancient land of Zion, or Israel.
After World War I, the British government, then in control of Palestine, attempted to stifle further Jewish immigration, although they had earlier committed themselves to helping create a Jewish homeland. By 1947 the British were tired of placating the Arabs and penalizing the Jews in Palestine, so they turned over the responsibility of Palestine to the United Nations.
In November of that year the United Nations voted to partition Palestine into two separate states—one Arab and one Jewish. The Jewish population greeted the partition vote with dancing in the streets. The Arab community, on the other hand, rejected the plan. As the British pulled out of Palestine in May 1948, a new era dawned for Jewish people everywhere. A sense of national pride swept world Jewry as the revived State of Israel declared its independence on May 14. God’s ancient people were home again.
The holiday of Yom ha-Atzma’ut was officially declared in 1949. The 5th of Iyyar (April-May), the day the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed, became the national date of the observance.
Observance of Yom ha-Atzma’ut
In Israel, the celebration of Yom ha-Atzma’ut is preceded by the solemnity of Yom ha-Zikkaron (lit., Day of the Remembrance). Held on the previous day, Iyyar 4, Yom ha-Zikkaron is a memorial day in remembrance of Israeli solders who fell in the line of duty.
At sunset, as Yom ha-Zikkaron draws to an end and Yom ha-Atzma’ut begins, the mood throughout Israel dramatically changes from solemnity to joviality. Throngs of people jam the streets walking, singing, and dancing. Official ceremonies are held at Mount Herzl, where the “father of Zionism” is buried. These include a gun salute marking each year of independence since 1948, as well as the lighting of 12 torches representing the 12 tribes of Israel. As with the celebration of America’s Independence Day, fireworks play a big role in the Israeli celebration of Yom ha-Atzma’ut. The following day the festivities continue. There are parades highlighting Israel’s young people and the land’s fruitfulness, as well as family picnics and barbecues.
In the Diaspora, marking Israel’s Independence Day varies from community to community. Celebrations are usually sponsored by Jewish schools, synagogues, or community centers. These festivities often include children’s parades, Israeli folk dances, plays, poetry readings, the partaking of Israeli food, the retelling of the story of Israel’s formation, and the recitation of the Israeli Declaration of Independence.
The patriotic overtones in the State of Israel evident during the month of Iyyar come to their fruition on the 28th day, when the holiday Yom Yerushalayim (lit., Jerusalem Day) is observed. This special day commemorates the taking of East Jerusalem by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. Official ceremonies include the lighting of 18 torches at the Western Wall in remembrance of the soldiers who died regaining it.
Prophecy and Yom ha-Atzma’ut
Being of such recent origin, obviously the holiday of Yom ha-Atzma’ut is not biblical and therefore has no direct prophetic implications. However, the events surrounding the holiday and the formation of the modern State of Israel do hold a significant place in the prophetic Scriptures. There are many passages in the Bible that speak of Israel’s return to their homeland. Isaiah 11:11 clearly states that these restoration passages do not refer to the return of the exiles following the Babylonian captivity. Instead, Isaiah speaks of a second restoration following a second dispersion.
This truth has forced the question of whether the reemergence of the modern State of Israel should be considered a fulfillment of biblical prophecy or just the after effects of human political efforts. Ezekiel 37 helps to answer this question. In this passage, God permitted the Prophet Ezekiel to gaze into the future and behold the destiny of the Jewish nation—a destiny portrayed by a valley full of dry bones.
A careful examination of this prophecy reveals three facts. First, the dry bones represent “the whole house of Israel” (v. 11). Second, Ezekiel states that during this episode he prophesied twice—once to the bones (v. 7) and once to the wind (v. 10). The result was also twofold. In response to the first prophecy, the bones came together, along with sinews, flesh, and skin. But there was no breath or life in them (vv. 7–8). In response to the second prophecy, breath came into the bodies giving them life (v. 10). Third, the interpretation of the vision as given by God indicates a two-phase fulfillment. The first phase sees the Lord bringing the Jewish people out of their graves and into the land of Israel (v. 12). The second phase involves a second placement of the Jews into their land, accompanied by their spiritual regeneration (v. 14).
The Scriptures therefore seem to indicate that before God fully regathers Israel from among the nations and brings them back to life spiritually, an incomplete return to the land of promise must occur, albeit in a condition of national, spiritual deadness.2 Today’s modern State of Israel is that nation regathered in unbelief. Similar to the bones of Joseph (Gen. 50:25; Ex. 13:19; Josh. 24:32), the dry bones of Ezekiel’s vision have been returned to their homeland.
Prophetically speaking, the holiday of Yom ha-Atzma’ut commemorates the partial restoration of Israel back to the land of promise. Someday Israel will be able to celebrate the complete regathering of all its people and their new life in the Messiah.
 Bruce Scott holds a B.A. in Bible from Grace College of the
Bible,
Omaha, Nebraska and a M.Div. from Central Baptist
Theological Seminary
in Plymouth, Minnesota. He is a Bible teacher and preacher
with The
Friends of Israel in Minnesota.
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