Yom Hazikaron, Yom Ha'atzmaut, Tel Aviv Friends, and 5 Minutes from a Terror Attack

April 29, 2023

View of the Mediterranean Sea from our Tel Aviv Apt.

It's hard to describe what the two days of Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut are like here in Israel. It's the heaviness and the excitement in the air, the Israeli flags waving everywhere, the siren of silence, the revelry, the barbecues, the general mood. In some ways, these are their biggest holidays.

Yom Hazikaron is Israel's Memorial Day, and it's for and about the many soldiers who have died in battle. So many families are directly affected by this, and if you didn't lose a relative in your own family, plenty of your friends did. There are no appliance sales on this day, but there are a whole lot of programs (tekes, it is called in Hebrew) that honor these people. There is also a moment of silence at 11 AM, and, just like with Yom Hashoa, everyone stops what they are doing, gets out of their cars or homes or offices, and stands at attention.

However, as soon as that day ends, the evening changes to Yom Ha'atzmaut, the day Israel became a nation, and the mood changes to chaotic revelry. The Declaration of Independence is read in many places, but it's mostly a gigantic party. The streets are packed, small children and elderly stay out until all hours of the night, cotton candy (which is called Se'erot Savta, Grandma's Hair, here), candy apples, hot dogs, shaving cream (it used to be silly string), light up toys, beach ball hammers with the Israeli flag on them, and free concerts abound. I know that sounds like an odd combination of things, but that's what you see. Political differences are put aside, and the country comes together to celebrate. I stayed out just to soak it all in.

Huge free concert in Gan Ha'atzmaut Park

The next day everyone barbecues in the public parks, and we were fortunate to attend one at our Orthodox friends the Swidlers. There were a number of families there, including two with Berkeley roots, so there was a lot of Jewish geography going on as well as a lot of food. And only in Israel can a barbecue end with a Torah learning session.

So many barbecues in Gan Sacher Park

Tel Aviv. We spent the weekend in Tel Aviv, in part thanks to the incredible generosity of some congregation members, who gave us the use of one of the most beautiful apartments we have ever seen, top floor, beautifully decorated, three bedrooms, and the view, wow! Honestly, the picture at the beginning of this post doesn't even really do it justice. We went to the Carmel Shuk as well as the Artists displays at Nahalat Benyamin, and, of course, ran and walked along the beach.

We spent a lot of time seeing new and old friends, including a side trip to friends we met on the cruise from Hertzeliya, Danny and Hazel, congregation member David Reback, and cousins from two different sides of Karen's family.

Reichman University Student and TBA Member David Reback

College Buddy Jenny Lipowich Starr

Cruise Friends Danny and Hazel in Herzeliyah

Karen's Cousins Maia, Sharona, and Husband Nathan

I also went to two different Conservative Masorti synagogues, one Friday night and one Saturday, both of which were lovely.

The only difficult part was getting back from Hertzeliyah. This was because the train was filled with protestors on their way to Jerusalem, going there to support the Judicial Reforms (it's confusing, but that is the right wing position). It was wall to wall people, and there was no way to get out of the train with mobs trying to come into the train. But people helped us push everyone out of the way and block people from coming on until we could get out. We lost sunglasses and a water bottle in the process, and Karen was a bit traumatized, but we made it.

Five Minutes from Terror. I'm amazed that you made it this far into the post. But I was less than 5 minutes from a serious terror car ramming terror attack near the Mahane Yehuda Market. My friend Josh Kaplan from BBYO days was in town, and we decided to walk there for coffee. When we arrived, there were dozens of police officers blocking off the streets, shouting at people to get out of the way. Two instincts pulled at me at the same time--get out of there as fast as possible (fear and the fact that you are in the way of officers trying to protect people) and curiosity (what exactly happened/gawking, etc.). We were definitely shaken but sort of snuck through and got some coffee at a nearby place to process it all. I couldn't find the video where a civilian actually goes and shoots the driver to prevent more damage, but the whole thing was amazing and surreal. The right wing American gun lobby would point to this as an example of the "good guy with the gun," and while that is accurate in this case, the permitting process in Israel to carry a gun is so much more extensive than we have in America and includes training, psychiatric evaluation, experience, and constant updates. It's really apples and oranges. Anyway, here is some video of the aftermath. The Terrorist Car Ramming.