By Karen Marsden Sank, Chair SAZF Cape Council
This year Israel proudly celebrates her 73rd birthday, as the jewel in the crown of our global community.
For every Jew no matter where we are, we remain acutely aware of the tremendous challenges and sacrifices that have been made over this time to safeguard our homeland, ensuring that Israel is a place of refuge and safety for all Jews. This milestone is testament to our determination, resilience and a continued spirit of victory and faith.
Yom Hazikaron, the day preceding Yom Ha’atzmaut is devoted to the memory of those who gave their lives in order for us to be able to acknowledge and revel in this achievement. Not only have we as a nation remained steadfast in safeguarding our homeland and our continued existence, but are proud that Israel as a nation stands tall amongst other countries in the areas of IT, technology and cutting-edge research across all sectors.
At a time when the world as we know it looks and feels so different, Israel’s birthday is an opportunity for all of us to be mindful of all the miracles surrounding this celebration. Each one of us can in our own way make sense of how Israel’s history, heartaches, sacrifices and challenges both as a country and as a people makes this celebration and the journey both of our beloved State of Israel and its people even more special.
As a community we will never forget. Too many have paid a huge price for our independence. However, as we celebrated together, acknowledging, paying tribute and honouring our beloved Israel, we stand proud, we stand committed and we stand together in our unwavering belief, support and love for our homeland.
As we look to the future it’s important we remain present, and continue to demonstrate an authentic belief in who we are and what Isreal means to us as individuals, celebrating and acknowledging what so many gave their lives for. Each of us, together with future generations, needs to ensure that our own spirit of victory and faith is entrenched, in order to ensure we remain a united community – Am Yisrael Chai.
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• Published in the print edition of the May 2021 issue. Download the May 2021 issue PDF here.
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