Written by Talya Wiseman, Head of Jewish Life (High School)

On 14 May 1948, David Ben Gurion made the brave decision to proudly proclaim the establishment of the State of Israel.

“We… hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish State in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.”

Ben Gurion did this amidst huge uncertainty, with heavy pressure to delay, against the backdrop of war and knowing that, through declaring Israel’s independence, he would be sending thousands to immediately fight for its continued existence.

And yet, despite the bleak reality of Israel’s unlikely ability to hold off those who wished to destroy it, the people celebrated, they danced and sang in the streets. A 2000-year-old dream was at long last a reality. 

In many ways, it feels like we are still fighting Israel’s War of Independence. Trying to convince the world that Israel is not going anywhere. We know what exile feels like, we know what it means to live a life determined by others and we refuse to go back to those times. Only 76 years ago, we reached a fundamental turning point in Jewish history, and in the 76 years since, we have proven the extraordinary achievements that the Jewish nation is capable of.

Yesterday we commemorated Yom HaZikaron – the hardest one in my memory. A day framed around an ongoing war, more Israeli lives lost in a single year than we had seen in the last five decades and 132 people still held hostage in Gaza.

Today we celebrate, just as they did in 1948, against a backdrop of war, and  realising more than ever how much we have to celebrate. We do not take the State of Israel for granted. We are truly blessed that, out of thousands of years of Jewish history, we are privileged to live at a time where we have a Jewish state in our ancient homeland.

Our celebrations do feel different this year. While we cannot turn off the hurt that we feel,  today at Moriah we will dance. We will learn, ask and discuss why this land is so important to us. We will show gratitude and joy. All throughout the school today students are dressed in blue and white, proudly showing support for the State of Israel. Students are engaged in activities exploring Israeli culture, history, diversity and morality.

One month ago, I was in Israel and, overwhelmingly, people told me, “Please tell your community in Australia how much their support means to us.” We, the Jewish people, truly are one people with one heart – Am echad b’lev echad. We have never felt closer, realising just how connected we in Sydney are to our brothers and sisters in Israel.

Yesterday we mourned, today we celebrate. We know the fight is not yet won. We pray that next year’s Yom Ha’atzmaut will once again be at a time of peace. A time when the people of Israel can feel secure, a time when we no longer have to explain why we deserve to exist. And we will continue dancing, and standing proud, and showing our support for Israel.