. . . Dianne Lob, Chair, William Daroff, CEO, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Vice Chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, issued the following statement:
“Today we commemorate a modern miracle. 73 years ago, the State of Israel was declared in the ancient homeland of the Jewish people and then successfully defended against all odds.
For 2000 years, Jews were an oppressed, stateless minority. We suffered persecution, expulsion, inquisitions, crusades, pogroms, and the horrors of the Holocaust. We dreamt of, prayed for, and sought to return to Zion and Jerusalem with which we never lost our deep connection. Hatikvah, the 19th century poem that became the Jewish State’s national anthem, expresses the yearning that was felt for generations, the hope the Jewish people clung to that we would somehow one day have a state of our own in the Land of Israel once again.
The rebirth of Israel in 1948 was the realization of that 2000-year-old dream, representing the restoration of the Jews as a sovereign people. For more than seven decades, Israel has been a thriving, vibrant democracy and a light unto the nations. As we celebrate another birthday of the world’s only Jewish State, we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to it, and pray that we never take this hard-won sovereignty for granted. We wish a happy Yom Haatzmaut to all.”
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