Yom Ha’atzmaut has entered the canon of modern Jewish holidays but celebrating Israel’s independence from a distance can, at times, feel foreign. This session features the voices of Tova Birnbaum, Meirav Jones, and Tomer Persico, 3 Israelis living in North America as they offer their ideas about what it means to celebrate and commemorate Israel from afar. They discuss what it means to be both Israeli and Jewish and to take both seriously as two distinct but interrelated identities, and share their thoughts about what ties Israeli and North American Jews together. Moderated by Joshua Ladon.
This program was part of Meaning + Milestones: Spring Days of Learning, two days of global learning, ritual, and commemoration that reimagine and reflect on Yom HaShoah and celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut, both days of meaning and milestones in North America and Israel.
