At sunset Wednesday, citizens in the State of Israel dried their eyes and raised their heads, left the cemeteries and bid farewell to their fallen warriors and victims of terror as Remembrance Day ended with the setting sun.
By nightfall, citizens around the country were streaming towards public parks and stadiums to attend celebrations marking the 67th birthday of the State of Israel.
The evening began with the raising of the nation’s blue and white flag to the top of the flag pole at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Israel’s annual torch-lighting ceremony officially kicked off the beginning of Independence Day in the country with specially-selected individuals to light each of the torches.
This year, 14 trailblazers who reached unusual, inspiring achievements were selected, each having made a significant contribution to Israeli innovation and excellence. With two pairing up, they lit 12 torches. They were:
- Danny Gold: one of the developers of the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system that saved so many lives in last summer’s war with Hamas
- Ehud Shabtain: the developer of the WAZE GPS system, recently sold to Google for more than $1 billion
- Or Asulin: age 17, CEO of a company that develops youth entrepreneurship in high tech – he lit a torch together with Ehud Shabtain.
- Rami Levi: CEO of the supermarket chain in his name that has revolutionized food prices and marketing in Israel.
- Alice Miller: First female pilot in Israel, sued the IDF in Supreme Court to break the military’s gender glass ceiling
- Lucy Aharish: Muslim Israeli Arab journalist voice against racism in Israel, news anchorwoman on i24News
- Prof. Marta Weinstock-Rosin: Researcher who developed Exelon, the ground-breaking medication for Alzheimer’s disease.
- Dr. Gabriel Idan: Developed the medical mini-cam swallowed by patients in lieu of invasive procedures.
- Rafi Mehudar: Inventor whose technologies have helped Israel and other nations conserve water.
- Avihu Medina: Singer and songwriter who brought Israel into the world of Mediterranean music.
- Sima Shine: Highest-ranked woman in Israeli intelligence, director of Regional Affairs Division, Strategic Affairs Ministry
- Gal Lusky: head of Israel Flying Aid Foundation, which provides humanitarian relief in crisis situations around the world
- Malka Piotrkowsky: Paved the way for women’s study of Torah and Talmud, honored for her work as a teacher and women’s rights activist
- IDF Pvt. Dan Korkowsky, who is diagnosed on the Autistic Spectrum and serves with IDF Special Intelligence Unit 9900. He was joined by Sgt. Bat Chen Fumorchok, who leads the special needs soldiers’ division.
Fireworks lit up the skies in every town and city in Israel and in some places, in separate neighborhoods as well.
The annual International Bible Contest is scheduled to take place tomorrow (Thursday, Israeli Independence Day) at 11 am in Jerusalem, from where the event will be streamed over the Internet around the world. Contestants have been pared down to a final set of 67 competitors from 33 different nations, all of whom will be participating in Thursday’s event.