Kicking off the country's 70th-anniversary celebrations this April, some 3,000 Israeli flags are being sent to schools, youth movements, IDF units and to Jewish groups in Israel and around the world to be signed with personal messages and wishes for the Jewish state and for future generations.
The flags will be sent back to the Ammunition Hill National Memorial Site in Jerusalem and placed into a "time capsule," to be reopened only in 30 years, when the country celebrates its centennial anniversary.
Two hundred of these flags, to be signed by a representative sample of all segments of Israeli society and the Diaspora, will be put on display this Independence Day at Ammunition Hill. The public will be able to view the flags throughout the spring and summer months.
"On Israel's 70th year, we have a rare opportunity to send a powerful message to the next generations," Education Minister Naftali Bennett said of the event. "Ever since the First Zionist Congress in Basel, the flag has been there during the most important moments in the annals of our return to Zion in the modern age, and it is a symbol of longing and hope. Now we are passing the flag on to the future generation as well."
Private citizens, organizations and families wishing to partake in the project will be able to visit Ammunition Hill and receive a flag to sign with their own personal messages.
Along with the Ammunition Hill National Memorial Site, the project is being organized in conjunction with the Education Ministry, Foreign Ministry, the Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Ministry and the JNF-USA's education department.
