Israelis of all ages flooded the nation's beaches, parks, and hiking trails on Thursday, celebrating the Jewish state's 74th Independence Day.
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Festivities commenced on Wednesday evening with a ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Featuring the traditional torch lighting ceremony and the display of the handover of the state and military flags during which a military unit is tasked with safeguarding the State of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces for the coming year, the ceremony, which usually boasts an imposing fireworks finale, featured – in a first – a silent pyrotechnic show.
Thousands nations wide then attended street parties and shows that ran into the early hour of Thursday morning.
By mid-morning, parks and beaches were packed with Israelis who wanted a front-row seat to the main attraction: the traditional military flyby and naval flotilla.
As in previous years, the IDF opened its bases to the public. The practice was briefly suspended in 2020-2021 over the coronavirus pandemic, but once the Health Ministry again allowed unrestricted public gatherings, the military resumed it.
The flyby is the most popular event of the day and after two years in which it had to be scaled back over the pandemic, the Israeli Air Force did not disappoint, holding eight aerobatics and formation flights throughout the day.
The airshows included F-15, F-16, and F-35 fighter jets; Lavi training aircraft; C-130 cargo planes; a Boeing refueling plane; Black Hawk, Sea Stallion, Panther, Apache helicopters and, for the first time, Israel Aerospace Industries Heron drones.
The Israeli Navy sent most of its vessels in the Red Sea and all of the naval police vessels on a flotilla along the Eilat coast, while ships stationed elsewhere along the Israeli coastline edged slightly closer to the shore for a while, to beachgoers' delight.
Over on dry land, the annual International Bible Quiz was held in Jerusalem on Thursday afternoon.
The worldwide competition for Jewish middle and high school students was attended by a long list of dignitaries, including President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
In a first since 2013, the completion was tied, eventually crowning two Israeli teenagers the winners.
Dvir Merzbach, a 17-year-old from Safed, and Hillel Cohen, 16, of Jerusalem, bested 14 contestants ahead of the toe-to-toe final round, which deadlocked with a tie.
Presenting them with the award, Bennett joked that "we don't even see tension like this in politics."
Earlier in the day, Herzog hosted 120 distinguished IDF soldiers and officers in the President's Residence in Jerusalem for Independence Day ceremony.
Bennett, in his morning Independence Day address to the nation, called on Israeli youth to "learn from the heroes of our people to take responsibility – to stand up and do. Fix the country. if something is broken – fix it. If something is wrong – act."
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