Last night on Wednesday, at the Ramada Jerusalem Hotel in Yerushalayim, OU Israel, together with the Jerusalem Municipality Department of Jewish Tradition, led by Deputy Mayor Arieh King, held a special Independence Day eve prayer event. Senior OU leadership, families of hostages, bereaved families, and over 1,000 new olim participated. The event was scheduled to take place in Gan HaPaamon. Yet, due to the weather conditions it was moved to the Ramada on short notice in order to accommodate the olim who look forward to this mega community event every year.
The evening opened with a Yom HaZikaron ceremony for English-speakers. Rabbi Doron Perez, Executive Chairman of World Mizrachi and father of the late Capt. Daniel Perez, who was taken captive in Gaza during the October 7th massacre and whose body remains in captivity, spoke movingly. He shared, "I think for me, the line that I've perhaps used the most in the past year and a half is for me to be a Jew and an Israeli is the most painful privilege of my life."
"I've never felt in my life that the State of Israel and the Jewish people are more needed in Jewish and human destiny than today. I've never felt more pain but never more privilege to be a Jew."
Following the ceremony, a lively musical Maariv prayer began, led by Rabbi Shlomo Katz, rabbi of Kehilat Shirat David in Efrat. Over 1,000 olim from the United States, Canada, Australia, and South Africa attended, many of whom had made aliyah within the past year and were celebrating their first Independence Day in Israel. At the conclusion of the prayers, a shofar was sounded, and the large crowd continued to sing and dance together in celebration.
Rabbi Avi Berman reflected, at the event's opening, "The people of Israel have come to pray, to celebrate, and to give thanks to our Father in Heaven for all the miracles He has done for us. This prayer gives us strength for another year, no matter the challenges that may arise. It is so uplifting to celebrate with thousands of English speakers who have chosen to make Israel their home."
