Israel’s raucous Independence Day celebrations will be a little quieter this year.
Although fireworks are typically a mainstay at parties across the country, this year many of the glittering yet noisy displays have been cancelled over concerns by some military veterans who say the cracking and banging dredges up the horrors of battle, especially for those with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“The barrage of fireworks is the same as a burst of gunfire for us,” Ehud Amiton, a former soldier with PTSD who has worked to cancel the firework displays, told Israeli Army Radio Monday. “We don’t oppose the celebrations, we oppose the noise.”
Israel marks 74 years since its creation on Thursday, and festivities begin the night before.
The country’s main ceremony in Jerusalem, which usually boasts a grandiose fireworks finale will instead hold a silent pyrotechnic show. The seaside metropolis of Tel Aviv, where residents climb to rooftops to watch the glittering display, has also scrapped fireworks this year.
Israel’s Culture Minister Chili Tropper announced last month that he was siding with the veterans, saying it was Israel’s duty to respect the former fighters and recognize their struggle with PTSD, especially as the country marks its Independence Day.
“For most Israelis fireworks maybe a nice image in the sky, but for them it is the sound of gunfire and battle,” Tropper wrote on Facebook last month, announcing that this year’s national ceremony would drop the fireworks. “They have fought enough. They have paid a heavy price. This year we are reaching out to them.”
Independence Day in Israel comes a day after it marks its Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism. It is one of the most somber days on the calendar, as bereaved families visit cemeteries and the country comes to a standstill for a solemn moment to remember the dead. Restaurants, theaters and other entertainment venues close, and TV and radio broadcast melancholy music and stories about Israel’s wars and the dead.
That melancholic mood ends abruptly in the evening with a burst of jubilant Independence Day celebrations, which usually include fireworks.
The decision to cancel fireworks in many cities drew criticism from some nationalists, who saw it as an attempt to scale back Israeli patriotism.
“There is some interest here to temper Independence Day celebrations,” Yair Netanyahu, the son of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a prominent nationalist voice, wrote on Twitter. “There have been fireworks on Independence Day for 70 years and there was never any problem with it!”
(AP)
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9 Responses
The Bibi Baby’s military service was as a “public affairs” spokesperson according to Wikopedia. There is no record of his having ever served in any combat or combat related position and thus would have no experience with PTSD or empathy or those suffering from such effects. To the extent they can restrict or limit fireworks in response to proven medical evidence of serious traumatic effects, they should. Fireworks do not reflect patriotism. His uncle was a true military hero. His adoring tweets supporting some of the world’s worst tyrants while chasing after shiksas are nothing EY should take seriously.
The containers with the fireworks from china probably never arrived on time
It’s normally a good display but costly
Amazing how lots ask where was Hashem in the Holocaust but few ask where is Hashem on Yom HaAtzamut!
Dora:
E”Y is greatly pained by Zionism and its takeover of portions of that holy land.
But you meant, of course, liHavdil, the Zionist State of Israel. Never should the two be confused nor conflated.
What nonsense
He lost a brother in Entebbe
May you missed that Gadol
He and his family have done more for
Hidden round the world than most
He has forgotten more about military than you will ever know
Dorah,
Bibi Baby? As usual, you’ve managed to be wrong and a complete jerk at the same time. Benjamin Netanyahu served honorably for five years in Sayeret Matkal. He took part in numerous raids, was wounded several times and after his honorable discharge, returned from the U.S. to fight in the Yom Kippur War. That’s just his military service.
What have you accomplished in your life on behalf of the Jewish people? Being an inaccurate, nasty, blathering, poster counts for nothing.
We owe so much הכרת הטוב to the amazing מדינה probably even more so this year than just about any previous year, as we witness how many Ukrainian Jews had where to go to thanks to our most wonderful blessed מדינה and some of us are still old enough to know & remember how sorely we lacked our own מדנה during WW2
ראשית צמיחת גאולתינו
Dofi:
He meant the former Zionist leader’s son, not the Zionist leader.
HaKatan,
Thanks for pointing that out and sincere apologies to Dorah!
This is about Bibi
Israel Defense Forces
Years of service
1967–1973
Rank
Seren (Captain)
Unit
Sayeret Matkal
Battles/wars
War of Attrition
Yom Kippur War
Sayeret Matkal is one of the top units in the IDF
Most can’t make it through training
They risk their life’s on a regular basis for Kalal Yisroel we owe them all tremendous gratitude