As people in Israel join in to honor Israel’s National Days, our Jewish community in Jacksonville will gather throughout the city to learn more about these historic holidays, and this somber yet celebratory time of year.
Yom Ha’Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, begins at sundown on April 23 this year and ends at sundown on April 24. The holiday commemorates the six million Jewish people who were killed during the holocaust and the Jewish resistance during that time and is now celebrated worldwide. Two events are planned to honor Holocaust Remembrance Day as a community in April.
Please meet us at The LJD Jewish Family & Community Services on Tue, Apr 22 at 10 am. We are honored to host a tour of, “Histories in Hand-Symbols of Resilience, Survival and Enduring Hope,” – the new exhibit in the Frisch Family Holocaust Memorial Gallery. Please click here to let us know you are coming to the gallery tour at JFCS.
At 7 pm on Wed, Apr 23, we will gather for the annual community-wide remembrance ceremony to honor local survivors and their families, hosted by Beth El-The Beaches Synagogue. You can follow this link to read more details about the Yom Ha’Shoah Shabbat Service from Beth El.
Yom Ha’Zikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day to honor fallen soldiers and civilian victims of terrorism, begins at sundown on April 29 and ends at sundown on April 30. During the holiday all places of public entertainment in Israel are closed for 24 hours and a siren is sounded throughout the country at 8 pm and 11 am, prompting the entire nation to observe two minutes of standstill. At this standstill time, daily activities and traffic come to a complete stop, while programs honoring the lives and heroic deeds of fallen soldiers are broadcast throughout the day.
We will meet at the Jacksonville Jewish Center on Tue, Apr 29 at 7:30 pm as Israeli Community Shaliach, Oren Pery, hosts a traditional Yom Ha’Zikaron ceremony for our community. This program is funded in part by the Yamim Grants, Mit-Habrim | Connections funding initiative, a partnership between the JCC Association of North America and the Israeli Government’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combatting Antisemitism. Click here for more details about our the Yom Ha’Zikaron ceremony in Jacksonville this year.
Yom Ha’Atzmaut follows Yom Ha’Zikaron, starting at sundown on April 30; the holidays are observed back-to-back to recognize the link between the sacrifice of the soldiers and the existence of Israel. Yom Ha’Atzmaut, celebrates Israel’s 77th Independence Day, much like our Independence Day in the United States, this date honors the establishment of the State of Israel and when its Declaration of Independence was signed in Tel Aviv in 1948.
Everyone is invited to join in our community-wide celebration of Israel, happening this year on Sun, May 4 from 12 – 4 pm at Congregation Ahavath Chesed – The Temple. This family-friendly event is open to all ages; it will feature Israel-inspired arts and crafts, face painting, a bounce house, Kosher cuisine, educational information about Israel, Israeli technology, and so much more! Visit the Temple calendar of events and be on the lookout for more information about the community celebration to honor Israel’s 77th Independence Day.
All events to honor Israel’s National Days are free and open to the entire community. Programs throughout Jacksonville to honor Israel’s National Days this year are in collaboration with the Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida and our community partners. We sincerely thank the JCC Association of North America and the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs for supporting our programs in Jacksonville with the Israel Engagement Grant.
