Israel Celebrates Independence, Honors Fallen

Music replaced mourning sirens Sunday night as Israelis ended memorial ceremonies honoring war dead and began celebrating the 42nd anniversary of the Jewish state’s independence.

“Joy and sorrow are intertwined in our national holiday just as the balance of light and shadow in the life of our nation,” President Chaim Herzog said in a message released by his office.

Throughout the country, Israelis took to the streets dancing to music. Observances continue through sundown today.

Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948, the day the British mandate terminated in Palestine. Independence Day is marked in accordance with the Jewish lunar calendar.

Before Independence Day celebrations began, Israelis lighted memorial flames and visited graves at military cemeteries across the country as part of Remembrance Day.

At Jerusalem’s Mt. Herzl military cemetery, bereaved parents, widows and orphans of fallen soldiers clung to tombstones while others wept silently.

In a broadcast interview, Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir honored the fallen and pledged to continue Israel’s settlement drive in the occupied territories despite U.S. objections. He also said progress toward peace negotiations does not depend on agreeing to U.S. terms for Palestinian-Israeli talks.

Meanwhile, in the occupied Gaza Strip, the army kept Palestinians under curfew. Nevertheless, reports said, Arab assailants killed a Palestinian suspected of collaborating with Israeli authorities.