The American Jewish community completed preparations today for the observance of Israel’s 15th anniversary of independence next Monday.
In New York City, Mayor Wagner proclaimed the day as Israel Day in the city. He also will officiate at the traditional annual ceremony at City Hall Plaza officially saluting the Jewish State, The ceremony will begin at 11:30 a.m. In addition to addresses by the Mayor and Ambassador Katriel Katz, Consul General of Israel, the event will feature the massed colors of New York City’s Fire Department, music by a city band and choral and dance group performances.
The New York Board of Rabbis proclaimed the Sabbath of April 26-27 as a Special Sabbath in observance of the anniversary. In his proclamation, Rabbi Israel Mowshowitz, president of the board, said that the establishment of Israel as a free and independent democratic state 15 years ago was more than the addition of another member of the community of nations. “We call upon all our people to enter their synagogues on Friday and Saturday to give expression of their gratitude to the Almighty for his intervention, as well as to offer prayers for His continued guidance of this mighty fortress of the spirit,” the proclamation said.
The Synagogue Council of America declared in an anniversary message that Israel “has set a pace of progress for old nations to admire and for new nations to emulate. Rabbi Julius Mark, SCA president, also said that reborn with Israel in 1948 were also “hundreds of thousands of survivors who came streaming out of the internment camps and the DP camps to build a new life in Israel and live in it proud and unafraid.”
Dr. Max Nussbaurn, president of the Zionist Organization of America, said in a message that American Zionists “take deep pride in the remarkable growth and achievements of the young State, the creation of the Zionist movement. The free world owes a debt of gratitude to the State of Israel for serving as a bastion of democracy in the entire Middle East.” He added a warning that rejoicing over the anniversary needed to be “tempered by a sense of deep anxiety over the security of the State and its people.”
A highlight of the observance in the New York-New Jersey celebration will be an Israeli Trade Fair and Exhibition in Newark, under the sponsorship of the Newark YM-YWHA, in cooperation with the Israel Trade Commissioner, the Israel Government Tourist Office and the Israel Government Investment Authority.
The fair was organized to dramatize the fact that Israel was a “productive, creative state, competing on the world market on every level,” the sponsors said. Included are exhibits of archaeology, the sciences, education, and the cultural facets of Israel life, a fashion show, a youth festival, displays by Zim lines, El Al, a “city of shops” of Israeli products and other attractions A total of 27 firms, most of them imports, have supplied Israeli products for the fair.
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