Thousands Gather to Celebrate Israel
By Josh Marks    June 1, 2005

The largest Israel Independence Day celebration outside of the state of Israel took place in southern California recently.

Taglit-birthright israel alumni joined over 30,000 others on Sunday, May 15 at Woodley Park in Encino for the 57th annual Israel Independence Day Festival.

"Being here in Los Angeles is more of a reason to celebrate," said alumnus Yitz Pearson. "Israel is our country and it is important to show our friends and family living in Israel that Israel is in our hearts and souls -- even out here."

Besides showing support for Israel, other reasons given for attending the festival were the food, the people, informational booths for Jewish organizations and businesses, and the entertainment, which included Israeli pop superstar Sarit Hadad.

Alumna Traci Szymanski, who went on an Oranim trip in the summer of 2003, was there representing her clothing line Get Sababa. Her company donates a portion of their profits to Israeli organizations including the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and various emergency services.

"I thought this year was successful. Not only for getting over 30,000 people out in the hot weather and keeping a very positive atmosphere, but also for so many vendors to have the chance to expose their merchandise, companies and causes to so many people," said Szymanski.

Politics and current events were also a part of the festival. In the early afternoon, politicians, including newly elected mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa, gave pro-Israel speeches. Throughout the day, representatives from the anti-disengagement organization Save Gush Katif walked the Woodley Park grounds handing out bright orange bracelets while the pro-disengagement Americans for Peace Now booth passed out literature to passerby.

Overall however the theme of the day was celebrating the creation of the state of Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people.

"It is very important to attend the festival because it shows the world that we are united. With so many enemies around us we need to remind them that we are strong and that they can't destroy us," alumnus Sean Bina said.






Josh Marks is a webmaster and writer for the southern California birthright israel alumni association website. He also writes movie reviews, covers local sports and interviews local businesses for a community newspaper in Long Beach. Besides professional writing, his day job is Marketing and Recruitment Coordinator at Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles.