Yom Ha'atzmaut '52
Vital statistics:
Population: 6.3 million
Jews: 4.9 million
Arabs: 1.1 million

19,105 fallen soldiers since 1948

Photo albums:
To celebrate Independence Day we bring you three selections of historical photos. Click on any of the three thumbnails below to enter each photo album.

Click to see Independence War photo album
Albumn 1 - click here

Click here for Jerusalem 1948 photo album
Albumn 2 - click here

Click here to see photos of liberation
Albumn 3 - click here

The Jerusalem Post
    Two Jerusalem Post staff members tell their stories to our Internet readers:

"The truth is stronger than words"
Alexander Zvielli talks about The Palestine Post bombing in 1948. More

"They were a different lot back then..."
Meir Ronnen recalls The Six Day War. More

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Israel's offspring
By Gil Hoffman
Suicide, criminal activities, and intermarriage plague five of the State's founding dynasties.

Herzl David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973)

Theodor Herzl (1860-1904)

Chaim Weizmann (1874-1952)

Menachem Begin (1913-1992)

Rabbi Isaac Halevy Herzog (1888-1959)

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How good is your Hebrish?
By Herb Keinon
Hebrew may be one of the country's official languages, but it's not the word on the street. More

Alternative vocabulary
By Herb Keinon
One of the central functions of the Hebrew Language Academy, located at Hebrew University's Givat Ram campus in Jerusalem, is to coin new words. More

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Bittersweet celebration
By Heidi J. Gleit
Joseph Luttenberg has paid a high price for the State of Israel. As well as being wounded in service to the State, he lost his son in the Yom Kippur War. More

Prize of a lifetime
By Heidi J. Gleit
The decision to award the Israel Prize for Life Achievement to Shulamit Aloni has proven to be as controversial as the veteran politician's career. More

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Related links:
Jerusalem Post Supplements:
Palestine Post 1948 edition
Six Day War - 30th anniversary
Israel celebrates 50

From the Jewish Agency:
Yom Hazikaron
Jews in the Land of Israel
Prayer for the State of Israel
What is Zionism?
Israeli Bannerisms


 

    Libi

They came, they swam, they left
By Allison Kaplan Sommer
In Israel's 52nd year, the rich, famous, and obscure came to visit. Here are our 52 top distinguished tourists:

1. Pope John Paul II
2. Dr. Robert Ballard

3. Eddie Taylor, Jr.
4. Roseanne
5. Maeve Binchy
6. Hillary Clinton
7. Lionel Jospin
8. Mercedes Sosa
9. Jiang Zemin
10. Roberto Benigni
11. Roberto Baggio
12. Alif Gondoz
13. King Abdullah II
14. Terje Larsen
15. Jonathan Gee
16. Aida Gomez
17. Pat Metheny
18. Mili Avital
19. 6,000 Diaspora youth
20. Boris Yeltsin
21. Yoko Ono
22. Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

23. Li Peng
24. Sandra Bernhard
25. The Harlem Boys' Choir
26. Michael HarPaz
27. Nelson Mandela
28. Helmut Kohl
29. Luis Michel
30. Mercury Rev
31. Frank S. de Grave
32. Jean Chretien
33. Peter Hain
34. 5ive
35. Madeleine Albright
36. Guy Kawasaki
37. Sanford Weill
38. Craig Kielburger
39. Erica Jong
40. Eurovisioneers
41. Omar Farouk Tekbilek
42. Dr. Ruth
43. Irish pilgrims
44. Dennis Ross
45. Antonio Banderas
46. Donald Harrison
47. Suzanne Vega
48. John Howard
49. Wolfgang Thierse
50. Alejandro Lerner
51. Jorge Haider
52. David Trimble