At Har Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem a ceremony opening the events of Israel Independence Day and the lighting of the torches is underway. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke at the event. “Every year the country gets stronger, advances and strengthens its status as a clear world power. Its accomplishments are great in the fields of security, economics, foreign relations, technology, science, culture, and every other field.” “To youth among us, independence may be perceived as something natural; I say that Israeli independence is not a free gift. Generations of Jews were in exile and we have a home. We are pushing the State of Israel to new heights, and the accomplishments of the past give us great hope for the future,” he said. Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein devoted most of his speech to Jerusalem and its unification and said, “Jerusalem is the source of the strength and spirit of this nation. Therefore, today also we must keep the unity of Jerusalem, but no less - we must keep the unity of Israel.” Edelstein addressed tensions in Israeli society and political labels. “Not everything in our life is ‘right’ or ‘left.’ Not every ‘right’ is fascist, not every ‘left’ is treacherous. If we continue down this incorrect path, we will bring about division and destruction on ourselves.” He added that “there was a lot of unnecessary tension between us in the past year. Instead of talking with one another, we yelled at one another, instead of checking things, we rushed to blame. From hating so much, we forgot to love. King Solomon already warned, ‘Without vision, the nation will pay.’ I add: ‘Without unity, the nation will pay.’
