our emissaries in Greenwich, report…..

The 60th Israel Independence Day celebrations were held here on May 4th for the entire community. We were part of the planning committee for the day's events, and contributed our own ideas for the general framework. Several months before the festivities, we had asked families in the community to send pictures from when they were in Israel in order to create an "Israel and Me" wall.

The response was amazing, and many pictures were sent by community members, of all ages and from every time and event in Israel's history. We took all of the pictures and created one huge poster for our "Israel and Me" wall, which was hung at the entrance to all the festivities.

Moderating the evening was a new and amazing experience for us, and really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was simply amazing to see how many people love Israel and support us. As Israelis who usually celebrate Independence Day on the barbeque grill, we really don't fully appreciate the many ways the Jews all over the world celebrate Israel's birthday. But the real climax came when we told them our tentative roles and jobs in the IDF once we are drafted.

The applause of over 1000 people was simply overwhelming, and was worth every minute!