In a video message at the official ceremony, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent out his blessing on this day of independence, saying "the sharp transition between the silence of memorial day and the joy of independence day is not simple, but precisely at this clear moment, the full meaning of the existence of the state of Israel becomes apparent, the dream of generations of our people, the safe haven for which we have prayed and hoped, for generations upon generations of Jews."
"I want to congratulate you, Israel's citizens, on this day," Netanyahu continued, "for the victory of our collective dream, a victory of the spirit, a victory of faith, a victory of persistence, hope and work."
"Thanks to all these, we have surmounted enormous obstacles. We rose from the depths of death and ovens; we came together from west and east and embarked on a path to life and resurrection. We revived our ancient language, we took the Hebrew language from the scriptures and brought it into our daily lives, our schools, our universities, our culture and science, and we also never forgot the scriptures," Netanyahu went on to say.
"Unfortunately, Israel remains under threat," the prime minister said. "An Iranian regime that is feverishly pursuing nuclear weapons brazenly calls for our destruction. Terror organizations on our southern and northern borders grow stronger by the day."
