It has been a year of explosions, war, runs to shelters and missile attacks—and it may continue. Today is still the continuation of two and a half years of continuous war: first with Hamas, twice with Hezbollah, and twice with the ultimate enemy, Iran.
Israel marks its 78th birthday with the feeling of waking on an unfamiliar planet: we have been strong, yet the danger remains real. Everything is possible. The level of alert is absolute—even as the desire to live has no limits.
After three years of extraordinary resilience, Israel is a country that rises and shakes its head. On one hand, it is exhausted and cries “enough,” yet it knows it must once again summon its inner strength. It has been a miraculous journey, but this Independence Day arrives balanced on the razor’s edge of negotiations in Islamabad.
At any moment, sirens could again send citizens running to shelters, yet Israelis strive to live fully. No one withdraws from the struggle for survival. Debate continues, democracy remains vibrant, civil society is active and culture persists.
On Tuesday night, young men and women—many of whom have spent years at the front—sang and danced in the streets, even as families carry fresh and terrible memories of fallen soldiers and continue caring for the wounded and displaced.
In Islamabad, decisions are being weighed on whether the war will continue, as Israel remains the ideological and strategic target of Tehran. The army remains on alert.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the ultimate weapon—enriched uranium intended for a new annihilation of the Jews—has been confronted and damaged, but the threat has not yet been fully removed.
Israel celebrates while balancing on a knife’s edge. Its population has surpassed 10 million, with a fertility rate of 2.7. Some 50,000 immigrants arrived last year, and 91% of citizens describe themselves as happy—even amid missiles, Kalashnikov rifles and poisonous rhetoric in which jihad is joined by antisemitic aggression. Along the Gaza border, 62,000 residents have returned home.
Israel ranks fifth in the 2026 World Happiness Report. Ministers and military leaders debated whether to allow public ceremonies and celebrations, ultimately deciding yes. Israel seeks to breathe again, reassured by its determination to live. Since Oct. 7, 2023, the moment when it risked being overwhelmed, the country has endured and reshaped its strategic position.
When ships carrying Holocaust survivors arrived in 1945—often facing deadly obstacles—who could have imagined those shadows would fight like lions and prevail in war against the combined assault of Arab states? It happened, again and again.
On Tuesday night, part of the opening ceremony for Yom Ha’atzmaut was dedicated to those who lost limbs in war and to the hostages. There were songs and dancing, without tears. The Jewish people’s long training for survival has been costly. The joy of living for the essential purpose of life itself remains indescribable.
