President, chief of staff honor 120 outstanding soldiers

 

For the first time as chief of staff, Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot saluted the men and women in uniform, when each stepped forward to receive a citation plus a scholarship for higher education.

 

"Today we celebrate all voices of society," President Reuven Rivlin said to a cheering crowd. "We are celebrating our freedom to honor all voices together – regardless of our differences." 

 

The annual Independence Day ceremony is the first for the president, who shook hands with each of the recipients. 

 

"I was nine years old when the flag of Israel was raised for the first time," Rivlin said, "an image that is forever engraved in my memory." 

 

"Every time I see a Israeli flag waving from a pole, my eyes fill with tears," he told the audience, alluding to a past "generation for which a flag will never be taken for granted." 

 

"Today Israel celebrates 67 years of independence and our hearts fill with pride." The state of Israel was born out of hope, he said, invoking the immortal words of Naphtali Herz Imber, the Jewish poet who wrote the country\’s national anthem.

 

"Od lo avdah tikvatenu" (our hope is not yet lost), he recited the famous lines of the \’Hatikvah\’ chorus. "Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim" (The hope of two thousand years).

 

Turning to face the soldiers, sitting in rows to his left, he said from a podium: "You are proof that the excellence of the IDF is not in its power but in its spirit." 

 

"The spirit that pulses through you is essential not only to our survival, but to our society as a whole," he said, describing Israel as a "forever changing society." 

 

This badge of honor, he continued, a line of blue-and-white flags fluttering in the background, "is one of courage, of might, but most importantly it is a symbol of leadership."

 

On Tuesday, when the soldiers came to the President’s Residence to rehearse for the grand occasion – which will also be attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, as well as soldiers’ relatives – Rivlin, who has a grandson in the IDF, took the opportunity to both applaud and salute them.

 

He greeted them with almost childlike awe and excitement, telling them that Independence Day is one of the most exciting days in the Israeli calendar, enabling the nation to express its appreciation and its pride to the army of the people.

 

Rivlin was thrilled to see all the branches of the armed forces – land, sea, and air – and voiced his admiration for their accomplishments.

 

For Rivlin, who was twice Speaker of the Knesset, the figure 120 is of great significance.

 

There are 120 members of the Knesset, modeled on the 120 sages who comprised the Sanhedrin of old, and the 120 outstanding soldiers combine wisdom with courage and the desire to serve and to defend.

 

Following the ceremony, there will be a musical performance under the title of “All Israel from Jerusalem.” The gathering’s attention will be temporarily diverted during the traditional fly-past by the Israel Air Force aerobatics team, trailing smoke in the blue and white national colors.