I’m late to the nail art party but making up for lost time. Till now, it never captured my imagination. Dotty flowers and flourishes aren’t my style. But recently, I’ve come across manicure masterpieces! These 10 baby canvases can provide a portable place of expression.
So given my upcoming trip to Israel, I wanted to indulge my latest curiosity. I’m not the first to try this theme. For my take, I tried not to be too literal.
I went with blue nails, featured some silver sparkles, and for the accent nail, dark blue stripes over white, as a nautical nod to the Mediterranean. The Magen David gives a flag effect and the heart on the other hand says, “I ♥ Israel.” Israel nail art: a stylish way to wear Zion Pride.
Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel’s independence day, is my favorite holiday and the inspiration for the best thing that happens in Los Angeles all year long: the Celebrate Israel Festival! Annually, the Israeli American Council (IAC) teams with other Jewish organizations and sponsors to throw a massive celebration of all things Israel.
This year, 20,000 (!) people came together to celebrate Israel. The organizers’ creativity never ceases to amaze. Camels and carnivals and gaga, oh my! Feel free to vicariously attend through me.
“The Celebrate Israel Walk” kicked off the day. So many people came out to sing and dance down LA’s streets, clothed in blue-and-white wear and Israeli flags.
Never one to pass up an opportunity to dress in themed attire, especially when it comes to Israel, my friend Miri and I expertly demonstrate Israel Swag Style.
Get the look! (Clockwise) Miri giddily grabs “I Heart Israel” sunglasses and bracelets, and plenty of flags to wave and share. I glamorize with blue and white eye makeup. (**Important: Go heavy on the blue and silver glitter. You’ll know you’re wearing enough when a trail of sparkles follows you wherever you go and sticks to everyone you hug.) Miri and I show off our “I Heart Israel” temporary tattoos…totally kosher!
Rinat, the star of a popular Israeli children’s show, performed to an enthusiastic group of yeladim (kiddos).
Huge roller coasters and moon bounces, tons of carnival games and artists, Jewish organizations representing the whole of Jewish life, Israeli food and ice cream, drum circles, Israeli scouts, arts and crafts, and sooooo much more. I spent the entire day in the sunshine exploring and celebrating Israel.
(Clockwise) An airshow just for us(!); Gaga, a popular Israeli game you might remember from summer camp; a camel contentedly smiling between rides; a sea salt box replaced your ordinary sandbox to teach kids about the Dead Sea; and the Moroccan tent provided a shady place to rest.
For the grand finale, The Idan Raichel Project performed. Famous for fusing all the sounds of Israel, thousands danced and waved Israeli flags, creating a blue-and-white sea for as far as the eye could see.
The Idan Raichel Project. The last time I saw Idan, he had dreadlocks and the band was performing in the desert somewhere in Israel. It was an epic setting for his earthy music.
Big kudos to all the organizers, some of whom I know and who inspire me with their enormous generosity and true love for Israel. What a gorgeous day! The best! I’m bustin’ with Jewish love and pride.
Happy Birthday, Israel! And…happy birthday to me. I am so excited and honored that this year my birthday coincides with Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel’s independence day. So obviously, I made us a blue and white cake.
To Israelify this white cake, I applied a blue ombre treatment, adding food coloring to the batter so that each layer grew incrementally darker.
As a garnish, I made Zionberries–white chocolate covered strawberries with Israeli flags drawn on top in sparkly blue icing.
A row of blueberries at the base and blue-and-silver edible sprinkles completed the cake. Yom Huledet Sameach, Happy Birthday, Israel! You make us proud, and we’re so lucky to have you.
♥ Dedicated to Magda Esther bat Shmuel, z”l who was an incredible cook, sweeter than this cake and a true Zionist.
First Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Next Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day.
Then Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day.
The order and proximity of these events to one another isn’t just stam, per chance or random. One informs the next, showing us the dark so that we can see light.
Yom HaShoah, celebrated today, memorializes the Holocaust, one of the most horrific expressions of human cruelty in the history of mankind where 6 million Jews were systematically murdered, eradicating 2/3 of European Jewry.
Anti-Semitism, the irrational hatred of Jews, persists as a bloody stain on the consciousness of humanity. While the Holocaust is the most dramatic example of this hostility in modern history—pogroms, crusades, inquisitions, massacres, and expulsions targeting Jews existed for centuries before World War II. Even now, Iran denies the Holocaust while simultaneously plotting a second one. Anti-Semitism runs rampant, unhidden and unashamed, throughout the Arab world. And European anti-Semitism plays possum, pretending to be dead only to jump up quite alive and bite, as we’ve seen in Hungary, France and the Ukraine in recent months.
Jews’ historical, moral and religious claim to the land of Israel cannot be disputed (unless one wants to contest archeological science and rewrite history, and some try). But, the atrocities of the Holocaust helped the rest of the world to “get up to speed,” and concede that the time had come for international, legal recognition of Israel as the Jewish homeland. Millenia of displacement were quite enough. Jews needed to a safe place to call home and defend themselves, because the rest of the world could not be depended upon to behave morally and save them. After all, the perpetrators of the worst attacks on Jews in history were committed by the most “enlightened” and powerful societies of their day—the Hellenists, the Romans, the Germans, etc.
Yom HaShoah, we remember the horrors of the Holocaust, the danger of the diaspora, our homeless past.
But we are a different generation. Next Year in Jerusalem is us. We have a home. But it came with—and continues to come with—a price.
Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day comes a week after Yom HaShoah. To Americans who live far away from the realities of war, Memorial Day means BBQs and pool parties. But Israel’s compulsory military service means every Israeli knows a fallen soldier or victim of terror. The kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit rocked the country because he could have been anyone’s brother or son.
Freedom is not free, and Israelis understand this paradox intimately. Then, before we step on the glass and celebrate the marriage of the Jews to their beshert, Israel, we honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to create that precious reality.
On both Yom HaShoah and Yom HaZikaron sirens blare across Israel. Everyone stops their car, stands at attention, and gives a moment of silence to honor and remember.
But then we celebrate. The day after Yom HaZikaron is Yom HaAtzmaut – Israel’s Independence Day. Solemnity shifts to joy, as the entire country takes to the streets to sing and dance.
Jewish couples marry under a wedding canopy or chuppah. A tallit, or prayer shawl, supported by poles creates this holy space. The traditional blue-and-white tallit inspired the design of the Israeli flag. How fitting then that across Israel, this flag flies, supported by poles over the heads of Jews and their beloved land.
Today we see how far we’ve come.
Yom HaShoah: We remember the 6 million victims and rebuke complacency, eyes open, lessons learned.
Yom HaZikaron: We remember those who paid the ultimate price to establish and protect our home, and ensure we are victims never again.
Yom HaAtzmaut: We celebrate the reunion of the Jewish people with their true love, Israel—the ultimate love story of a people who never gave up on their home, and the home that blossomed at its beloved’s return.
The reuniting of soulmates can take years, decades, lifetimes, or hundreds of lifetimes. We are the generation living the dream, and we are the generation charged with protecting it.
So given my upcoming trip to Israel, I wanted to indulge my latest curiosity. I’m not the first to try this theme. For my take, I tried not to be too literal.
As a garnish, I made Zionberries–white chocolate covered strawberries with Israeli flags drawn on top in sparkly blue icing.
A row of blueberries at the base and blue-and-silver edible sprinkles completed the cake. Yom Huledet Sameach, Happy Birthday, Israel! You make us proud, and we’re so lucky to have you.
♥ Dedicated to Magda Esther bat Shmuel, z”l who was an incredible cook, sweeter than this cake and a true Zionist.
On both Yom HaShoah and Yom HaZikaron sirens blare across Israel. Everyone stops their car, stands at attention, and gives a moment of silence to honor and remember.
