After years decades centuries of being hated as a Jew, there are few things more life-affirming than celebrating the founding of this country together with my fellow Israelis.
That we finally have a country again, where we can just be our Hebrew selves and live our lives freely the way the good lord intended, does not excuse any harm done to Palestinians in the last 78 years – nor in itself does it justify the existence of our state or our society.
As a nation, we’re about more than just building a home for Jews, in the land of our ancestors.
But good lord, what a gift that home is.