By snoadmin
The Long Beach community celebrated Israel’s 60th anniversary and Jewish Memorial Day Thursday.
Hundreds of people gathered at the Alpert Jewish Community Center in Long Beach for food, song, dance and prayer. Community members began the event at 5 p.m. in the Lipeles Auditorium with a candle lighting ceremony, with attendees allowed the opportunity to light a candle for a soldier in honor of Yom Hazikaron (Jewish Memorial Day).
Those attending were also able to speak with a member of the Israeli Defense Forces, Eyal Azriel, who was present to speak and answer questions about his experiences as a soldier.
Organizations from all over Long Beach were in attendance, giving out gifts and information on upcoming community events. Cal State Long Beach’s Beach Hillel was among those organizations.
Beach Hillel member Ashley Austin, a junior biochemistry and human development major, was present to help raise money for Magen David Adom, a Jewish branch of the American Red Cross. Austin said she will spend three months in Israel working as a medical volunteer.
Other organizations participating in the event were the Hebrew Academy, Los Alamitos Hebrew High School and the Temple Beth Shalom.
Many different speakers went on stage throughout the dinner to speak about Israel’s past and future and its message of peace.
The celebration ended with a video presentation of Israel’s accomplishments and a speech from Jonathan Livny, who has served as attorney general of the West Bank and is one of Israel’s leading legal experts.
