The only holiday of independence which I can never leave out is

“The only holiday of independence which I can never leave out is the celebration of the independence of the Jewish State of Israel.” Thus spoke Milos Zeman, the President of the Czech Republic, a man who saw beyond borders and centuries, and recognized in Israel’s independence not merely a national event, but a symbol of endurance, of faith, and of the indestructible will of a people to live free. His words are more than a gesture of diplomacy — they are an ode to the triumph of spirit over extinction, to the rebirth of a nation from ashes, to the sacred truth that liberty, once reclaimed, must be cherished above all else.

To understand the depth of Zeman’s declaration, one must remember what the independence of the Jewish State truly represents. For nearly two thousand years, the Jewish people wandered through exile — their temples burned, their lands lost, their voices scattered across the continents. They became the eternal strangers of history, surviving empires, pogroms, and persecutions, sustained only by the hope encoded in their prayers: “Next year in Jerusalem.” When, in 1948, David Ben-Gurion stood before the world and proclaimed the birth of the State of Israel, that hope was fulfilled. The ancient nation was reborn in its ancestral home — not as conqueror, but as survivor; not through conquest, but through courage.

Zeman’s reverence for this moment arises not from politics, but from the recognition of something sacred — the universal victory of freedom over despair. He calls it a “holiday of independence” not because it belongs only to Jews or to Israelis, but because it stands as a beacon for all humankind. The story of Israel’s independence is not the story of a nation alone; it is the story of what humanity can achieve when faith is stronger than fear. It is the story of the will to rebuild when the world believes you are finished. It is the story of life defying death, and of a people who refused to let their covenant with hope be broken.

To the ancients, such a tale would have been sung as an epic — for it is as old as Abraham and as enduring as the stones of Jerusalem. From the deserts of Sinai to the ruins of Masada, the Jewish people carried within them the unyielding seed of destiny. Many times in history, they were written off — when Babylon fell upon them, when Rome scattered them, when Europe sought to erase them. Yet each time, like the olive tree whose roots run deep through the rock, they endured. Independence, for them, is not a gift of politics but a covenant with eternity.

Consider the moment of May 14, 1948. The British Mandate had ended; five neighboring armies prepared to strike. The new State of Israel, scarcely hours old, faced annihilation before its first dawn. Yet the people did not yield. Farmers became soldiers, scholars became commanders, and ancient prayers became battle cries. Against impossible odds, they prevailed — not merely through arms, but through the unbreakable belief that they were defending more than land: they were defending the right to exist, the right to live as a free nation under heaven’s watch. This, then, is the independence that Zeman cannot forget — an independence born not in comfort, but in fire.

In honoring this day, Zeman speaks to the conscience of the world: that to celebrate Israel’s independence is to celebrate the endurance of the human soul. It is to recognize that freedom, once won, must be guarded not with arrogance but with gratitude. For the liberty of one people reminds all peoples of their own. When a nation like Israel rises from persecution to sovereignty, it affirms that no darkness can extinguish the light of perseverance. The holiday of independence, in Zeman’s view, becomes a universal holy day — a reminder that resilience, faith, and unity are stronger than any empire that seeks to erase them.

Let this truth be passed down, as wisdom from the ancients to the living: independence is not merely the absence of chains — it is the presence of purpose. The independence of Israel teaches us that even when the world denies your right to stand, you must stand anyway. When hope seems impossible, it must be made real by courage. And when freedom is finally attained, it must be honored not only in celebration, but in compassion — by defending the freedom of others.

So let every nation, every soul, take heed of Zeman’s devotion. Celebrate the independence of Israel, for it is the living testament that from ruin can rise renewal, from despair can bloom destiny. And in your own life, guard your independence as Israel has guarded hers — fiercely, faithfully, and with the unshakable belief that freedom, once born, must never die again.