Yom Ha’atzmaut motion passed
"This is a one off – this is a celebration of 75 years of a country that has fought through thick and thin, that has fought three wars to survive."
The Israeli flag will fly at Randwick Town Hall on April 26 after a motion to celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary was supported by Randwick Council.
Given the prominent Jewish community in the Randwick LGA and the significance of the anniversary, the motion was raised by councillor Daniel Rosenfeld, who said it would be a fitting gesture to fly the flag.
“Coming up on April 26 is a very significant anniversary – the 75th anniversary of the declaration of independence of the State of Israel,” Rosenfeld said at a council meeting.
“It is celebrated by both the Israelis in Israel and also the Jewish community throughout what we call the Diaspora. There is a large Jewish community in the Randwick LGA, there is a growing Jewish community in the Randwick LGA.
“We have a Jewish high school, two Jewish primary schools, two synagogues, and an aged care and residential home centre, both connected with the Jewish community in the LGA. Hence I think it appropriate that, like we do with the Greek community for their great celebrations, we fly the Israeli flag at Randwick Town Hall on that day and produce content for council social media channels to mark the occasion.”
After Greens councillor Rafaela Pandolfini resisted the motion, it was ultimately seconded by councillor Noel D’Souza.
“I support what councillor Rosenfeld said. It’s not just a flag raising – this is a celebration of 75 years of freedom,” D’Souza said.
“This is a country that was born during a crisis and was born by just one vote in the United Nations. A vote which made a homeland for the Jewish people, a vote which gave those people who had suffered the Holocaust and were ostracised – it gave them a home, something they were searching for, for many years.”
“Where there was desert now we have fields, where there was arid lands now we have cultural hubs.
“This is a one off – this is a celebration of 75 years of a country that has fought through thick and thin, that has fought three wars to survive. And now it no longer just survives, but thrives.”
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