Celebrations for Israel's
62nd birthday are drawing to a close. Here is a brief summary of Tuesday's Independence Day festivities.
Hundreds of thousands of trekkers and barbequers celebrated as Jewish National Fund campsites, parks, and forests filled to the brim. Israel Air Force performed a show flight over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and the Navy performed a naval review off of Israel's shores.
Some 800,000 people visited JNF parks, forests, and campsites throughout Israel. The most popular sites in the north were Jordan Park, Ein Hazeitim, and Carmel Forests. In the center, most visitors went to Ben-Shemen Forest, Yatir Forest, and Golda Park, in the south.
The JNF reported that 450 tons of garbage were collected from sites throughout the country.
Out of all the Independence Day celebrations, one event, a first of its kind, stood out in particular. President Shimon Peres,
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi,
and Defense Minister Ehud Barak
sang along to an accompaniment from the IDF orchestra.
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