Tonight is the beginning of Yom Ha'Zikaron. There was a one minute siren at 8pm, for which I stood on Emek Refaim. People got up and out of the restaurants and cafes; cars, taxis and buses stopped; people walking or biking in the street stopped; everyone stood in silence for a minute in remembrance of the over 22,000 Israeli soldiers who have fallen since the struggle for the modern State of Israel began in 1860. "Overwhelming" is too weak a term. After the siren, I went over to the Baka Community Center, which had a moving outdoor ceremony. There were solemn speeches, lists of fallen soldiers from the Baka neighborhood, a burning "Yizkor" sign, beautiful Israeli songs, and prayers. Tomorrow, there will be another siren, two minutes long, at 11 am. At 10am we will all be going to a local high school in order to participate in the ceremony there. Since this neighborhood is mixed national-religious and Mizrahi (two extremely patriotic segments of the Jewish-Israeli population), virtually all the guys graduating this year will be going to combat units.

Immediately after the somber mood of Yom Ha'Zikaron, Jerusalem will change to the loud festivities of Yom Ha'Atzmaut. It's no accident that Yom Ha'Shoa and Yom Ha'Zikaron are followed so closely by the celebration of Israel's independence. By design, the Israeli population grieves and remembers the price of the State's existence, and then plunges into BBQ-ing, partying and drinking to celebrate the miracle that is Israel. The Central Bureau of Statistics has just released the new population figures, and the Jewish population of Israel has grown to 5.33 million, an increase of 118,000 over the past year. This increase is almost exclusively due to a high Jewish birthrate, as the net immigration balance is positive by only a few thousand. 21,000 people made aliyah in 2005, but 18,000 made yerida (cheers to the the secular Tel-Avivis finding their dreams fulfilled in LA). No one is realistically putting any stock into hopes that aliyah will rise significantly above the levels of yerida, so as long as the immigration balance is somewhat positive, the birthrate will take care of the rest. I think everyone realizes that it will be very symbolic when, in about 5-6 years, the Jewish population of Israel will reach 6 million. By that same time, the US Jewish population will have dropped below 5 million.

I know I write about demographics a lot, but the reality of Israel's Jewish community becoming the majority of the world's Jews, when just 60 years ago the number of Jews living here was a barely noticeable 5% of world Jewry is, witheout a shadow of a doubt, a miracle. People thought the early Zionist leaders were insane, and yet, with G-d's help, everything is coming to fruition, and quite quickly, in historial terms. There's nothing to indicate that trends will change, in fact, they are likely to intensify and speed up. When a critical mass of the Jewish people will reside in their natural, G-d given home, Israel will spring forth power, influence and knowledge that will awe the entire world. We all know Jews have formidable powers, and are a completely insane group of people, so a sleepy little country we will never be. And being located in a terrible neighborhood of violent, backward Arab regimes only serves to strengthen Israel. The more violent the Arabs are, the more they pressure Israel, the higher Israel rises demographically, economically and techonologically. A few tactical territorial concessions are but a bump in the road. Long-term, no Mideast nation can possibly compete with Israel. All we need is a little bit of sovlanut and a whole lot of mazal.