barry cartoon israelWanted to wish Israel a happy 60th birthday.

Technically, it started last night - since Jewish dates start at stars up and go through sundown or so. As HebCal says, Yom HaAtzma'ut or Israel's Independence Day, is today. Ask.com says it was yesterday, which can be right - kind of.

Remember when I wished Israel a happy 59th, that was on April 23, 2007 and some guy left a comment there...

It normally falls out on the 5th day of the month of Iyar. But this year that falls out on the Jewish Shabbath, Saturday, so they moved it forward. So this year it is on the 3rd day of Iyar.

For more on the day, I guess see Wikipedia. Also, here is an article from the AFP on the day...

Israel is marking its 60th Independence Day, which began at sundown Wednesday, with a great sense of pride but also uncertainty about its future and doubts about prospects for peace with the Palestinians. Six decades after rising from the ashes of the Holocaust, the Jewish state is still plagued by existential threats from abroad and an identity crisis at home.