63rd Independence Day celebrations continue around country

Thousands expected to pack the country's parks and beaches as nation celebrates Yom Ha'atzmaut; IAF, Navy to hold celebratory demonstrations in air and sea; Peres to host celebrations at Beit Hanassi.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
yom haatzmaut 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
yom haatzmaut 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
People throughout the country were expected to make their way to parks, forests and beaches across the country Tuesday morning to continue Independence Day celebrations which got underway on Monday night.
The IAF and Navy will hold celebratory demonstrations in the air and the sea that can be seen along Israel's Mediterranean coast.
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Independence Day celebrations hosted by President Shimon Peres at Beit Hanassi were scheduled to be webcast from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Tuesday. The webcast will include an air force flyby and a ceremony in which the President's Prize for excellence will be distributed to 120 soldiers from different branches of the IDF.
A new Independence Day tradition, which began last year, will be kept up: The prime minister, defense minister and the chief of General Staff will choose their favorite song to sing with the crowd at Beit Hanassi.
This year Peres, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak will duet with popular singers Miri Mesika, Harel Skaat and Kobi Aflalo.
The abrupt transition from Remembrance Day to Independence Day was marked by the annual torch-lighting ceremony on the capital's Mount Herzl.
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