What should we celebrate? Israelis answer

HILA GVIR photographed Israelis from diverse parts of the society and asked them what Israel should celebrate on its 75th anniversary.

VICTORIA

Victoria Pevzner, 60, migrated to Israel from Russia in 1991 with her husband and two children. She is a secular Jew who lives in Nahariya, where she owns a textile boutique and designs curtains.

"I am celebrating freedom! It’s a difficult thing to explain to people who grew up in a free country. I came from a country where freedom wasn’t a natural thing. We didn’t understand it either when we lived there, it’s something that became clear when we moved to Israel. I can rely on myself here, do and be whomever I want to be.

"Back in Russia I was a mechanical engineering teacher but I wanted to change my profession when I moved here. I wanted to be a decorator and work with textiles so I studied and now I do it. I can fulfill my dreams and nobody is stopping me. There are a lot of problems here but we are strong people with a good heart. I try to pass on this feeling to my children and people overseas."

PAUL

Paul Smith, 70, migrated in 1973 from the US after volunteering in the banana plantations of Kibbutz Gesher Haziv in northern Israel. He has worked and lived in Gesher Haziv since then and is now in charge of the kibbutz plantations. He is a secular Jew, married with four children and six grandchildren.

"What should we be celebrating? That’s a difficult question nowadays. I feel it’s hard for me to be happy in these times on the verge of a fraternal war. I’m happy for my life and my children’s lives here in Israel, overall my life here is good, but I am concerned about Israel’s future. I wish both sides would find middle grounds in our internal conflict and protect our democracy."