Exporting Israel to the Diaspora: The Attempt to Make Israel's Independence Day into a Worldwide Jewish Holiday

The article analyzes Israel's early efforts to establish its Independence Day as a worldwide Jewish holiday and to "export" it to the Jewish Diaspora during Israel's first decade. The first part will discuss the implementation of the holiday abroad and the blurring of boundaries between local Jewish institutions and the Israeli delegation; the second part will utilize the reports of the Israeli delegates to demonstrate the importance of Jewish celebrations abroad and the dilemmas encountered by diplomats there; and the third part will analyze the attempt to encourage Jewish tourism during the holiday as a form of pilgrimage. My main argument is that this case study demonstrates a multi-dimensional relationship between Israel and the Diaspora/Exile, rather than one based solely on negation. Moreover, by positioning the Diaspora Jews as part of the collective, the Israeli narrative has been charged with a new meaning that constituted Israel's raison d'être.