Hi Everyone!

Israel Independence Day is celebrated on the 5th day of the
Hebrew month of Iyar. This year (5765 / 2005) the 57th birthday
of the establishment of the state of Israel falls on Shabbat.
The celebrations take place 2 days before, on Thursday, May 12.

The J Site - Jewish Education and Entertainment

http://www.j.co.il

has several entertaining features to celebrate Israel's 57th birthday:

Jewish Trivia Quiz: Israel

What is the national emblem of Israel ?
"Pehsek Zeman" and "Egozi" are what type of Israeli foods ?
Who was the first president of Israel ?
What was the 1917 British Balfour Declaration ?
How long is Israel's coastline ?
What is Israel's Internet country code ?
What was "Operation Babylon" ?
Who were the first two countries to recognize Israel ?
What are Amos and Offeq ?
How many lanuages are engraved on Israeli coins used today ?

The above questions are examples from over 200 multiple-choice
questions about Israel that may be randomly selected by the online
quiz. There are two levels of questions, two timer settings.
Both kids and adults will find it enjoyable.

The Israel Geography Game
This Flash game will help you learn about the history and geography
of 101 locations in Israel. There is a learning mode and game mode.
Find out if you know more about Israel then Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv and
Haifa.

Israel Clipart
Whether you need a picture for your child's class project,
a graphic for your synagogue, Hillel or JCC Independence Day
announcement, the Jewish Clipart Database has the pictures
for you. You can copy, save and print the graphics in
three different sizes.

Israel Word Search Game
Enter the Multilingual Word Search game and choose the
language you would like to play in: English, Hebrew or
Russian. There is an easy mode for the kids and a harder
mode for us big kids. Each game is randomly generated.
Israel topics include:
Jerusalem, Biblical Cities, Kibbutzim, Presidents and Prime
Ministers, Writers, Singers and Israeli Foods.
You can even print out a blank game (and the solution page) for
offline playing.

My Jewish Coloring Book - Israel Pictures
Young kids love to draw and this online coloring book
is made just for them. Three different size "brushes"
and 24 colors to choose from. You can print the completed
color pictures or print black and white outlines to color offline.

My Hebrew Song Book - Over 200 Hebrew songs (with vowels)
for viewing and printing. All songs are in graphic format so you
do not need Hebrew installed to view or print them. Your camp fires
or sing-a-longs will never be the same.

The J site has something for everyone, but if that is not
enough, I posted on my website 105 links about Israel,
ranging from history and tourism to photographs and stamps.
All 105 links have been reviewed / checked this week.

The web address is:
http://www.jr.co.il/hotsites/j-hdayil.htm

Please forward this message to relatives and friends,
so they can benefit from these holiday resources.

Happy Israel Independence Day!
Jacob

Jacob,
Thank you very much for posting such wonderful information. G-d Bless!
Avi

Why should people with the custom of dipping a vegetable (potato or egg) in salt water at the seder have a special connection with Yom Aztmaut.

The reason for the custom of dipping a vegetable in salt water is because of the etbesh code (change the last letter of the hebrew alphabet with the first, etc.)(Lavush). Each day of the week that Pesach occurs correspond to another jewish holiday that falls on that day, e.g. if pesach occurs on a monday, Tisha B'av will occur on Monday. The code is that the first day or aleph of pesach is exchange with tet which is the first letter of tisha b'av. (The Yeminite jews say a version of Ma Nishtanah on Tisha B'Av, presumably for the same reason.)
Till now all of the days of pesach have a letter except the seventh zayin which corresponds eyin. We can now say the eyin is azmaut, Israel independence day which comes out on the same day of the week (Rav Maimon).

Aryeh Shore