Israel Independence Day 2017

1. Israel’s 69th birthday on 2 May 2017.
2. Note that in the Jewish calendar, a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day, so observing Jews will celebrate Israel's Independence Day on the sunset of Monday, the 1st of May.
3. David Ben-Gurion, who was the first prime minister of Israel, publicly read the Declaration of Independence of Israel on 14 May 1948. 
4. According to the Jewish calendar, this was the fifth day of Iyar, the eighth month of the civil year, in the year 5708. 
5. The anniversary of this date on the Jewish calendar is known as Yom Ha'atzmaut and usually falls in April or May of the Gregorian Calendar.
6. The festivities began Monday night, 1 May 2017, in accordance with the Jewish lunar calendar, with parties, concerts and fireworks in cities across the country.
7. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin attended a formal ceremony decorating 121 outstanding IDF soldiers. 
8. The prime minister and Education Minister Naftali Bennett also attended the annual Bible competition, and congratulated this year’s winner — 15-year-old Sagiv Lugasi of Ma’alot.
9. The resolution on “Occupied Palestine,” submitted to UNESCO’s Executive Board by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan indicating Israel has no legal or historical rights anywhere in Jerusalem was passed by UNESCO on 2 May 2017.
10. The resolution was passed with 22 countries voting in favor and 23 abstentions with representatives from 3 countries that were absent.
11. The 10 countries that voted against the resolution were the US, UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Greece, Paraguay, Ukraine, Togo, and Germany.
12. Resolution 201 EX/PX/DR.30.1 affirms “the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls for the three monotheistic religions.” It also notes that the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem, both of which are in the West Bank, “are of religious significance for Judaism, Christianity and Islam” — though it calls them “Palestinian sites.”

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqXg5e1sg5s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3wmT2wH690

http://www.timesofisrael.com/nation-marks-israels-69th-birthday-by-celebrating-in-the-sun/
http://www.timesofisrael.com/on-independence-day-unesco-okays-resolution-ignoring-jewish-links-to-jerusalem/
http://www.when-is.com/israel-independence-day-2017.asp
https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/israel/yom-haatzmaut