With Israel’s 75th Independence Day getting closer, a new initiative by a group of Israelis created a special celebratory box that includes beautifully designed trivia cards, a poster of the Jewish state’s founding leaders and more.
This group of creators, artists and writers calls itself the Jewish Pride Project. They decided to join forces in honor of Israel's 75th Independence Day and produce a special box in English that will allow Jews around the world to taste what they call "a bit of the Israeli ethos and heritage.”
The Independence Day Box includes a bestseller book that tells the story of the heroes of 1948, a poster of the nation's greatest founding fathers and mothers, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, a family trivia game and a small Israeli flag.
Who was involved in making Israel-in-a-box?
This group of professionals includes tour guide and author Avichai Berg, publisher Rotem Sella and designer Zvi Keren. “This is only the first step, in a process that aims to export the Israeli ethos and heritage to Diaspora Jews, with the aim of connecting them to the Israeli story,” Sella told The Jerusalem Post.
“This is only the first step, in a process that aims to export the Israeli ethos and heritage to Diaspora Jews, with the aim of connecting them to the Israeli story.”
Rotem Sella
Keren, the designer of the Independence box, previously worked with tech companies and major advertising agencies in Israel. "I would love every young American Jew to have a poster of the greatest Israeli leaders hanging next to posters of Drake, LeBron James or Steve Jobs in their bedroom,” Keren said. “There is no reason why a young American Jew should not recognize and celebrate the revival, victories and achievements of a country that can be, at least their home away from home."
Sella is the producer of the box and the publisher. He sees the export of the Jewish Pride Project as “a challenge that Israeli creators should take upon themselves.” Sella explained that besides Israeli TV shows like Fauda or Shtisel,” which have been successful overseas, “Israel does not export its heritage and ethos.” He added that “it seems to us that topics such as Israel's wars, heroism and the establishment of the state is a local, Israeli matter, and this is a mistake. Every Jew in the world should know and can identify with the stories revealed in our book about the heroes of the War of Independence. This book tells the stories of those who sacrificed their lives and made it possible for the establishment of the state, not only for Israelis, but for every Jew in the world."
The book that Sella mentioned, which is offered as part of the box, is Israel's War of Independence, Heroes Stories, written by Berg. Berg invested more than a decade interviewing Israelis who fought for Israel’s independence in 1948. Their stories appear in the book.
The poster displays eight people who were significant in Israel’s independence: Theodor Herzl who was the visionary and founder of modern Zionism; David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister; Chaim Weizmann, Israel’s first president; Ze’ev Jabotinsky, the leader of revisionist Zionism; Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the reviver of the modern Hebrew language; Sarah Aaronsohn, member of the pro-British Nili intelligence group; Golda Meir, Israel’s fourth and only female prime minister; and Hayim Nachman Bialik, who was Israel’s national poet.
The trivia questions deal with any part of Israeli life and history. “In which city did the IDF soldiers hang the Israeli flag that they painted themselves because they had no other flag?” Is one of the questions. Another is: “Who said ‘Temple Mount is in our hands’?” The options for answers are Yitzhak Rabin, David Ben-Gurion, Mota Gor or Martin Luther King. The trivia questions also deal with culture, religion, sports and politics.
Sella shared that the box is being sold to institutions and groups and won’t be marketed to individuals because of the distribution prices. The price of the box, according to Sella, is between $20 to $25 and is already available for shipping.