Whippany—Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel Independence Day) is always a time of celebration in Israel and in Jewish communities around the world. This year, the Greater MetroWest celebrations are going to be bigger and better than ever—with a variety of concerts and parties throughout the community—and some very special guests who will be bringing Israel here.

Each year, a number of Israeli delegations visit Greater MetroWest at various times throughout the spring. They come for different reasons and are hosted by different sponsors, but they all usually spend their time learning about Jewish life in America by spending time in area synagogues, agencies and schools, as well as visiting sites of interest, doing a little shopping and maybe catching a Broadway show.

This year, however, Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest’s Global Connections department has arranged for four of these groups to come at the same time—during the week of Yom Ha’atzmaut—to help the community celebrate Israel-style. More than 80 Israelis from our partner communities, many of them teens, will be here to participate in the GMW Yom Hazikaron Commemoration at the JCC MetroWest in West Orange on April 30 and in the celebratory events throughout the week.

“We wanted to create a real feeling of Israel spirit this year,” said Global Connections Program Coordinator Justine Reuben. “What better way to do that than by inviting Israelis to join the celebration?”

The visiting delegations include 22 students from MetroWest High School in Ra’anana, hosted by Congregation Ohr Shalom in Summit; 21 teens from the South Israel partnerships of Ofakim and Arad who are participating in the Gesher teen program, hosted by their GMW counterparts; 20 members of the Peoplehood Project, adults from the South Israel partnerships who just hosted their GMW counterparts in January; and 20 students from Neshama Yetera, a high school group from Merchavim hosted by Golda Och Academy.

All are welcome to join Federation and the Israeli guests at any of the free Greater MetroWest Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut events. Some events require advanced registration. For a complete list of events and details visit www.jfedgmw.org/celebrate-israel.