Each year, the official state ceremony (tekes) marking the start of Yom Ha’atzmaut is simply magical.

It’s filled with emotional tributes for Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, plenty of military pomp and circumstance, uplifting speeches from Israeli dignitaries, an annual torch lighting by 12 of Israel’s best and brightest citizens, impressive choreography, beautiful fireworks…and of course, plenty of music.

You can watch the full two hour ceremony above.

But if you want to skip straight to the “good parts” – the musical performances – we can help.

Shlomi Shabbat

Shlomi Shabbat was the first singer to take the stage, singing a moving song to conclude Yom Hazikaron. His sang Zohar Argov’s, “Al Nevakesh”, warned us all not to question why bad things happen to good people. “Sometimes,” the song tells us, “it’s ok not to know everything.”

Shiri Maimon

As the pain of Yom Hazikaron dissipated into the euphoria of Yom Ha’atzmaut, the evening began with an inspirational video narrated by Prime Minister Netanyahu. He spoke of the nation’s achievements and wonders, with hopes for an even stronger future. Then, Shiri Maimon took the stage, covering a version of “Ani Ma’amin” originally made famous by
by Arik Lavie and Nechama Hendel.

Shalva Band and Banaia Barabi

Next up, the darlings of the country in duet with one of its biggest current solo acts: The Shalva Band teamed up with Banaia Barabi to perform a powerful version of Ze’ev Nechama’s “Tzipor Midbar” – with enthusiasm only Shalva can produce.

Yehuda Poliker

At that point, it was time for the centerpiece of the evening: the torch-lighting ceremony. Each year, the country honors 12 prominent Israelis with the opportunity to light a torch at the state ceremony, and this year, singer Yehuda Poliker was among them. After various individuals lit all 12 torches, a group of soldiers performed “Rak Biglal HaRuach”, which served as the overall theme of the evening. You can watch their performance in the video at the top of the page, beginning at 1:21:30.

A-WA and David Broza

As the program began to wind down, A-WA took the stage, surrounded by dozens of dancers in a performance that could have taken place in Disney World. You can watch them in the video at the top of this page, beginning at about 1:36. They sang in Hebrew and Yemenite, and were joined at one point by a singer who I simply did not recognize. Perhaps someone can fill me in?

But soon, an artist I DID recognize joined them on stage: David Broza. It was fun to watch him play “Eretz Eretz” by Ilanit on his iconic guitar, followed by Haim Moshe’s “L’chaim”.

All in all, an inspirational, fantastic program that evokes pride, joy, and love for Eretz Yisrael….thanks, in large part, to the incredible musical talent Israel has to offer. Happy 71st birthday, Israel!