Today is Israel’s Independence Day, a national holiday celebrating the founding of the nation in 1948. But instead of celebrating today, many people near Jerusalem are evacuating their homes in response to fast-spreading wildfires.
The fires interrupted Israel’s annual memorial day for the country’s fallen, one of the most hallowed dates on the national calendar. Television broadcasts of solemn ceremonies in military cemeteries were replaced with footage of Israelis making their way to safety on foot along a major highway.
Many planned celebrations for Israel’s Independence Day on Thursday were canceled because of the expanding fires and inclement weather, including high winds. The cause of the wildfire was not immediately clear.
Eyal Caspi, the head of Israel’s fire and rescue service, called the blaze “one of the toughest events” that he could…
