The Department for Israel and Countering Antisemitism, in cooperation with Amichai Mechina – a pre-army academy founded by the Zionist Council in Israel – joined the MASA 70 project, a march in the form of a relay race that started out simultaneously toward Jerusalem from the Roaring Lion Monument at Tel Hai and the Ink Flag in Eilat. The march was part of Israel’s 70th anniversary festivities. For 7 weeks the participants walked across the country, until the march concluded on Independence Day at the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem. Each day of the march was led by a different social organization or pre-army mechina. Amichai Mechina bore the flag from Beersheba to Hatzerim, and organized a tour of Beersheba that ended with a performance in the city’s Bell Park, as well as a parade along Statues Road that ended with a performance on the Hatzerim lawn. Teens, IDF soldiers, WZO employees, and residents of Beersheba and Bnei Shimon Regional Council participated in the concluding event. Beersheba Mayor Ruvik Danilovich and Vice/Acting WZO Chair Yaakov Hagoel spoke at the event.
