Israel

According to the Hebrew Calendar, today is Yom Ha'atzmaut (Independence Day), the national day of Israel, which commemorates the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948. It is usually celebrated on the 5th of Iyar.

The modern State of Israel was established as a homeland for the Jewish people, after mostly living in diaspora since the 2nd century CE (Common -or Christian- Era). The history of the country dates back to the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah, which emerged in the 9th and 8th centuries BCE (Before the Common -or Christian- Era), respectively. It is currently the world's only Jewish State and the Middle East's only democracy.

Israel's Law of Return gives Jews the right to live in Israel and to gain Israeli citizenship. Being a country of immigrants, its population is, therefore, constantly increasing: as of 2016, it totals more than 8 million people.

Israel is located at the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Gulf of Aqaba (also known as Gulf of Eilat) in the Red Sea. It borders Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. The highest point in the country is Mount Hermon at 9,232 ft, while the lowest one is the Dead Sea at −1,407 ft. The Jordan River runs between these two points.

With more than 800,000 inhabitants, Jerusalem is the most populous city and the capital of Israel. However, this is disputed by many countries due to the fact that the eastern part of the city lies in the West Bank, which previously belonged to Jordan and has been administered by Israel since 1967, although it is a partly autonomous territory and it is currently claimed by the State of Palestine. This state also claims the Gaza strip, which previously belonged to Egypt and had been administered by Israel from 1967 until 2005 and is currently ruled by a terrorist group called Hamas.

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Yom HaShoah is the Holocaust Remembrance Day. This day falls on the 27th of Nisan. The Gregorian equivalent, though, corresponds to tomorrow: May 5th, 2016.

The Holocaust or Shoah, which means catastrophe or utter destruction in Hebrew, refers to the atrocities that were committed against the Jewish people during World War II.

The Holocaust, from the Greek word meaning sacrifice by fire, was initiated by the members of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party, which seized power in Germany in 1933. The Nazis believed in a doctrine of racial superiority, centering around the idea that people of Northern European descent were somehow better than members of all other races – especially the Jews, who were "unworthy of life."

After taking power, the Nazis gradually restricted the rights of German Jewish citizens and encouraged their followers to commit acts of violence and destruction against Jews and their property. During World War II (1939-1945), the Nazis implemented their "final solution," which was a plan to concentrate and annihilate all European Jews.

Jews were first crammed together in ghettoes and slave-labor camps, where disease, brutality, and malnutrition ran rampant. Eventually, they were sent to death camps, where millions were murdered in special facilities designed to kill a tremendous number of people over a brief period of time.

In addition to the six million Jews who died - two-thirds of the European Jewish population – the Nazis also killed millions of others, including Roma (Gypsies) and Slavs, political and religious dissidents, the handicapped, and gays and lesbians.

Yom HaShoah is a memorial day for those who died in the Holocaust. In Israel, it starts at sundown in a state ceremony held in Warsaw Ghetto Square at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes Authority, in Jerusalem. Flags on public buildings are flown at half mast. At 10 AM, an air raid siren sounds throughout the country and Israelis are expected to observe two minutes of solemn reflection:

Penrose Steps

The Penrose Steps is a visual illusion that falls in the category of impossible objects, since it cannot be possible in three dimensions.

It is a two-dimensional depiction of a staircase in which the stairs make four 90-degree turns as they ascend or descend, yet form a continuous loop.

Along with the Kanizsa's Triangle and many more, I have always been a lover of optical illusions and impossible figures; not only because of their beauty, but also due to the interpretations one can make.
For instance, I believe the Penrose Steps represent how people sometimes get stuck in a loop, and fail to realize that one of the corners is closer to the ground, so one could actually jump, be safe and break a pattern.