Editing Jewish holidays (section)

===Yom HaAliyah—Aliyah Day===
* [[Yom HaAliyah]]: 10 Nisan

[[File:Benjamin West - Joshua passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|right|''Joshua passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant'' by [[Benjamin West]]]]
Aliyah Day ({{lang|he|יום העלייה}}) is an Israeli national holiday celebrated annually on the tenth of Nisan.<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4817589,00.html/ YNET: Grassroots initiated holiday becomes law]</ref> The day was established to acknowledge [[Aliyah]], immigration to the Jewish state, as a core value of the State of Israel, and honor the ongoing contributions of Olim (immigrants) to Israeli society.<ref>[http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/178843 Knesset Proposes Aliyah Holiday Bill]</ref>

Immigration to Israel is a recognized religious value of Judaism, sometimes referred to as the [[Gathering of Israel]].<ref>See {{slink|Aliyah|Religious, ideological and cultural concept}} for more details.</ref> The date chosen for Yom HaAliyah, 10 Nisan, has religious significance: it is the day on which Joshua and the Israelites crossed the Jordan River at [[Gilgal]] into the Promised Land. It was thus the first documented "mass Aliyah".<ref>{{bibleref|Joshua|4:19}}</ref> The alternative date observed in the school system, 7 [[Heshvan]], falls during the week of the Torah portion in which God instructs [[Abraham]] to leave his home and his family and go up to the Land of Israel.<ref>{{bibleref|Genesis|12:1}}</ref>

At the present time, observance of this day appears to be secular in nature.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}<!--Doesn't have a source; it's a conclusion based on a lack of evidence for any religious observance so far. But I'd welcome a source, either way, if someone has one.-->