FLAGS dominate the streets while radio stations play contemporary remakes of songs from the past 60 years and phone-in shows are dominated by debate about the country's future.
But the mood ahead of Israel's 60th anniversary this week is one of muted celebration as the country continues to question the effectiveness of the political and military leadership some two years after war in southern Lebanon.
Soaring fuel and fo
od prices have also caused high levels of concern, especially after it was revealed that one in three Israeli children lives in poverty despite a relatively strong economy and the buoyant shekel.
Fraught negotiations with the Palestinians, the country's southern border communities' constant fear of rocket fire from Hamas-led Gaza and the threat from a nuclear-ambitious Iran have led to a growing number of Israelis questioning the wisdom of spending some £14m on marking the anniversary.
And on Friday, as some talk radio hosts urged the public to swing behind the celebrations, prime minister Ehud Olmert was questioned under caution at his official residence in Jerusalem, prompting Knesset members to call for his suspension pending investigations.
The reason for the investigation is believed to be a new corruption scandal involving campaign donations from the US. Olmert is already a suspect in several corruption cases involving real estate deals and political appointments, but has never been charged.
Thursday will mark 60 years since David Ben-Gurion, who went on to become Israel's first Prime Minister, declared the nation's independence in a ceremony in Tel Aviv.
Israel declared statehood on May 14, 1948, after Britain ended 31 years of UN-mandated rule over Palestine. The date is marked in Israel according to the Hebrew calendar and falls this year on May 8.
Sound and light shows will be staged across the country and an aerial and naval display will be held in Tel Aviv, along with beach parties. Councils are staging concerts and fireworks.
Some of the £14m budget will also go to projects that will last far beyond this year's Independence Day celebrations, including a 750-mile trans-Israel bicycle trail, a footpath circling the Sea of Galilee and the renovation of war memorials around the country.
As part of the ongoing celebrations, from May 14 to 16, Israel will also play host to US President George Bush, along with other world leaders, sparking anger among Palestinians, as it will coincide with al-Naqba, or the Day of Catastrophe, on May 15, that commemorates Palestinian suffering.
In the months following Israel's creation, some 700,000 Arabs fled to neighbouring countries while many ended up in refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank.
This weekend, US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice was scheduled to meet Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
Despite the anxieties about what lies ahead, many are still hopeful, and with Thursday a public holiday, most Israelis are planning to mark the day in the traditional manner – holding a "mangal" or barbecue with family and friends.
One who has recently adopted the tradition is Glaswegian Sarah-Lee Simpson, who moved to Israel in 2005. The 22-year-old, who took Israeli citizenship, is adamant that she will mark the day in an upbeat mood.
"Look what we have accomplished in 60 year; every year has been a struggle which means every Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day] is so incredibly important," she told Scotland on Sunday.
Simpson became one of the three million people to move to Israel – or make "aliyah" – since the Jewish state was founded.
"I've just had a connection with this place since I was very, very young," she said. "This place for me has an extraordinary sense of community, of belonging. All Jews owe something to Israel."
In the summer of 2005, after spending her gap year in Israel, she returned to Scotland and informed her parents that she wouldn't be taking up her place at Leeds University, instead signing up for the Israeli army.
Simpson last year finished her army stint, becoming a combat instructor, and is now planning to study sports education at Israel's Wingate Institute.
"Obviously, we wish for peace, but how we get there is the issue," Simpson said when asked about the conflict. "Hatred is so rooted in everybody's lives, so reaching a peaceful solution is the challenge.
"Yet I personally don't know any Palestinians. I really feel my opinions are formed by what is reported in the media."
Does she miss Scotland? "No, not at all, just look at the weather we're having," she says laughing. "Seriously, despite everything, this is a country full of possibilities for young people. This is my home now; this is where my future lies."
For Palestinian economist Salim Musallem, who returned to Jerusalem in 2003 after living in Scotland for eight years, next week's anniversary raises "mixed feelings".
The 29-year-old, who obtained his A-Levels at Fettes College in Edinburgh and has a masters in financial economics from Dundee University, said his time in Scotland taught him to see all perspectives. "That is the gift of living in a Western culture," he said.
"My family are refugees. They were forced to flee from their house in West Jerusalem and seek sanctuary in a monastery in the Old City when the war broke out in 1948. But at the end of the day, from whichever side, violence is violence and is not a solution. The only way forward is through negotiations."
Now working in the United Nations micro-financing department, Musallem struggled with the idea of returning to Jerusalem after so much time away. He eventually came back to find the city reeling from the intifada, a stark contrast to the mid-Nineties post-Oslo euphoria.
"In my first year back, I witnessed a suicide bombing… and then a few months later my sister and I were heading to Bethlehem to visit relatives when shooting broke out near a checkpoint. The next thing, we had two soldiers pointing their guns at us. But you know, after a time here, these things became normal."
For Musallem, the option to head back to Britain no longer holds any attractions. "If you asked me four years ago, I would have happily returned. But now, I do believe I have a future here and that there will be a two-state solution. Palestine is, and always will be, my home."
