I write this as a member of the Chareidi community in EY. My grandfather, a Yerushalmi chareidi told me that when BG declared independence everyone was dancing in the street apart from a tiny group of NKs. Almost all the chareidim at that time understood what this meant and there was little doubt that Hashem had given them a tremendous gift. The Yated, the mouthpiece of the chareidi world had a headline which read – Shehecheyonu V’Kiyimonu etc. etc.
As time went on and it became clearer what the politicians were trying to achieve so the chareidim have turned more and more negative.
My Grandfather who survived the pogroms in ’29, and many of his generation (the few who are still around), prefer to still see this as a gift from Hashem, but a gift that humans have partially destroyed. If someone gives you a gift and then your kid rips it up do you not still thank the giver? And in this case it is not even completely ripped up, there are still many positive aspects that remain.
Whether or not one ‘celebrates’ the day, we are chayav to give thanks for every good thing that happens to us. So we have to thank Hashem that we can learn in a country that has more Yeshivos than anywhere else in relative safety, that we can live in a country where we can keep mitzvois hateluyois bo’oretz in relative safety, that we can live in a country where we can visit mekomos hakedoshim in relative safety. We have to thank Hashem for these things even if reshoim have taken it and tried to use it against us.
But in reality we need to thank Hashem every day for them. It is sometimes difficult to feel motivated/inspired every day though and therefore I use these days to help me in my inspiration. So even though I do not celebrate, I and several others that I know have a greater kavono in the brochos of v’liyrusholayim, es tzemach and moidim.
I can only encourage others to use every opportunity available to connect to HKBH
(Please note, this was directed at chareidim like me. If you are NK or Satmar who think it is a maaseh soton, you will obviously disagree, so please don’t bother to reply, my comment was never meant for you)