A NATION LIKE ANY OTHER - I

Since its inception, Israel has not been allowed to take its existence for granted, like every other nation on earth.

Although Israel is just a “dot” on the map, there are more international journalists in Israel per capita than in any other place in the world. The eyes of the world quite literally watch and judge whatever takes place there.

Even after decades of independence, the existence of the State of Israel is still not recognized by some states and international bodies, while others are even pledged to bring about its destruction. In addition, criteria of judgement which differ from those applied to any other nation, are applied to Israel.

Having achieved independence, Israel still found itself in an ongoing battle  for recognition and for its right to life. Under constant threat of violence or war, Israel’s achievements have, nonetheless, been remarkable:

It has taken a neglected, desolate landscape and turned it into a place of farms, forests, nature reserves, and thriving towns.

It has taken immigrants from a hundred countries, speaking eighty languages, and turned them into a nation.

It has taken a people, devastated by the Holocaust, and given the opportunity to make a life for themselves.

It has created a modern economy, with almost no resources, other than the creative gifts of its people.

It has sustained democracy in a part of the world that has never known it before.

It has taken Hebrew, the language of the Bible, and made it speak again.

It has benefitted the world with many innovations in every sphere of human endeavor.

One of its many challenges is the blatant falsehood that Israel is the aggressor; that it has not sought peace. The choice is not between supporting Israel or supporting the “Palestinians”, but between peace or violence. Peace is sacred, violence a desecration. Too many lives have been lost, and too much blood has been shed.