Grandma's army

This year Israel celebrated the 70th anniversary of its statehood. Many, and not only Jews, have described the incredible progress and development of Israel during that period as a miracle. Looking at it objectively, it is difficult to see it in any other way. When David Ben-Gurion spoke of Israel as being The Light of the Nations the poor and arid country was barely able to sustain itself, let alone give humanitarian aid to others. Israel started off in the most humble and adverse conditions. With the end of the British mandate and the  establishment of the Jewish State of Israel in 1948 ,  a “war of extinction” was undertaken by all of Israel’s Arab neighbors. Israel’s small population then of just over 800,000 people managed not only to defend itself, but also to even conquer territory beyond the truncated partition lines allocated to it by the United Nations at the time. In addition, this mostly desert state absorbed in its early years hundreds of tho...