(Jerusalem Post) Ruthie Blum - The establishment of the Jewish state in the Land of Israel was a blessing and a necessity. Being surrounded by external enemies who tried to wipe us out from the outset, and have been trying to do so ever since, did put a damper on the dream of a safe haven. But at least we created an army for the purpose of confronting those enemies. On Israel's 71st birthday next week there is much for us Israelis to be happy about, in spite of our ongoing low-grade conflict with Fatah, Hamas and Hizbullah terrorists, and the looming threat of war with a nuclearizing Iran. Israelis will celebrate with great fanfare, and with good reason. Israel, with the highest fertility rate in the Western world, is packed with paradoxes. It is simultaneously Middle Eastern yet Western; cosmopolitan yet provincial; frenetic yet relaxed; religious yet secular; conservative yet prone to liberal fads; a bureaucratic nightmare yet heaven for entrepreneurship; ill-mannered yet empathic; marriage-oriented yet a singles' paradise; exorbitantly expensive yet a tourist's dream; somber yet sexy. The Jewish state, in a nutshell, is enviable, and envy breeds hate. No wonder anti-Semitism is busting out all over.
2019-05-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive