The miracle on the Mediterranean
The "Celebrate Israel" March took place on Fifth Avenue in NY City last week, and was attended by a record 30,000 people. Israel is truly a miracle, but I don't mean in the religious sense, I mean in the practical sense. I don't intend to give a list of Israeli accomplishments in hi-tech and medicine, we all know about them. That Israel has more start-ups than Western Europe and Japan combined, that Israel has more scientific publications per capita than any nation on earth (see www.israel21c.com). But, setting these aside, just look at the comparison with the other near-by countries. Basically all the Arab States, except for Saudi Arabia and the Gulf oil States are bankrupt, both economically and morally. If they aren't still repressive regimes they are going thru a revolution that will take years, maybe hundreds of years, to reach a satisfactory conclusion. Note that Israel has nothing to do with their backwardness and inability to organize a responsible civil society!
An apt comparison is Greece, in terms of size and population, which has had b$1 pumped into it by the EU, but is fast approaching default. By comparison the Israeli economy is booming, the shekel is gaining value relative to both the euro and the dollar, and Israel has passed thru the economic down-turn almost unaffected. If we look around Israel there is a boom in building, yet housing is too expensive and there is a feeling that it must burst soon. Greece is at least a democracy (the word was invented there) but it is beset by strikes and internal strife. Turkey is doing well economically, but is unable to enter the EU for several reasons and is still busy suppressing its Kurdish minority, not to mention that the PM is anti-Israel.
None of the other Mediterranean countries have been attacked constantly and had its very existence threatened. Only Israel, that spends 6.3% of its per capita income on defense, while most Western European nations spend ca. 1-3%. To have developed a vibrant, advanced, westernized society in this area despite all these difficulties is in itself miraculous. I am not a believer, so I do not invoke God to explain these events, I can only claim that Israel is a miracle and that it is so thru the sweat of the brow of the early Zionists and the brain power of the younger generation. So while fighting the good fight to maintain Israel's sovereignty, let's also celebrate the miracle of its existence.
An apt comparison is Greece, in terms of size and population, which has had b$1 pumped into it by the EU, but is fast approaching default. By comparison the Israeli economy is booming, the shekel is gaining value relative to both the euro and the dollar, and Israel has passed thru the economic down-turn almost unaffected. If we look around Israel there is a boom in building, yet housing is too expensive and there is a feeling that it must burst soon. Greece is at least a democracy (the word was invented there) but it is beset by strikes and internal strife. Turkey is doing well economically, but is unable to enter the EU for several reasons and is still busy suppressing its Kurdish minority, not to mention that the PM is anti-Israel.
None of the other Mediterranean countries have been attacked constantly and had its very existence threatened. Only Israel, that spends 6.3% of its per capita income on defense, while most Western European nations spend ca. 1-3%. To have developed a vibrant, advanced, westernized society in this area despite all these difficulties is in itself miraculous. I am not a believer, so I do not invoke God to explain these events, I can only claim that Israel is a miracle and that it is so thru the sweat of the brow of the early Zionists and the brain power of the younger generation. So while fighting the good fight to maintain Israel's sovereignty, let's also celebrate the miracle of its existence.
posted by Jack Cohen at 9:54 AM
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