Today is the 5th of Iyar. In English, it is the 9th of May. It’s the first choice that determines my post today, because the English day of celebration changes all the time. It’s Yom Ha’atzmaut- Israeli Independence Day.
Under the set of most improbable circumstances, the State of Israel was founded 71 years ago today. After centuries, after millennia, there was finally going to be a bona-fide home for the Jewish people, who’d been hoping, praying, craving such a situation.
And, before many of you who claim you possess absolutely no anti-Semitic feelings – and will then prove yourselves wrong by echoing a clearly anti-Semitic sentiment, consider these facts. What country would you like to pick – anywhere around the globe- that came to its independence without a war against others, without a fight over the land upon which is resides? Why is it you feel obliged to hold Israel to a different standard?
Did not the United States appropriate its lands from the Indians? Or, the Latin American countries from their indigenous peoples? Not to mention the other states (some of which are falling apart as we speak) in the Middle East. Even the European nations became what they are from wars.
Is Israel a perfect state? Hardly. I, for one, probably abhor the policies of its Prime Minister more than you do. However, I know for what Israel stands. It does stand for democracy. (I am terribly worried that the USA is losing its affiliation with this principle, given the current administration, which makes Netanyahu’s star appear brighter than it deserves.) Israel clearly stands for justice. And, most of the Israeli citizens have a desperate yearning for peace.
For decades, this nation has been reclaiming the desert and the swamps for its farmlands, for its tech sectors, for residences for all its citizens- Jews and Arabs, both. As opposed to other nations that have been squandering their resources (water, land), Israel developed and pioneered processes such as drip irrigation to maximize the benefit of the little water it has. Forested major areas of the desert. (And, for a while, it recognized that it must had to cull those forests to preclude major fires. Until terrorists burned down acres of trees.)
As opposed to other nations, Israel has accepted all those Jews persecuted in Syria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. You don’t find those folks in refugee camps, the way you find the refugees who were advised by the Arab League to vacate Israel during the wars started in 1948, when the UN declared Israel’s right to exist. And, it’s the grandchildren of those refuges that are still there, still in poor conditions, some 71 years later.
(I am NOT making light of the situation that obtained for a while for the Mizrachi and Sfardi Jews who had decades of problems being accepted by the Ashkenazi Jews in Israel. But, that battle didn’t extend over centuries, as oppression of others still obtains in the US.)
You should also recall that what Kuwait did as soon as America liberated it from Iraqi domination during the first Iraq war; that very first act as a liberated nation? It banished all the Palestinians from within its borders.
Over the past,71 years, Israel has not had a single coup, disintegration, etc. It has grown its economy- and its thriving high-tech industry- that is the envy of almost every other country in the world. And, that is for a nation that until recently lacked its own energy sources. (It now controls one of the largest natural gas deposits in the world.) And, Israel does not possess many natural resources, to boot.
Israel has wonderful universities- for all. It has a vibrant culture of literature and the arts. It is one of the very few countries in the world that protects other faiths- and their places of worship. (Except when some of those places are deliberately stocked with munitions and weaponry.)
And, like the USA, Israel’s democracy is still a work-in-progress. One that I look forward to seeing burgeon even further- one that will provide reasons for my children and grandchildren to evoke feelings of pride and honor.
A nation whose anthem was written some 80 years before it actually became one. A nation whose pledge of allegiance dates back to King David.
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
let my right hand lose its powers,
let my tongue cleave to my palate.
let my right hand lose its powers,
let my tongue cleave to my palate.
If I do not remember you,
if I do not regard Jerusalem
with my utmost concern.
if I do not regard Jerusalem
with my utmost concern.
On a completely unrelated matter, don’t forget that it’s still
National Small Business Week!
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Without Israel I’m convinced we would have another Holocaust in short order. And I am scared because the last of that generation that stands witness is dying. Then what?
I was less fearful of that until the last few years, Alana. Now, I’m certain its critical. And, has been so for about 5 years for those Jews who reside in Europe.
Since I met your through blogging, I have learned so much about your religion and Israel. I must say both are very interesting. Happy Birthday Israel!
Martha recently posted..Vegetable Garden Growing
Thanks, Martha!