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ISRAEL: A SMALL GREAT’NATION<br />
Israel. One can hardly read a newspaper today without seeing the name<br />
“Israel” written on its pages. At the same time, Israel’s name is found in<br />
major scientific magazines the world over. In the former, usually criticized<br />
and condemned. In the latter, mostly admired for its achievements.<br />
The general impression is that of a huge country. Yet, Israel is so small that<br />
there is almost no room to write its name on its surface in the atlas of the<br />
world, as the well-known Israeli writer Ephraim Kshon once put it.<br />
The Jewish State, the land of a nation reborn in its home after centuries in<br />
which it was scattered across the world has, managed to make the desert<br />
flourish and thus created a blanket of green over the previously desert region.<br />
Its military victories - all in wars that were imposed upon it and in which it<br />
was outnumbered by its foes - as well as the daring and risky operations of its<br />
secret service provided it with an outstanding international reputation. Israel<br />
is a country that puts satellites in orbit while its Rabbis dance and celebrate<br />
the Torah during certain festivals within the Jewish tradition.<br />
Israel’s contribution to the sciences, the arts and the field of ecology, to name<br />
but one, is immeasurable. And all this within the context of the six wars<br />
Israel has had to fight in less than 50 years.<br />
Israel is a tiny democracy in an ocean of tyrannies. What is more, it is a<br />
thriving democracy stuck in the middle of a neighborhood in which military<br />
power remains critical to survival, and modernity is still considered a threat<br />
rather than the object of one’s aspirations. Israel is a nation that has to stay<br />
alert both day and night in its attempt to curb terrorism. And it is precisely<br />
the nature of the reality that Israel faces daily which highlights the peculiarity<br />
of Israel’s situation: while it sends its diplomats to negotiate peace, it must<br />
also send its soldiers to defend its boundaries. Nonetheless, despite<br />
unprecedentedly severe waves of terrorism and the hard wars Israel has<br />
undergone, it has never given up its longing for peace.<br />
The quest for peace and freedom of this young - and at the same time ancient<br />
- nation can be summarized in the last words of Israel’s national hymn,<br />
Hatikva (Hope): “Lehiyot ‘am khofshi beartzeinu, eretz Zion,<br />
Yerushaliyim.”<br />
Julian Schvindlerman
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