Despite perpetual security threats and elements of internal dysfunction, there is much reason for optimism as the Jewish state turns 70
The fine line between tragedy and triumph is perhaps nowhere as clear as in Israel, and perhaps no more evident than this week as the Jewish state commemorates its fallen soldiers beginning Tuesday evening and its 70th anniversary twenty-four hours later. The transition from somberness to elation in many ways is a microcosm of the Jewish people’s tumultuous history, having suffered 2,000 years of persecution in exile only to return to its homeland to create one of the most dynamic, if not complex, societies in the world.
Even so, the trials, tribulations and hardships that have defined Israel since its rebirth have been felt across the board, with no individual escaping the ramifications of four major conventional wars launched by the Jewish state’s Arab neighbors—after its declaration of independence in 1948; in 1956; in 1967; and, again, in 1973—aimed, each time, at annihilating the fledgling nation.
Having failed to achieve this goal, Israel’s enemies shifted their strategy towards asymmetric warfare, initially through the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization which perpetrated three decades of terrorism against the Jewish state; and, today, primarily through Iran’s Lebanon-based Hizbullah proxy and Gaza Strip-based Hamas and Islamic Jihad underlings.
Overall, 23,645 IDF soldiers and other security and intelligence personnel—including 71 over the past year—have since 1860 been killed while defending the pre-state Jewish population and then Israel proper. An additional 3,134 Israeli civilians were murdered in attacks since the nation’s establishment, with countless others injured during wartime or simply while riding a bus or walking the streets.
Accordingly, in a country of only eight million people, few, if any, Israelis have not been, directly or indirectly, effected by violence, especially given that every youth is conscripted into the military at the age of eighteen. As such, the nation will come to a complete standstill on Yom Hazikaron, as it is called locally, not unlike last week when Israel marked Holocaust Remembrance Day.
But come nightfall Wednesday, the mood will swing like a pendulum, from sorrow to jubilation, as Independence Day is ushered in. Events will be held throughout the country, highlighted by the official torch-lighting ceremony in Jerusalem, followed by what has become tradition in Israel on its birthday; namely, treks, barbecues and, of course, parties.
With every anniversary comes an opportunity to take stock—to recall the past, analyze the present and plan for the future. And while Israel is a relative oasis in an otherwise troubled region, it remains a nation plagued by instability.
Internally, political dysfunction and paralysis (not to mention the prime minister’s legal troubles) have prevented the formulation of coherent strategies to address many problems, ranging from societal divisions—between Left and Right, secular and religious, Jewish and Arab—to the sky-rocketing cost of living and deplorable levels of poverty. Equally important is Jerusalem’s failure to devise a comprehensive approach for dealing with the Palestinians, granted this is a tall order given Ramallah’s previous dismissal of numerous peace plans and ongoing anti-Israel incitement—manifest in its “pay-for-slay” policy of transferring hundreds of millions of dollars annually to Palestinian prisoners and to the families of those killed in confrontations with Israeli forces.
On the flip side, Israel’s tremendous technological and military prowess has, progressively, transformed Jerusalem into a significant player in the international arena, with ties to the United States (the Jewish state’s “anchor”) complemented by burgeoning relations with China, India and a multitude of African and Latin American states, among others.
Nevertheless, as always, Israel must be vigilant in the face of external threats, foremost Tehran’s regional expansionism and potential nuclearization. Most acute is the Islamic Republic’s ongoing effort to entrench itself militarily in Syria, where the Israeli army has over the past two years conducted well over 100 strikes targeting Iranian assets and convoys of advanced weaponry destined for Hizbullah. That each mission has the potential to spark a larger conflict was made stark in February, when Israel responded to the penetration of its air space by an Iranian drone by hitting a dozen targets in Syria, before an Israeli jet was downed by a barrage of surface-to-air missiles for the first time in three decades.
Meanwhile, to the south, the Islamic State is attempting to regroup in the Sinai Peninsula and Hamas continues its provocations, the latest example being the so-called “March of Return,” which for the past three Fridays has drawn tens of thousands of Palestinians to the Israel-Gaza border, leading to deadly conflagrations with the IDF.
However, there are signs that Israel is, to a degree, slowly becoming integrated into the broader Middle East, a positive development given the Arab world’s historical rejectionism. A growing alignment of interests—primarily the shared desire to curb Shiite Tehran’s hegemonic ambitions—has led to a rapprochement between the Jewish state and Sunni Muslim countries, creating cooperative possibilities that Israel’s founders could never in a million years have envisioned, let alone seven short decades.
Indeed, this may be the greatest lesson to internalize as the country marks its most melancholy and joyous days; that is, despite some dark periods, the course of Israel’s development demonstrates that beyond every horizon there is light.