Israel still resilient at age 60

Deseret News editorial
Published: Thursday, May 8, 2008 12:24 a.m. MDT
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To anyone reading the Old Testament, it may seem a bit preposterous for a small, desert region near the Red Sea to view itself as the center of earthly concerns. But that is exactly what has happened. As Israel turns 60, observers are often a bit amazed at the amount of ink, international intrigue and global concern that deals with this tiny state.

Israel has been every bit the international player that Jewish scripture shows it to be.

But after 60 years — as Matti Friedman of the Associated Press writes — Israelis aren't sure what they have to look forward to, so they look back to their rich heritage and history. Their identity is what sustained them in ancient days. And that sense of belonging keeps Israelis on the same page today.

It's a lesson, perhaps, the United States might take to heart. If your identity becomes fractured, so does your nation and your destiny. And the people of Israel — "people of the book" — have a sense of history that runs as deep as the Red Sea itself.

At age 60, the state of Israel can look back and see its trademark resiliency a hundred ways.

One wag claimed you can sum up the history of the Jews in nine words: "Tried to kill us, couldn't do it, let's eat." Whether overcoming the Egyptians 4,000 years ago, or overcoming them just 40 years ago, Israel has been a remarkable example of perseverance under pressure. The Holocaust would have destroyed a lesser people. And the number of dashed dreams over the decades would have been enough to shatter most illusions. And though Israel today exists under a shadow of failed dreams and leaders who seem mere shades of Golda Meir, David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin, the state is healthy and stable. The feeling in the country, according to Friedman, is one of alienation, ennui and nostalgia. But then, so it has always been.

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In short, Israel is down. But only a fool would count it out. Great nations have cost themselves dearly by underestimating the resolve and resourcefulness of the Israelis. As the old Sondheim song says, "I lived through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover, and I'm still here."

The Israelis, as a people, have lived through much more than that. Israel has what it takes to live through much more. It will remain a player on the international stage for years to come.

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