Like many others reading this, I am filled with angst and apprehension over events happening in Israel, especially since I lived there for several years. But upon receiving an uplifting email from an Israeli friend and then of the new ceasefire situation, a sudden insight hit me.
It was the reality that we, the Jewish people, are like no other people. We have survived centuries or millennia (5766 years according to my Jewish calendar!) of persecution, discrimination and whatever other catastrophic events could be inflicted upon a group of people for no other reason than its religion. And unlike other peoples who did not survive–we are still here!
Also unlike any other country, Israel, despite being only 58 years old and the 100th smallest country in the world with less than 1/1000 of the world’s population, has achieved so much in so many fields, surpassing many other countries. For example, not only was Israel the second country in the world to have a woman leader but it has the highest ratio of university degrees to the world population, the world’s second highest per capita of new books, more museums per capita than any other country, the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita, has absorbed the largest number of immigrants relative to its population. Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world, except for Silicone Valley, and where much of today’s new technology such as the cell phone, Windows NT and XP, Pentium MMX Chip, voicemail, and AOL instant messenger ICQ was developed. In the scientific and medical world, Israel has produced more scientific papers per capita than any other nation, leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in its workforce, developed many medical innovations including the first ingestible video camera to view the inside of the small intestine, a new device that directly helps pump blood that has potential to save lives of those with heart failure. All of this was accomplished while fighting several wars and having an economy that spends more per capita on its own protection than any other country.
OK, we as Jews and Israelis, are not perfect! We are corruptible; we make mistakes; we seemingly have made many wrong decisions given the post-Lebanon situation. Yet, we must also realize that have contributed so much to the past and present world with 157 of the 750 Nobel Prize winners being Jews and Israelis. As the world becomes more difficult, dangerous and divisive, we must remember that we are a truly unique people who have survived and will continue to survive!
Lest we forget, our national anthem is Hatikvah—The HOPE!
