Israel: the Great Stuff - Part 1

Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project

Part 1 of 2. For part 2, click here.

So. The 4 accomplishments of the State of Israel over its first 60 years of which I'm most proud. A difficult task: I had to push politics and some painful, real, home-hitting issues out of the way. This project is supposed to be completely positive. Okay then. After giving this much thought, and even more evasion, I came up with the following accomplishments, which make my heart swell with pride, and give me a giddy lift every time I think about them.

1. Pride
I'm firstly immensely proud of our pride in Israel. I'm proud of the proud, deeply-connected singing that rises, mixed with tears, from our hearts when we raise our eyes and see the pure blue and white flag of the Jews, of the Jewish State, flying in the wind, and when we hear, and join in to, the singing of the deeply emotive Hatikvah. I'm proud of our renewed Jewish pride. We have a home; we have a home that we have so many good reasons to be proud of.

We remember the blood-soaked soil; the men, women and children who gave their lives to defend the Promised Land, for their fellow Jews, for generations to come. We remember the crimson when we look at the white, and our pain at their deaths is mixed with a throat-searing pride for their sacrifice. I am inspired, on learning about their courageous sacrifice, in simply walking on the dirt in our Holiest Land (go to the Ammunition Hill with a guide to find out more). I am proud of the contributions of the dead and of the living, whose intense sacrifice has profoundly influenced the very nature of the State today: the fruits of their sowing. I'm proud at our greatly justified pride in our young State and in its difficult, courageous origins.*

2. Home
Secondly, I'm proud of the home that Israel has become for all Jews. We are no longer a homeless, wandering nation, drifting from country to country, strangers buffeted by the tides of wars, economies, politics, and the whims of our host countries' rulers: in Israel we have a home. The Law of the Right of Return plays a large part in this, as does Israel's long-time policy of encouraging Aliyah with attractive, substantial compensations to Jewish immigrants, as well as helping olim to learn Hebrew and to find their feet within the society and the economy in Absorption Centres. Whether you are a Jew from Ethiopia, from South Africa, from the USA, or from Russia -- or from anywhere else -- you are positively welcome to make Israel your home.

And even if we're not actually in Israel; even when we are not currently at home; the feeling of security in our home, and in the defense -- military, political, and emotional -- that it provides us in the face of the blasts of vicious hatred that we experience from those we live amongst, marks a profound, wonderful change in the lot of the Jews. Israel's presence in the military world, in the UN, and in the general political landscape lends us a feeling of greater pride and safety. We are not just 'little Jews', stumping along the street, with kippot stuffed into our pockets. We stand up tall, as proud Jews; Jews who have a home.

To Be Continued
The next 2 accomplishments of the State of Israel that I'd like to focus on, and the continuation of this piece, will be dealt with in another post. Look out for it!

Part 1 of 2. For part 2, click here.

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* It must be noted that many of the concepts that I mention here about Israel originated in its pre-state history; the yishuvim, the olim, and the structures that were built over time, leading up to its eventual birth as a state. So many of the unknown pioneers who drained swamps, built roads and planted trees are perhaps just as heroic as the soldiers who fought in Israel's wars and in defence of the Jewish settlements from the attacks of their vicious neighbours.