Accomplish (v): To succeed in doing; bring to pass: He accomplished a major feat of strength.

Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project

1) Makolet: I personally believe that Makolets are Israel's most incredible accomplishment. No joke. I can't even count on one hand the amount of times a shot-gun picnic has been called for outside of a Makolet, going inside and coming out with all of the necessary accoutrement's for a perfect picnic. How many times have you been incredibly thirsty/hungry, and how many times has there been a Makolet "Just around the corner" to save you? There is nothing in North America that rivals an Israeli Makolet. Arguably, there are levels of varying Makolets. There are "good" Makolets, "really bad" Makolets, and then there are the "wham bam thank you m'am" Makoelets that are just bursting with so many products that you could probably get your school, cooking, cleaning and beauty supplies all there. B'erech, Makolets rock.

2) Egged: Okay, fine, we all know that the inner city buses aren't necessarily the most reliable of all bus systems. BUT who has used that really funky text messaging system that Egged has for the inter city bus systems? You text your departure spot, and your desired arrival spot to 4100 and THEY TEXT YOU BACK WITH ALL OF THE DEPARTURE TIMES! They sure don't have that in Vancouver OR Toronto. Seriously, that's pretty amazing. And in what other country can you travel from top to bottom on like, less than $25?! That's what I thought. Egged takes you everywhere (except for Modiin and Chashmonaim...where both of my Rabbi's live. Go figure).


3) The Sounds: Hayehudim, Moshav Band, David Broza...and you have to appreciate the radio stations too "GalGalGalGalatz!". What about all of the crazy Temani music playing in the cabs and the crazy wailing sounds that just seem to be flowing out of every crevice and crack all over the country. Israel is never really silent. The beautiful sound of hebrew, ancient and modern just enveloping you like a security blanket. What about the sounds that unfortunately, have come to define Israel? Like the sirens of Yom Hazikaron, calling for a moment of silence. Or, "Tzevah Adom", when a rocket is being launched into Sderot. Or of the ambulance sirens after a pigua, terrorist attack. But there are also the sounds of kiddush, zmirot, laughter, and yiddishkeit overflowing and rippling out of homes on Shabbat. Israel's ability to produce and co-exist with both types of sounds is, in my opinion, Israel's greatest accomplishment.

4) Look at a picture of the Tel-Aviv desert area prior to the establishment of Israel. And now look at a picture of Tel-Aviv today. Apply it to the whole country, and I think you'll get an idea of

Survival: Israel's ability to survive is it's greatest accomplishment. According to the laws of nature, physics, economics, politics, and reasonable doubt there is no reason why Israel should still be in existence today. But, we're not depending or relying on any of those laws. We're relying on G-d. Hashem, the One in Heaven.