A light unto the nations

Editorial

As we mark the 57th anniversary of the birth of the state of Israel, we do so with a glimmer of hope. More hope, at least, than we held last year at this time or the year before or the year before that.

Israelis and other Zionists are capable of finding glimmers of hope in unlikely places and the small window of opportunity created by the change in Palestinian leadership has been seized upon as the best hope in a long time.

On this occasion, however, it is worth taking a look further back to realize that, despite the long and so far unfulfilled dream of a lasting peace, Israelis have had plenty of reasons to look forward with optimism and to look back in pride.

Israel's presence on the world stage, despite being decried by enemies in terms that defy human understanding and logic, has been nothing short of an economic and social miracle, as well as truly fulfilling the ancient mitzvah of the Jewish people to be a light unto the nations.

The achievements of this tiny country are beyond measure. The tangible and intangible contributions of Israeli arts, science and philanthropy have made the world an infinitely better, safer, healthier, smarter, more plugged-in place.
It is all the rage to point out the high-tech contributions offered to the world by Israeli companies – the cellphone was invented in Israel – but the advances date back far earlier and the breakthroughs go well beyond hand-held communications. From before the advent of the state, the Jews of Palestine have been making the desert bloom; making non-potable water suitable for drinking and agriculture – technology that is immeasurable in its impacts on human civilization. Agricultural advancements – from the earliest days of the Yishuv to the present – have shown how food for a nation can be coaxed from parched ground. Until the Arab countries pressed the emerging free states of Africa to resist Israeli aid, it was Israelis who led the developing world in feeding their people. Israel still shares its knowledge and technology freely with the developing world, usually without fanfare.

A country with only eight million people has produced literature that has been translated into countless languages. Israel's institutes of higher learning draw students from around the world, who take their knowledge home to repair their own countries. Israel publishes more academic works per capita than any other state on earth. In a region where life expectancy and other measures of social welfare compare unfavorably to western standards, Israel's statistics meet or exceed Canadian, American and European measures. Israel is a society that has shown the world – including multicultural Canada – how vast new populations with Babel-like communication challenges can be integrated successfully. From 70 countries around the world, Israel has welcomed and cared for successive waves of immigrants. The Israeli economy, at once capitalist and co-operative, is a model of fairness – by regional or any other standards. Social welfare policies, struggling like those in all developed world countries, nevertheless remain on par with – and in some instances are better than – Canada's lauded safety net.

Israel has achieved all of this while under the threat of – or amid genuine – assault. Even now, as peace threatens to break out, there are those in Europe and North America who would ban Israeli knowledge from their campuses in what has to be the most anti-intellectual and self-defeating political position since the Dark Ages of book-burning.

Just imagine what this tiny country could have done were it not forced to defend its existence at every turn. Imagine the scientific breakthroughs, the cured diseases, the technological advances, the human growth, the intellectual richness that could have been achieved if a huge chunk of energy and capital had not been needed to ensure mere survival.

Imagine what the future will hold if the small window of opportunity we see now is realized. For all the achievements that Israelis and Zionists look upon with pride, imagine the exponential burst of learning and advancement that will occur if Israel is allowed, for the very first time, to exist in a neighborhood where violence does not lurk around every corner. Given the encyclopedic contributions Israel has made to the scientific, cultural and intellectual realms despite the constant challenges, consider Israel's potential in a time of lasting, dependable peace.

That is a real cause for optimism and pride. Happy birthday, Israel. And many happy returns.

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