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| Conceptwizard's Presentations |
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| New Presentations |
We are now preparing a new presentation about what it is actually like to live in Israel today - everything that goes to make up Israel's vibrant and very special way of life. This presentation will feature different aspects of modern life in Israel - the major cities, cultural life, antiquities and historical sites, unique locations, like the Dead Sea, Eilat and the magical city of Jerusalem.
Due to the scope of this presentation, we would like to be able to send you a monthly e-bulletin once it is ready, telling you about the subject of the month. If you wish to receive our notifications regarding this presentation and our other material, please make sure you whitelist us
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If you have already filled in this form, there is no need to send it to us again.
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ISRAEL - OCTOBER 2006 - AFTERMATH
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Israel is a land of extremes. Its population is deeply polarized. This is not new. Despite the recent war, and the terrible hardships - borne mainly by the northern third of the country - Israelis have not lost hope. Many are deeply critical of the political and military establishment and the way the war was run. Israel’s leaders, political and military, made mistakes - but going into Lebanon after the abduction of its soldiers from Israel into Lebanon was NOT one of them. For the first time in many years, there was a national consensus behind the government, which concluded that Hezbollah activities on Israel’s northern border could no longer be tolerated.
Unfortunately, this war was costly on all counts, and went on for too long. Apart from proving a point, little was seemingly accomplished. Hezbollah may have learned that Israel is not to be trifled with, but it has returned to southern Lebanon. Its military infrastructure, while injured, has not been destroyed. The likelihood that the Lebanese army or the UN Interim Force will actually do anything to prevent Hezbollah regaining its hold over the land and population of southern Lebanon is miniscule. Moreover, while Red Cross visits are apparently de rigueur for the likes of the Al Qaeda operative who masterminded the 9/11 atrocities, and possibly also beheaded American journalist Daniel Pearl, the kidnapping of Israel’s young servicemen from their native soil - the casus belli for this war - remains unresolved to this day. They are still missing, and their present condition - even if alive or dead - is unknown.
Good people in Israel opened their homes and hearts during the war to the “evacuees from the north”. In many ways, sad to say, Israel is at its best when it is at war – the polarities seem to disappear, and the nation is united behind a common cause. At the ISCD, where I work, we converted a gym into a dormitory to provide wheelchair-accessible accommodation for disabled evacuees. Hundreds of kilos of dry pet food and liters of water were put out in the deserted streets of the northern cities to sustain pets that had been abandoned when their terrified owners fled south. The much reviled Arkady Gaydamak, an odd and controversial figure on the Israeli scene, erected a tent city on Nitzanim Beach where thousands of battered and shell-shocked residents of northern Israel were able to find respite and shelter (and three square meals a day). Quietly and efficiently, he did what the Israeli government should have done immediately the hail of rockets started.
Israel is a relatively young country - only 58 years old. Much needs to be done to change the political norms, and to properly exploit the capabilities of the administration to meet the needs also of the weaker levels of Israeli society - the poor, the old, and the non-Jewish sectors. Israel needs the help and support of the Jewish nation. But the Jews of the Diaspora also need to realize that without a strong and independent State of Israel, they themselves have no future. Assimilation will take its toll, and the Jewish nation will eventually fade away - except perhaps for a few thousand die-hards, who will continue to await the Messiah in their anti-Zionist strongholds.
It is very much a quid pro quo situation - as much as Israel needs the Jews of the world, the Jews of the world and, indeed, the free nations of the world, need the Jewish state. It is very easy to settle for a quiet life, a good income and a comfortable home, well away from the battleground of the Middle East, but the radical islamists have a totally different agenda. Unlike President Ahmadinejad of Iran, who merely wants to deny the Holocaust and wipe Israel off the map, the expansionist aims of radical Islam will not be contained by Israel - they want the world.
Mal
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