If you were to only go by the pantings of various derangers and Useful Idiots, you would think Israel is coming apart at the seams of late, and it is only a matter of time before the Jewish state collapses due to demographics, internal dissent, international public opinion, or some combination thereof.
But in reality, looking back 2011 was a pretty good year for Israel and the country looks as strong and prosperous as ever. Let's recount what happened:
Economically: The year closed with two major deals being inked, one with Apple to open its first technology development center outside of the United States, the other featuring the Technion in a $300 million partnership with Cornell University to open a major center in New York City.
While these deals in particular show that the BDSers have not gained any traction with those who matter, more importantly, they are emblematic of how the high tech Israeli economy is humming along as a powerhouse. Israel's unemployment level is a tiny 5.3%, unmatched by any other Western country, and GDP growth has been higher than the US or any European country. The "Silicon Wadi" is still second only to Silicon Valley in metrics like numbers of startups and NASDAQ listed companies. Israel's Human Development Index is by far the highest in the Middle East, and is now higher than some prosperous Western European countries such as Austria and France. Not bad for a tiny country under siege which a large portion of the World is supposedly boycotting!
Militarily: 2011 saw the Obama Adminstration request $205 million for deployment of the Iron Dome Missile Defense system, which has been developed within Israel. This has been one sign of the increasing military cooperation between the US and Israel, and the Obama Administration's support for Israeli defense, as outlined by Ehud Barack and discussed here previously.
Israel also enjoyed the foreign policy success of stopping this year's incarnation of the Hamas support flotilla dead in its tracks in Greece, without firing a single shot. Meanwhile the Stuxnet computer worm, which it seems Israel had a hand in, retarded the Iranian regime's nuclear program, as did several explosions and assassinations.
Demographically: There are signs that the demographic pendulum is swinging back in favor of Jews, after many years of favoring Arabs, which was the cause of much concern. There are also signs that the Israeli Arab minority is trending toward normalization of life within Israel, such as participation in the alternate national service program, and that the Haredi community is becoming more involved in the mainstream life of the state, such as in the Nahul Haredi IDF battalion.
The war of public opinion: Finally, it has been a pretty good year for the battle of public opinion in the I/P conflict. A lot of European leftists have been the usual basket cases, but here stateside BDSers lost again, garnering only 17% of the vote at the Sacramento Food Coop, adding to their string of non-successes. Another year has passed and the movement has failed to gain any further traction.
The return of Gilad Shalit, in addition to being a practical and moral victory, was also a public opinion coup. Israel was shown to be willing to release 1000 killers of its citizens for one captured soldier, whose demeanor and body told of his abuse at the hands of his captors. While Shalit was shown first in a ridiculous propaganda broadcast and then with his family, the contrast with the Hamas celebrations was quite stark.
Public opinion in the US remains firmly on the side of Israel and shows no signs of going anywhere, only growing stronger in recent years. This will probably continue as the result of the Arab Spring seems to be turning out to be regimes and societies that will be less pro-Western and less secular. Meanwhile, Israel has won another Nobel Prize with Dan Shechtman.
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I used to think that time was not on Israel's side, and that a window of opportunity was closing for Israel to reach a final settlement to the I/P conflict before demographics and world public opinion made a one state outcome (or worse) inevitable. In reviewing Israel's strengths, and her enemies weaknesses, I am not sure of that anymore. If current trends continue, Israel will continue to have a strong economy, pumping out startups and Nobel Prizes, a vibrant culture, and a strong military, not to mention further 'facts on the ground' in East Jerusalem. Meanwhile, 'right-of-return' claims for the great-great-grandchildren of refugees will be increasingly difficult to justify, as the existence of Israel becomes ever more normalized. Israel has challenges, and the justice of a two-state outcome is needed, but it seems it may be Israel's enemies that have the most to lose going forward.
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The thinking behind this post was inspired by an article by Yaacov Lozowick, which posits that Israel is in fact as strong as ever.
Israel, in many respects, is everything we would want a start-up country to be. Look at where it was in 1948 and 1949 and it fought for, and won, its independence after being invaded by its neighbors immediately after coming into existence. Now, look at where it is today. Sure, there are problems and Israel is not perfect, but those problems are akin to what faces her fellow developed nations and not the problems that face her neighbors.
ReplyDeleteThere are many problems with the so-called right of return. First is how many generations it is being passed down through. Second is how easy it is to qualify as a refugee or descendant of a refugee. Those are situations that are different from every other group given refugee status by the United Nations. Kind of funny how this is only granted to those who claim their refugee status directed at the Jewish State.
@ Reuven: Exactly, the definition of "refugee" for Palestinians - transferrable over multiple generations - is obscene. I now think time is not on their side though, especially because now Israel is going to press claims on behalf of the Jewish refugees from Arab countries.
ReplyDeleteIt's clearly time for more flash mobs, no doubt.
ReplyDelete"as the existence of Israel becomes ever more normalized."
It's a shame these words even have to be typed...
@fizziks: And, if refugee status can be passed down from generation to generation, what about all of us who had ancestors flee here from Europe because of the antisemitism or flee from other places to here and elsewhere because of persecution, forced conversions, murder, violence and expulsions?
ReplyDeleteWhen you see the actions of those that demand the refugees the so-called right of return it is clear that they only have one goal: the end of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish People. They seek, more than anything else, to end the legitimate rights of our people's national self-determination in our ancestral homeland. Nothing more. Nothing less. And it doesn't make any of us "right-wing" for calling out their bullshit.
Indeed. My ancestors were expelled 2000 years ago...so do the math. That means that anyone with 1 percent DNA relationship to me, at the least (or the most) is entitled to refugee status under the bullshit UN rules set out for the innocent Palestinian kittens. Which means I have probably 2 million distant relatives eligible for right of return.
ReplyDeleteMore flash mobs and more break dancing videos, stat!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll just quietly hum Hatikvah. :-P
ReplyDelete