AP scribbler Aaron Heller makes things look very dark and bleak indeed:
JERUSALEM (AP) — In 65 years,
Israel has surpassed the dreams of its founders, emerging as the Middle East's
strongest military force, a global high-tech powerhouse and a prosperous
homeland for the Jewish people.
Yet it remains a divided
society, and its most intractable problem — peace with its Arab neighbors — has
yet to be resolved.
On the eve of the 65th
anniversary of its creation, the Jewish renaissance in the Holy Land remains a
work in progress.
Dominating the short term is
Iran's nuclear program, which Israel believes is aimed at developing an atomic
weapon that could be used against the Jewish state, despite Iranian denials.
Unrest along Israel's borders is equally worrisome.
Over the longer term, reaching
peace with the Palestinians remains elusive, with the sides unable to agree even
on how to restart negotiations. Palestinians consider creation of Israel a
catastrophe that caused a stubborn refugee problem.
The 46-year occupation of
Palestinian territories also ignites domestic and international tensions.
Without a partition, Arabs could one day outnumber Jews, threatening Israel's
democratic nature.
Dear Aaron: Cheer up, buckaroo! All is not lost. If Israel is "a work in progress," so what? Israel remains an oasis of functionality in an otherwise dysfunctional neighbourhood. If Palestinians see Israel's establishment as a catastrophe, that's their problem, and more fool them. And, oh yeah, there is an Israeli presence in but one Palestinian territory, the West Bank. Gaza, as everyone knows, is Judenrein and under the control of Hamas, the Gaza branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. And who knows? Down the line Gaza could be claimed by Egypt and the West Bank could become part of the real Palestinians state, the one that has existed for far longer than Israel has. That state, of course, is Jordan.
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