From a dream to miraculous reality

After two thousand years of praying for and dreaming about a return to Zion the Jewish nation was reborn on 5 Iyar 5708 corresponding to 14 May 1948.

This week, Israel celebrates its 78th anniversary of independence.

As usual, for 24 hours prior to this day, Israelis will pay tribute to the members of the IDF who have fallen in conflicts since 1948 and civilians murdered and wounded in acts of terror. According to the latest data, 30,000 Israelis have been killed in wars, military operations, and terror attacks since the establishment of the state in 1948. Total casualties—including wounded—exceed 100,000.

The murderous mayhem carried out by those who oppose any shape or form of Jewish sovereignty in our ancestral homeland did not start in 1948. It blossomed as soon as the Zionist movement was born.

One of the biggest lies to have been foisted on an ignorant world was the fable that once upon a time there had existed an independent Islamic Palestinian nation with Jerusalem as its Capital. These collections of historical make believe have become so embedded that trying to counter it with facts is a losing proposition.

Hijacked by jihadist fanatics the legitimacy of any sort of Jewish historical presence is now challenged by the UN and its motley assortment of members.

At one stage there was a slim possibility of co-existence but with the assassination of moderate Arab leadership and the ascendency of Islamic extremists the stage was set for a murderous scenario.

Peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan have not trickled down to the masses who are still bombarded with anti-Israel slanders. The Abraham Accords are a rare cause for optimism but one wonders whether they will survive the onslaught from jihadists and the inevitable end of the Trump Presidency.

Following the horrendous years of the Shoah, many Jews believed that finally the world would have learnt its lesson and that Jew hate would disappear from the face of the earth.

We all know now that this was a forlorn hope. The hate merely hibernated for a very short period of time and then mutated into an equally virulent plague.

Nevertheless, a mere three years after the end of the war the Jewish State came into being. Not a single survivor could have imagined in their wildest dreams that from the deepest pits of inhumanity this event would jump start a miraculous revival.

One of these miracles was the decision by the virulent Jew hater, Stalin, to instruct the Soviet delegate at the UN to vote for the partition plan.

Another miracle was a rejection by all the Islamic UN members of the partition plan. Their rejection of any Jewish sovereign nation living in peace alongside an Arab country and their stated intention to annihilate the Jews of Mandated Palestine laid bare their real aims.

The next miracle was the proclamation of statehood by David Ben Gurion in the face of opposition from many quarters and with a certainty that a war of unequal forces was inevitable. Despite all dire predictions, the outgunned and outnumbered defenders managed to hold off the invading Arab armies and eventually push them back.

This war of independence took a staggering toll in death and casualties, but for the first time since the revolt against the Romans and the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, Jews were actually fighting back against their oppressors.

This spectacle of fighting Jews shocked those who hitherto believed that Jews were easy prey. It also sowed the seeds of resentment, which very soon germinated into the sprouting of a new crop of noxious hate, which in turn morphed into an updated version of the ancient plague.

Between 1948 and 1967, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan illegally occupied Judea, Samaria and half of Jerusalem. It carried out ethnic cleansing of Jews, destroyed cemeteries and synagogues, and forbade Jews from praying at the Kotel. None of these acts attracted any international condemnation, even though these areas had been allocated by the San Remo Agreement for Jewish settlement. It was only when they were liberated in 1967 that the wrath of the UN descended on Israel and the myth of a “Palestinian” entitlement was born.

Another miracle was the ingathering of Jews from many countries where they were no longer tolerated. The absorption and integration of Jewish refugees who fled from Islamic violence was a massive undertaking. Subsequent waves of olim from the former Soviet Union and its subjugated empire have also benefited Israel’s development.

One of the greatest miracles has been the transformation of Israel from a struggling and impoverished country with hyperinflation into a world powerhouse of innovation and a currency which has never been stronger. As we celebrate nearly eight decades of sovereignty, Israelis have every right to feel pride at what has been achieved.

There are of course many problems still to be tackled and successfully overcome.

After two thousand years of statelessness, it takes a long period of adjustment to solve each and every challenge.

Ensuring a solid Jewish foundation while at the same time preventing Judaism from becoming fossilised in a shtetl time warp takes time and needs patience. It also requires a revamped Chief Rabbinate that can meet the challenges of a modern State. Defending the country must become an essential component of citizenship, especially in the face of mounting threats.

As the only real democracy in the region, the rule of law and civil liberties must be safeguarded. Those who seek to undermine the country cannot be entitled to receive the benefits from the State.

Israel is the only country in the world whose legitimacy is still challenged and which is under threat of censure, condemnation and sanction by countries that are members of the United Nations. This reality, therefore, demands a cohesive response from all sectors of Israeli society. Some statistics will give you a sense of how the country has made spectacular progress since 1948.

• Israel’s population now stands at 10.2 million people. This growth has been driven by a combination of high birth rates and immigration. In the past year, approximately 177,000 babies were born, and 21,000 olim chose to settle in the country. While other countries, especially Europe have a declining birth rate, Israel by contrast is heading in the opposite direction.
• 76% of the population is classified as Jews; 21.1% are Arabs and approximately 2.9% are foreign nationals.
• Israel continues to stand out as a relatively young country compared to other developed nations, with about 27 percent of its population made up of children and teenagers, and only around 13 percent aged 65 and older—figures that point to continued growth and vitality.
• Health indicators have also improved steadily over the years. Life expectancy has risen by nearly two decades since the state’s founding and now stands at 81.1 years for men and 85.5 years for women.
• From a historical perspective, the figures highlight extraordinary growth since the founding of the state in 1948, with the population expanding more than twelvefold.

About 45% of the world’s Jewish population now lives in Israel.

With the unstoppable rise in hate guaranteed to continue, Israel will still be, despite the enemies arrayed against it, the only place where being Jewish is not a badge of shame and where Jews do not have to cover up, deny or be invisible.

The miracle of the Promised Land’s rebirth is one of the wonders of our times. We should all feel privileged to be part of this exciting fulfilment of Biblical prophecy.

Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel and is J-Wire’s correspondent in the region.