Michael Koplow
“Israel turns 75 today, and one could reasonably argue on the occasion of its diamond jubilee that it has had the most impressive first three-quarters of a century of any state on Earth. Formed in the face of a pending and inevitable war for its existence as an independent state, the new country of refugees and immigrants won that war despite losing one percent of its population during the fighting and managed to construct a system of state institutions despite enormous economic challenges and constant threats from neighbors on all sides. It absorbed millions of new immigrants—most of whom were penniless—from across the globe and managed to construct a society and build a national identity with this mix of European, Middle Eastern, Ethiopian, Soviet, and other Jews. It not only persevered in the face of relentless military challenges and wars, but became the dominant military power in the Middle East, one whose advantage over its former foes is so great that nearly all of them gave up any pretense of a further fight. It built an economy with a socialist government in a place with no natural resources, and then adapted to the information age to create one of the world’s leading high-tech hubs that places Israel 13th in GDP per capita.”
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