May 15th, 1948 is "Independence Day" for Israel, so this year will mark the 60th anniversary. Jeffrey Goldberg at The Atlantic.com has written a thoughtful reflection on Israel's present state. Read it here. Here's one quote, from a prominent Israeli writer:
“[Prime Minister of Israel] Olmert is paralyzed because the people are paralyzed,” A. B. Yehoshua said. “The whole country is paralyzed.”
The article discusses many issues, especially the war in Lebanon in 2006, the settlements in the West Bank, Hamas/Hezbollah/Fatah, the Two State solution, the recent killings at a Jerusalem yeshiva, and the current angst among Israelis. The article focuses especially on a rift between PM Ehud Olmert and a prominent Israeli novelist, David Grossman, who lost his son Uri in the war in Lebanon. The article is a bit long, but very informative.
As I read it, I was struck by the wide spectrum of opinion among Israelis, which, in one sense, is nothing unusual. However, I was struck by how similar the situation is today to the First century. In Israel today, we see ultra-leftists, concerned with human rights, etc., calling for reconciliation with the Palestinians. On the other hand, we see the intransigent and recalcitrant Jewish settlers who will never leave the West Bank and for whom compromise is equivalent to religious apostacy and national treason. Caught in the middle are many, many families - on both sides, Jew/Arab - trying to live their lives in relative peace and prosperity.
In a sense, not much has changed. Think of the situation in the First century. We had the ultra-leftists, who advocated compromise with Rome and the hard-line zealots, who advocated open rebellion.
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