Israel's 50th Year (1998)

Back in January of 1998, ten years ago, we didn't seem to be making much progress on deciding on how to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Israel's establishment in 1948.

Now, in 2008, we don't seem to be making much progress on deciding on how to celebrate Israel's 60th Anniversary!

The punchline of the Golden Oldie cartoon from 1998 is the simple truth. For most Israelis, Israel is "just" the country that they live in.

But to believing Christians, to Diaspora Jews, to Islamic fundamentalists, to Holocaust survivors, and to oppressed minorities across the Arab-dominated Middle East, Israel is special. And our having survived against all logic to celebrate our 50th (and now 60th) year was (and is) a miracle.