Hello 2007

The year 2007 has begun with plenty of uncertainty. I wish I could say with confidence that it will end on a more positive note, however that is not possible. Despite the beefed up UNIFIL force in southern Lebanon and the presence of the Lebanese army everyone knows and has admitted that Hezbollah has rearmed. "Ceasefire" or not, Kassam rockets continue to fall on Sederot and other towns, kibbutzim, and villages within range. The world does and says nothing because, as BBC's Radio Four news announced, that despite all of these kasam's being fired, the ceasefire is holding. Translation: Israel hasn't responded to these attacks yet. When they do, then the ceasefire will be broken.
Another example of how the European media's moral compass is so skewed is the response by many to the execution of Saddam Hussein. Some newspaper editorials calling that a crime or pontificating that it does not bring back the victims or that it is barbaric, etc. etc. etc. It's sad that such a large part of European media/intelligentsia have forgotten that evil does exist in the world and must be confronted, defeated and punished. Trial, conviction (if guilty), followed by punishment means that justice is served and the guilty party stands accountable. Hussein was a criminal who viciously ruled his country for close to 25 years, killing, torturing, and massacring hundreds of thousands of his own citizens. What happened to him was justice. Remember the Nuremburg Trials at the end of WWII? The punishments meted out after a trial? Justice.
In Israel itself we are still dealing with the aftermath of the failed war in Lebanon and a mediocre and arrogant leadership who are spending their time maneuvering to save their pathetic political or military careers while engaging in blame game politics. It not the easiest thing in the world to live in a country that is so misunderstood and misrepresented and misunderstood by the world. Sometimes I feel that Israel is the Western World's sacrificial lamb to the forces of extremism. We have become the western democracy that everyone loves to hate, and I'm not just talking about the Arab world.
It's too bad, because there is so much potential here. Despite the war in Lebanon this year, it is projected that our gross national product grew 4.5% to 5% in 2006. We continue to demonstrate that we can be a light unto the nations. Israel is a leader in the development of computer technology, cell phone technology, medicine, biology, physics, agricultural science, water reclamation and many other disciplines. The whole world benefits from all of this. Perhaps someday that is what the world will concentrate on when reporting about Israel. Perhaps they will also concentrate on places where there is a greater need such as Darfur or the Congo, where millions have died, while the Palestinian issue has tied up the UN in knots and has been one of the contributing factors to this organizations failing to live up to its own charter.
What's left? There is always hope. I love Israel. It is truly an amazing and wonderful place which has overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to achieve what it has achieved. However, the effort to someday become a "normal" country is beginning to resemble a Sisyphean task. I hope I'm wrong. One can always hope.