There are not that many miracles in this world. Israel, at 77, is one of them. It is no exaggeration to say that Israel’s very existence – and especially its astounding success across so many fields – runs counter to historical expectations. This is not a flowery statement crafted for Independence Day. It is a sober assessment from someone who has been an international correspondent in countless countries.
A people exiled from their land for two thousand years, nearly annihilated, and mixed together with other nations, somehow did not vanish – but instead managed to regroup and build a modern and thriving state on land they were once expelled from. And they did it under constant threat, with a difficult geography, without significant natural resources.
At a time when questions of national identity dominate the discourse – from Ukraine to the United States and many places in between – Israel’s experiment of uniting Jews from around the world is, or at least should be, a source of inspiration.
The Jews are not just a religion with a state, as some detractors claim, but an ancient civilization with a religion for those who want it and with a shared history and identity for all. The result, despite its flaws, stands as a fascinating model of how different cultures can merge into (roughly) one.
Today, Israel is a country of 10 million people with a per capita GDP is about $53,000 per year – higher than that of Britain, France, Spain, and Italy; comparable to Germany; more than double Greece; nearly triple Turkey; and about 13 times that of Egypt. Israel boasts one of the world’s most stable currencies, among the lowest inflation rates, and one of the highest foreign currency reserves per capita.
ISRAEL IS a true leader – no caveats needed – in technological innovation, attracting venture capital investments on a scale absurdly disproportionate to its size. In some years investment in Israeli startups ($26 billion in 2021) reached about half the total invested in the entire European Union (despite a population 40 times larger).
Israel created global breakthroughs: USB drives and flash memory, internet telephony, Waze, Mobileye, desert agriculture, and in advanced medicine. In many fields – from defensive and offensive cyber to smart agriculture – Israel is not just participating but setting the tone and pace.
Its cultural achievements are equally remarkable. Israel has produced a canon of music, literature, television, and cinema – from novels by Amos Oz and David Grossman to global television hits like In Treatment, Fauda, and Homeland. Until recently – before the war disrupted so much – Israel was a leader in television format exports and acclaimed cinema. It publishes more books per capita than the United States and boasts a strong record in Nobel Prizes per capita (12th worldwide) and scientific publications (14th).
And beyond the dry statistics, there is the spirit of the place itself. Few cities are as vibrant and welcoming as Tel Aviv, with its mesmerizing cuisine, lively nightlife, and thriving gay community. There is Jerusalem with its holy sites, accessible – security issues aside – to all faiths. There is a green, hilly north with decent skiing, a desert south with a thriving diving culture, and breathtaking canyons in between.
Israel’s social fabric, though stretched, includes successes too often overlooked. Especially notable is the coexistence – difficult, imperfect, but significant – between Jews and its Arab citizens. Today, Arab Israelis are doctors, judges, journalists, entrepreneurs, and members of the Knesset. The gaps remain – but against all odds, the trajectory has been forward.
Yes, inequality is a serious problem – but Good Lord! This is still a land flowing with milk, honey, and a contagious zest for life. Anyone doubting this should consult the World Happiness rankings, where Israelis trail only the Nordic nations and Costa Rica.
EVEN REGARDING the Palestinians outside sovereign Israel, the small Jewish country amid 14 Muslim ones – tiny at less than 0.5% of their total land area – historically adopted a more moderate approach than is often remembered: especially today, when the bloodshed in Gaza, under a reckless government, is horrifying. Israel accepted the 1947 UN Partition Plan; the Palestinians and Arab states rejected it. Twice, Israel offered the Palestinians a state in almost all of the West Bank and Gaza; they declined meaningful engagement.
Israel even withdrew completely from Gaza – only for it to fall into the hands of Hamas, an entity so monstrous that the world (literally, it seems) struggles to comprehend it.
Of course, Israel has sometimes used excessive force, and parts of Israeli society have shown disturbing indifference to civilian casualties in the territories and in Lebanon.
This reached shameful dimensions in the current conflict. And yet, overall, few nations would have maintained their humanity under such circumstances.
Thus, taking all this into consideration, Israel is a success story. Not only Jews should take pride in it, but all Israelis should: Jew and Arab. Indeed, all people who seek hope for humanity and a proof of the greatness and spirit that flicker within every individual should.
AND YET, this 77th Independence Day takes place under a deep cloud of melancholy.
The ongoing war in Gaza, with no end in sight, is wearing down the public. Political divisions are deeper than ever, with vast parts of the population convinced that decisions are being made for political survival at the cost of human lives. Hope is fading. An alarming percentage of Israelis are contemplating emigration – not because of external threats, but because of despair.
Hamas and Hezbollah threaten us externally, but what's happening within?
The threats Israel faces today are not like those of 1948 or 1967. The external enemies – Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran – are dangerous but not existential threats if Israel remains internally strong. The greatest danger is within.
First and foremost – the political chasm that has opened. Democracy accommodates disputes, but what has happened here in recent years is beyond reasonable. The 2023 judicial coup attempt was not just a political maneuver – it was a direct attack on Israel’s democratic system, seeking to install an elected autocracy. The protest movement managed to delay it – but not defeat it.
The danger remains. If the conspirators succeed in turning Israel into a Jewish version of Turkey, where the government does whatever it wants, millions will leave – including virtually everyone driving Israel’s technological miracle.
Simultaneously, there is the demographic challenge. Due to insanely high birthrates – 6.5 children per family on average – the haredi population is doubling each generation as a share of the total, while insisting on massive public subsidies. Without true integration into the workforce, the army, and modern education, Israel’s economy – and its social fabric – will not survive. Talk of partitioning into two separate states, which today sounds fanciful, could become urgent reality.
And the entanglement created by Jewish settlements in the West Bank (and possibly, God forbid, again in Gaza) is eroding both the morality of the Zionist project and Israel’s international standing. Without separation from the Palestinians, Israel will have to choose: abandon democracy or abandon its Jewish character. Today, in the combined area of Israel and the territories, the population is evenly split.
The signs of disaster are already here: Tech investment is cooling and emigration is rising. Diaspora Jewish communities are distancing themselves. And the world is losing patience – despite Trump’s “support.” Across Europe, Israeli exile communities are springing up. But above all – talk to ordinary Israelis and ask them how many are considering securing a future for their children abroad. The answers are troubling. The danger is real – and this time, it is self-inflicted.
IT IS not too late, however. I am not here to outline a detailed rescue plan – those exist in abundance, and I have offered them myself on these and other pages. What is missing is focus.
The window is narrowing. For anyone who cares about the future of the Jewish people and the future of Israel, saving this country must become one of the central missions of their life in the coming years. There must be concentration and urgency. It’s not politics.
I have seen and reported on countries that disappeared – the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia. They had alternatives. Israel does not.
Therefore, as Israel enters its 78th year, let us remember: Something extraordinary has been built here. But if things continue as they are – if Israelis are seduced by complacency or succumb to defeatism – the future genuinely, truly, absolutely risks collapse. There is work to be done.
The writer is the former chief editor of The Associated Press in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, the former chairman of the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem, and the author of two books about Israel. Follow his newsletter, “Ask Questions Later,” at danperry.substack.com.