Israel is at a historic moment that beckons both joy and self-reflection. Having established a thriving state in difficult circumstances, Israel and its supporters throughout the world deserve hearty congratulations. After six decades and five wars, the country remains incredibly vital and brimming with promise, some fulfilled and others yet to be realized. This is an appropriate moment to take stock of how far we have come, and the road that lies ahead.
A broken ring of isolation
Israel’s political isolation has been largely broken, and Zionism can no longer be effectively demonized at the United Nations. Israel has formal peace treaties with two major Arab states, and one can already make out the outlines of a greater future accommodation in the Middle East.
On the negative side, Israel, which once found itself at the friction point between the Free World and the Communist bloc, now finds itself at the epicenter of an even more momentous struggle between an enlightened, liberal vision of human society and a radical Islam that knows not a God of mercy.
The Iranian nuclear program is today the most ominous expression of this threat, but Israel is not alone in confronting it. We have a strong ally in the United States, and there is growing awareness in Europe and in the Sunni world of the great peril of a nuclear tipped Iran. Awareness, however, is not synonymous with mobilization, and there is still much work ahead in forging strict international sanctions that can deter the creation of an Iranian nuclear weapon.
The Palestinian condition remains a great challenge for Israel’s leadership and people. We have walked every road for peace, but we can’t be satisfied with an A for effort. The Palestinian internal political stalemate between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority may not be our fault, but it remains our dilemma and requires of Israel to be proactive and non-conventional in seeking engagement.
Eventually a peace agreement will be reached between Israel and our neighbors the Palestinian people, and though it may tarry, it will come, insh’allah.
The Israeli cleantech frontier
Israel’s economy is suffering like that of every other nation, and yet the promise of its entrepreneurial spirit continues to shine bright even in these formidable times.
Israel is home to incredible cleantech innovation in the fields of water resource creation, solar and geothermal energy and other forms of alternative biofuels. In 2011, Israel will be the first country in the world with a working national electric car grid, serviced by 8,000 electric-charge parking spaces and 125 battery swapping stations.
We need to ensure that we remain chalutzim (pioneers), and that Israel remains on the cutting edge of cleantech R&D and business venture, and this will requires an ever greater engagement with Silicon Valley and with similar innovative regions in the U.S.
The Jewish state and the state of the Jews
In my view, the greatest challenge facing Israel entering its sixth decade is not geopolitical, but rather internal. Not the threat from Iran and an indifferent international environment, but the threat that is within our grasp to confront — the threat to our identity as a people.
Our problem at Israel in the Gardens is not the handful of Jewish protesters at the gate, but rather the thousands of young Bay Area Jews who know not how to ask, and who are not connected emotionally or intellectually to Israel and, generally speaking, not to the Jewish community as well.
We need to harness the innovation, energy and resource capacity indigenous to the Bay Area to generate new tools for Jewish renewal and for deepening the encounter between young American Jews and Israel. This requires a joint effort by Israel and from the Jewish leadership and institutions in this region:
For starters, we need to ensure that there is no such thing as a Birthright waiting list in our region. Studies show that a Birthright candidate turned away for lack of space is unlikely to reapply the next year. Our failure to procure adequate resources on this front is not acceptable, even in a period of scarcity,
This innovative community also should be thinking hard about producing the next big, Birthright-scale idea. What might these be? I can think of three:
• Birthright for adults — sponsored by synagogues for potential members
• Affordable Jewish education — based on a new funding model
• Jewish Peace Corps — A service organization for young Israelis and Jews to lead healing missions around the world
Or there may be another great innovative Bay Area idea for Jewish renewal still percolating in someone’s head.
The challenge of identity requires something fundamental of Israel as well. No matter how numerous our challenges, we can never be a state like all others. Israel’s first commitment must be to the defense and welfare of its citizens, but its second commitment should be to its role history.
In its sixth decade, Israel must continue to view itself as a beacon, and ought never give up on this goal even when the external environment shows no understanding for Israel’s dilemmas. We need to maintain this for own internal moral vigor, to be a guide and inspiration to young Jews everywhere, and to remain true to Israel’s promise.
Akiva Tor is consul general at the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco.