Israel turned 59 last night. I came to Israel in 1978, when the country was just 30 years old, and six months after the March 11, 1978 attack on an Israeli bus in the Tel-Aviv area by members of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) which resulted in the death of 37 Israelis and the injury of 76 more. This was known as the "Coastal Road Massacre." I was a volunteer at Kibbutz Ga'ash, located on that coastal road just a few minutes north of where the attack took place.



I would like to be able to say that in these past 30 years, peace put down roots and is flowering today, that Israel left the territories, that the Palestinians recognized Israel, renounced terror and had established their own independent state along side Israel. Quite the opposite, however, seems to be the case. Many are convinced that a major war is brewing that will make last summer seem like a skirmish. The Gazans "helped us celebrate" this morning. Iz al-Din al-Qassam sources said in a statement that Hamas militants launched 40 rockets and 70 mortar shells from the Gaza Strip into Israel, targeting civilian areas. They also attempted to abduct another Israeli soldier. Gilad Shalit was kidnapped on 25 June 2006 -- 304 days ago. The Palestinians have not allowed the Red Cross any access to Shalit and whe don't know if he is even alive. The Palestinians have demanded 1,400 prisonners be released, many of them convicted of murder, terrorism and violent crime. In what country can you kidnap someone and then, demand that criminals be released? When we completely withdrew from Gaza, we got a daily dispatch of rockets and a kidnapped boy. When we withdrew from Lebanon, we got more kidnapping, and a war.

Yaakov Agam's Menorah, Rainbow and Love Flag

This "morning" (I use the word loosely!), I woke up wondering what was going on in the U.S. when it was 59 years old. Of course, it is idiotic to compare the 3rd or 4th largest country in the world with Israel which would fit 435 times into the US (or almost 12 times in to Oregon - or for wicked_danu 3.8 times into the United Arab Emirates, ). Israel is, after all, less than 6 decades old and somewhere between Fiji and Belize in size. The US is just shy of 231 years old.

The land of my birth turned 59 in 1835. Texas wasn't yet part of the US. In fact, the Lone Star State hadn't been declared a country, the independent Republic of Texas, yet, and Sam Houston wouldn't retreat in front of Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (aka Santa Ana) or abandon the Alamo for almost another year. Andrew Jackson was President of the United States, and, in 1835, gained the distinction of becoming the first US President upon whose life an assassination attempt was made. Of course, Abraham Lincoln, nine presidents and 30 years later, was the first US President to actually be assassinated.

The United States had acquired Florida from Spain in 1819 in exchange for the American renunciation of any claims on Texas. Florida became the 27th state of the United States in 1845, the same year that the US annexed the Republic of Texas... (Texas became th 28th state on 29 December 1845). In 1835, the US was entangled in fighting in Florida against the Seminole Indians. The Seminole Nation was transferred to Oklahoma.

I've been watching the French presidential elections with interest. Two days ago, they had their primary election, which reduced the field from 12 candidates down to two, 52 year old Nicolas Sarkozy (of the center right-wing Union pour un mouvement populaire) and Ségolène Royal (of the left-wing Parti Socialiste). While I don't know so much about her, I've been viewing some of the ( Ségolène Royal's talks ) and find her reasonable and likeable. I'm not certain what her views on Israel and the Middle East are. I like, of course, the idea of a woman finally becoming the President of France. I also like that she is African born (she was born in Dakar, Sénégal in 1953, making her 54 years old. She has spoken out repeatedly against homophobia. Sarkozy is an opponent of Chirac, against Turkey's entry into the EU, in favor of both sweeping economic reforms and globalization and (in his favor) considered a significant threat to Islamic militants in France. Both candidates attended the prestigious Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. Royal graduated while Sarkozy did not (he failed his English exam). The second round of voting is scheduled to take place on 6 May 2007 and will elect one of the two candidates to a 5-year term as President of France. Whoever wins will be at least 20 years younger than the current President, Jacques Chirac.

Ségolène Royal

Tags: Ségolène Royal, florida, ga'ash, gilad shalit, hamas, israeli independence, nicolas sarkozy, plo, seminole nation, texas
Current Mood: strangely optimistic
Current Music: In my head: Norah Jones / Lonestar