MembersIsrael Had To, and Must Continue To Develop Independently

The verse of a popular Israeli song goes something like this: “Someone gets up one morning and senses for the first time: I am part of a people, a nation! And he runs off, wishing loudly Peace! to everyone that he meets.”

From all four points of the compass, they returned to their home, from all kinds of different Jewish communities. Each man or woman brought with them their language, their tradition, their customs and their culture. Without exaggerating we can compare this enormous ingathering to the 12 Tribes after the Exodus from Egypt. When they entered into the Holy Land each tribe was like a nation unto itself.

The Land was surrounded by enemies and needed to be cultivated. There were no significant natural resources, and yet a flourishing economy developed. Seventy-three years after the founding of the State we can only marvel at what Israeli society has achieved. Innovation, inventive genius and a spirit of adventure turned the State of Israel into a strong, even a leading, power in the world....