Israel has repeatedly demonstrated its talent when it comes to innovation and development. But then, something always seems to wrong. It’s a theme running through Jewish history. Why is that? Because the people of Israel have a revolutionary gene in their national DNA. And that has advantages and disadvantages.

“We have no other country,” is a common phrase in Hebrew. What Israelis mean by it its that we have to take care of our country, because there is no other place in the world where we are truly safe and can truly prosper. In practical terms, everyone approaches this different depending on their political and social outlook. The country is in danger, both the Right and the Left warn. But of course, each side is blaming one another for the situation. The Right complains about the liberalism of the Left, which threatens the nation’s Jewish identity, while the Left accuses the Right of pushing Israel into an abyss with its fundamentalist religious ideology.

Somehow, there seems to be a self-destructive urge every time the people of Israel flourish...