After 69 years of independence, Israel more prosperous and divided than ever
The 1967 Six-Day War with the occupation of the West Bank marks a watershed in Israel’s history; Israel has since turned into a prosperous, developed country, albeit with a divided society with elements that lean to extremes.
On May 2, Israel will celebrate the 69th anniversary of its independence that was achieved against all odds in 1948. Next month, on June 5, the Jewish state will mark another historic event. It also will be the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War. In that war, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fought against the armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan (as well as troops from other Arab states), conquered the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights and the West Bank in a whirlwind attack and liberated East Jerusalem, including the Western Wall. It was the culmination of 2,000 years of longing to return to that site.
It is doubtful whether there was a more decisive event in the history of Israel and the Middle East. In less than a week, Israel was transformed from a tiny state, hanging by a thread, surrounded by enemies armed to the teeth and under threat of immediate annihilation, into a confident regional giant.
If Israel's founders had been told about the situation in Israel 70 years after declaring independence in the most vicious neighborhood in the world, they would have been hard-pressed to believe it. On the eve of the Six-Day War, Israel was home to fewer than 3 million citizens. It had a tiny economy, just faltering along, and its borders were indefensible. Meanwhile, terrorist groups and regular armies alike all grew stronger and swore to wipe the state off the map. Israel's independence, they threatened, would be short-lived.
Today, Israel is home to almost 9 million citizens. Life expectancy is among the highest in the world. According to foreign publications, Israel is one of the strongest nuclear powers in the world. In the 1967 war, the country quadrupled its territory (though in 1982, Sinai was returned to Egypt). It expanded its narrow "midsection" and restored Jewish sovereignty over Judea and Samaria in the West Bank, where this authority emerged millennia ago.
