Pilihovsky Assesses Israel’s 78 Years in Jerusalem Post Column
In a column for Rosh Hashanah 5787, Zionist educator Uri Pilihovsky called Israel’s 78-year history an example of national survival, recovery, and development. In the article published by the Jerusalem Post, he argues that the state, established in 1948, withstood wars, absorbed large waves of Jewish immigrants, and developed technological industries.
Wars and immigration
Pilihovsky writes that after the declaration of statehood, Israel was attacked by the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. According to him, 6,000 Jews were killed in the first war — about 1% of the population at the time. The author also mentions the Six-Day War of 1967 and the 1973 war, emphasizing that Israel was able to repel its opponents’ attacks.
The columnist separately noted the arrival in the country of nearly one million Jews who, he said, fled or were expelled from Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Morocco. He also mentioned European Jews, aliyah from the USSR in the 1990s, as well as people from Ethiopia and India.
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Economy and diplomacy
In Pilihovsky’s view, despite the Arab League boycott, the BDS campaign, and criticism at international forums, Israel developed technological fields. Among them, he named cybersecurity, medical devices, drip irrigation, water desalination, and semiconductor production. At the same time, the author acknowledged the existence of poverty, inequality, and a high cost of living.
Pilihovsky also mentioned Israel’s alliance with the United States, defense and commercial agreements with various countries, and the Abraham Accords with several Arab countries. He noted that these agreements did not end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Among the challenges of the coming decades, the author named Iran’s nuclear program, demographic trends, the internal cohesion of society, and maintaining Western support.
