Israel at 62  Israel at 62  Yoram Peri  Israelis are
increasingly unhappy with a political system that seems to
deliver nothing but strife and division.  Read Time: 15m 34sec
Independence Day in Israel is always marked by a news media
outpouring of reviews of the year. It is a reliably upbeat
affair replete with heartening economic statistics and the good
deeds of upstanding citizens. The 62nd anniversary of Israel’s
founding this past April was in many ways no different.
Certainly there was much to celebrate. Compared with previous
years, this one was relatively quiet. Only two Israeli civilians
(and one foreign worker) were killed by terrorists, and, thanks
to Israel’s incursion—amid international condemnation—into the
Gaza Strip little more than a year earlier, residents in nearby
communities were no longer forced to sleep in shelters to avoid
the steady rain of rockets once launched by Hamas militants. The
northern Galilee was teeming with tourists, the cafés and
cinemas were packed with customers, and m