Israel celebrates 70th anniversary under cloud of ongoing conflict

On Wednesday night, mourning turned to celebration in Israel as Memorial Day for the country's fallen soldiers ended and the country's 70th anniversary celebrations got under way.

The main ceremony took place at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl, named after the founder of modern Zionism, Theodor Herzl, attended by prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, president Reuven Rivlin and other leading officials.

Mr Rivlin, in his Independence Day message, said Israel represented a ingathering of the exiles. “From Yemen and Morocco, the Netherlands and Greece, Algeria and Russia, Poland and Ethiopia we have gathered here. Through pogroms, expulsions and from the demonic inferno we have gotten back on our feet and created a national home,” he said.

He noted that this year the United States recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital. "I am certain additional countries will soon follow suit," he added.

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Mr Netanyahu spoke about Israel’s unique spirit. “Many countries in the world consider us a beacon of strength and progress. We will continue realising the hope in the land of our fathers-the state of Israel-which we love so much and of which we are so proud.”

Founded in 1948, three years after the second World War in which two thirds of European Jewry perished in the Holocaust, the new state in its early years had to absorb survivors from the Nazi death camps together with large numbers of Jewish refugees from Arab countries.

Problems

Despite having few natural resources and being surrounded by hostile neighbouring states, Israel developed over the years into a prosperous and thriving democracy, a hi-tech start-up nation and the pre-eminent regional military power.

In 1948 there were just 806,000 people in Israel, less than a tenth of the current population.

But the country is not without its problems. Far from emerging as a safe haven for persecuted Jews, Israel has failed to achieve peace with most of the Arab world, has no permanent borders and is now involved in a dangerous struggle with Iran on a number of fronts.

The occupation of the West Bank is in its 50th year and there is no end in sight to the struggle with the Palestinians over control of the Biblical land. Tension with Gaza continues and threatens to erupt into another war.

Social gaps are getting wider and poverty persists, particularly amongst the Arab minority and the ultra-Orthodox sector, which together make up a third of Israel’s population.

Corruption is also a problem. Former prime minister Ehud Olmert served a 16-month jail term for fraud and bribery and police have recommended that Mr Netanyahu also be charged with bribery.

Despite the problems, a poll commissioned to coincide with Independence Day found a majority of the population are proud to be Israelis and believe Israel is a good country to live in and are optimistic about the future, while at the same time expressing concern about a possible war.