By Reuven Koret September 22, 2006
I have some good news and some bad news.
The bad news:
Israel has never in its history had a more disrespected, unpopular, and untrustworthy leadership. Our president is accused of multiple sex crimes. Our prime minister is guilty of incompetence and corruption. Our justice minister is suspended and suspected of french kissing. Our Defense Minister is a national joke.
The war was a fiasco. IDF forces were needlessly jerked around and sacrificed for little or no gain. Our economy has been rocked. Our deterrent profile has been weakened. Our kidnapped soldiers are still in captivity. Jonathan Pollard has been left to rot by successive governments.
Hostile Arabs are climbing fast as a portion of our population. Arab Knesset Members are consorting with the enemy and calling for attacks on the nation that pays their salaries.
The Palestinians have elected a government led by Hamas, which will not recognize Israel and leads the drive to destroy Israel. The "moderate" Abbas is not far behind, faithfully following the PLO "plan of stages" by gently dismembering Israel, piece by piece.
The world has never been less understanding and more hostile to the Jewish State. Jew-hatred is on the rise worldwide. The US welcomes and the UN applauds a Holocaust denier who makes no secret of his nation's desire to wipe Israel off the map. Iran is approaching the capability to fulfill that desire.
Ready for the good news?
Those of us who warned about the danger and stupidity of "disengagement" have been vindicated. The public overwhelmingly believes it was a mistake. The Sharon-Olmert plan for massive retreat is off the agenda, at least for the immediate future. The politicians and commanders who advocated it have been discredited and some may be forced to resign.
There is greater awareness in the nation about the demographic danger posed by disloyal and subversive Arab citizens. There is greater clarity about the genocidal plans of the Palestinians, and the Arab States. There is a growing realization that the Iranian nuclear program must be stopped by all means necessary.
The good news is that we are a more disillusioned nation, and that is a good thing. We have been living with lies, and the liars have been getting away with their falsehoods for too long. The failures of the past year have drawn into sharp relief the successes of our nation, the courage of our soldiers, the fortitude of our citizens.
We have compassionate, selfless philanthropists. We have brilliant entrepreneurs and inventors. We have built world-leading innovations, and world-respected businesses. We have Nobel-winning scientists and philosophers.
We have had waves of new immigrants arriving, as I did more than 22 years ago this month. They come with optimism, and hope, and courage to build a new life in the world's only Jewish homeland. They come with idealism and strength and the will to make Israel into the country it was meant to be, even if it has been twisted and perverted from its destined path.
I have been blessed with the privilege to serve my readers, and to provide a platform for gifted and passionate writers to share their views on our country and its place in the world. I have been given the opportunity to serve my nation and my people, and perhaps to influence in a small way our difficult reality. Personally, I have had an extraordinary and life-changing year.
This year, more than ever, I have the feeling that "the truth is coming out." We are all witnesses to an unfolding revelation, not always pretty, or easy, but awesome in its scope and totality. As the Chinese cures goes, we live in interesting times. But I wouldn't live in any other, nor in any other country.
