Important year for Israel

THE letters columns in newspapers often feature extremely critical views about Israel, sometimes lacking a basic understanding of the extremely complex situation in the Middle East.

Even if we differ profoundly from each other on certain issues, we should never ignore factuality.

The year 2018 is a very significant year for Israel. It is the 70th anniversary of Israel’s independence and the year in which Jerusalem is acknowledged as the capital of Israel by the US.

Moreover, the US will move its embassy to Jerusalem on May 14, exactly 70 years after David Ben-Gurion declared Israel an independent state.

More countries are now considering moving their embassies or consulates to Jerusalem.

During these 70 years Israel has become a powerful player on the world stage. It is a nation which has blessed other nations with medical, technological and agricultural breakthroughs.

Its forebears were humiliated under Pharaoh in Egypt and persecuted in Europe, but the Jewish people were moulded in the desert and are now “far ahead in politics, economics, and military power”.

Instead of blaming Israel for everything under the sun, other countries would do well to focus on their own myriad problems and work on uplifting their own people. — Willie Paterson, via e-mail