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Israeli "Exceptionalism" Is Nothing to Apologize For

[Jerusalem Post] Ariella Bernstein - Roger Cohen claimed in the New York Times that Israel lives in a perpetual state of exceptionalism. Yes, we are exceptional because the cards have been stacked against us for so long, yet we have survived and indeed thrived. We are exceptional because, despite all of the wars and terrorism that plague us, we have seen steady economic growth since our birth. We are exceptional because we open our doors wide to all Jews who seek to come here, even though we don't have enough jobs, enough land or enough water for those that live here already. And we are exceptional because we don't give up easily. We have averaged a war every decade since the creation of the state, with brutalizing intifadas in between that solely target civilians. For decades we have had to prove ourselves, over and over again, begging for the right to be recognized, to prove that we have a right to be here too. That we are still here is exceptional. Israel would like nothing more than to wake up one day and find itself an ordinary nation, at peace with the Palestinians and with the Arab world. That day won't come easily, or without sacrifice, but the fact that we continue to yearn for it is exceptional too. The writer is a former official of the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and the National Labor Relations Board.
2009-10-23 06:00:00
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