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Surrounded by Hostile Neighbors, How Is Israel the 11th Happiest Nation in the World?

(Foreign Policy) Aaron David Miller - According to the latest World Happiness Report, published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Israel now ranks 11th out of some 158 countries evaluated. The top 10 are affluent, secure, and some haven't been involved in a war in 70 years. They aren't living in the middle of ongoing, violent conflicts or are the objects of international campaigns to isolate or boycott them. None have groups on their borders with thousands of high trajectory weapons pointed at their civilian population centers. The Bloomberg Innovation Index ranked Israel as the fifth most innovative country in the world, ahead of both the U.S. and the UK. According to an OECD study, Israel is the fourth most educated nation. Above all, perhaps, in explaining the happiness stuff, is the very strong sense of identity that still seems to shape the way Israelis look at themselves and the rest of the world. Amidst all the fractiousness and divisiveness, there's still among Israelis a real sense of purpose, community, and pride of accomplishment. The writer is a vice president and distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
2015-06-12 00:00:00
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