“I Am A Jew”         Written by Dan Sporn, an Israeli      Our condition, in Israel, has never been better than it is now! Only the television and the media make people think that the end of the world is near..   Only 65 years ago, Jews were brought to death like sheep to slaughter. NO country, NO army. Only 60 years ago, seven Arab countries declared war on little Israel, the Jewish State, just a few hours after it was established. We were 650,000 Jews against the rest of the Arab world. Without IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) or Air Force. http://dover.idf.il/IDF  [Hebrew] http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/  [English] We were only a small group of stubborn people with nowhere to go. Remember: Lebanon Syria Iraq Jordan  Egypt Libya Saudi Arabia; [Islamic nations] they all attacked at once.   The state that the United Nations "gave" us was 65% desert. We started it from Zero. Only 41 years ago, we fought three of the strongest countries in the Middle East, and we crushed them in the Six Day War. Over the years we fought different coalitions of 2 Arab countries  with modern armies and with huge amounts of Russian-Soviet Ammunition,  and we still won. Today we have a beautiful country, a powerful Army, a strong Air Force,  an adequate Navy and a thriving high tech industry. Intel, Microsoft, and IBM have all developed their businesses here. Our doctors have won important prizes in the medical development field. We turned the desert into a prosperous land. We sell oranges, flowers, and vegetables around the world. We launched our own satellite! Three satellites at once! We are in good company; together with the USA (280 million residents), Russia (220 million residents),  China (1.3 billion residents) and Europe (France, England and Germany) 35 million residents). Israel is one of the few countries in the world that have launched something into space! Israel today is among the few powerful countries that have nuclear technology & capabilities (we will never admit it, but everyone knows). To think that only 65 years ago we were disgraced and hopeless. We crawled out from the burning crematoriums of Europe. We won in all our wars. With a little bit of nothing we built an empire. Who are Khaled Mashal (leader of Hamas) or Hassan Nasrallah (leader of Hezbollah), trying to frighten us? They are amusing us. As we celebrate Independence Day, [May 14] let's not forget what this Holy Day is all about; we overcame everything. We overcame the Greeks, We overcame the Romans, We overcame the Spanish Inquisition, We overcame the Russians pogrom, We overcame Hitler, we overcame Germany and overcame the Holocaust, We overcame the armies of seven countries. Relax chevray (friends), we will overcome our current enemies. Never mind where you look in human history. Think about it: Israel, The Jewish Nation, our condition has never been better than now. So, let's lift our heads up and remember: Never mind which country or culture tries to harm us or erase us from the world. We will still exist and persevere. Egypt? Anyone know where the Egyptian empire disappeared to? The Greeks? Alexander Macedon? The Romans? Is anyone speaking Latin today? The Third Reich? Did anyone hear news from them lately? =0 D And look at us, the Bible nation – from slavery in Egypt, we are still here, still speaking the same language. Exactly here, exactly now. Maybe The Arabs don't know it yet, but Israel is an eternal nation. All the time that we will keep our identity, we will stay eternal. So, sorry that we are not worrying, complaining, crying, or afraid. Business here is beseder (fine). It can definitely be much better, but it is still fine. Don't pay attention to the nonsense in the media;  they will not tell you about our festivals here in Israel, or about the people that continue living, going out, meeting friends. Yes, sometimes morale is down, so what? This is only because we are mourning the dead while they are celebrating spilled blood. And this is the reason we will win after all. We are proud to say: I AM A JEW.