countless ways , and won a slew of Nobel Prizes in the process .
It has created one of the world ’ s most powerful militaries — always under civilian control , I might add — to ensure its survival in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood . It has shown the world how a tiny nation , no larger than New Jersey or Wales , can , by sheer ingenuity , will , courage , and commitment , defend itself against those who would destroy it through conventional armies or armies of suicide bombers . And it has done all this while striving to adhere to a strict code of military conduct that has few rivals in the democratic world , much less elsewhere — and confronted by an enemy prepared to send children to the front lines and seek cover in mosques , schools , and hospitals . Apropos , faced with the spread of terrorism , many countries are seeking to learn from Israel ’ s response strategies and national resilience models .
It has achieved a quality of life that ranks it among the world ’ s healthiest nations and with a particularly high life expectancy , indeed higher than that of the U . S ., not to mention a consistently high ranking in the annual “ happiness index ” for countries .
It has forged a thriving culture , whose musicians , writers , artists , and , most recently , television fare , are admired far beyond Israel ’ s borders . In doing so , it has lovingly taken an ancient language , Hebrew , the language of the prophets , and rendered it modern to accommodate the vocabulary of the contemporary world .
Notwithstanding a few extremist voices of intolerance that deserve unalloyed condemnation , it has built a climate of respect for other faith groups , including Baha ’ i , Christianity , and Islam , and their places of worship . Can any other nation in the area even begin to make the same claim ?
It has built an agricultural sector that has had much to teach developing nations about turning an arid soil into fields of fruits , vegetables , cotton , and flowers .
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