Or if I break up the question to a few more questions, they are more like these:
- Who are Israelis today? Does Jews mean Israelis? What about Arabs who are Israeli citizens?
- How does the ancient history of Israel shape the identity of the modern state Israel?
- What does 'nationhood' mean to Israelis in this liberal democratic political system of statehood?
First of all, there was this great flood, the worst in decades in the country in mid January, which also brought some snow in Jerusalem. People seem to be happy that we have more rain this year than other years in the past as water is one most precious resource here in the desert land. See the snow covered Old City, Jerusalem in the photo below from Haaretz.com
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| Source: Haaretz.com |
The second big news here was the national election which brought Netanyahu back in the driver seat of the bus, though it is way too complex for a foreigner to understand how the composition of coalition is taking place. Read this article about Netanyahu's labour of building his coalition if you are one of those people who have natural eyes to understand power structures.
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| Source: Haaretz.com |
The third news was Israel's attack in Syria just a few days after I came back to Haifa. It didn't rise to be a bigger concern like the earlier war in the south with Gaza last November, which happened just a few days after I arrived here (read the story on this blog about that war). The issues between Israel and Arab states in this part of the world continue to fascinate me as we entered into this new millennium and the new century just 13 years ago and now a year short of 100 year anniversary of the outbreak of WWI: the war between empires, which as a result shaped the geo-political map of what it is the Middle East today.
From the end of empires and imperialism into formation of modern state, nation-building. Israel continues to offer many things to ponder.
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