2 Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
medicine , technology , agriculture , and culture — contributions that are even more remarkable given the country ’ s relative youth and its heavy defense burden , but that , regrettably , are often neglected in the preoccupation with reporting on conflict and violence .
No country ’ s historical record is perfect , and Israel , like other democratic nations , has made its share of mistakes . But acknowledging fallibility should be seen as a national strength , not a weakness . And Israel ’ s record can be compared favorably against that of any other country in the region , indeed well beyond the region , when it comes to dedication to democratic values .
Israel has a proud record and the country ’ s friends shouldn ’ t hesitate to shout it from the rooftops . And it began long before the establishment of the modern state in 1948 .
The Jewish people ’ s link to the land of Israel is incontrovertible and unbroken .
It spans nearly four thousand years .
Exhibit A for this connection is the Hebrew Bible . The Book of Genesis , the first of the five books of the Bible , recounts the story of Abraham , the covenantal relationship with the one God , and the move from Ur ( in present-day Iraq ) to Canaan , the region corresponding roughly to Israel . The Book of Numbers , the fourth book of the Bible , includes the following words : “ The Lord spoke to Moses , saying send men to scout the land of Canaan , which I am giving to the Israelite people .” This came during a forty-year-long journey of the Israelites in search not simply of a refuge , but of the Promised Land — the land we know today as Israel . And in the fifth book of the Bible , Deuteronomy , it is written : “ Until the Lord have given rest unto your brethren , as to you , and until they possess the land which the Lord your God hath given them beyond Jordan : And then shall ye return every man unto his possession , which I have given you .”
And these are but three of many references to this land and its