HALIFAX — “Nothing short of a miracle” was the theme repeated again and again in Halifax May 8 by speakers at Israel@60, a celebration of Israel’s 60th birthday.
Yet Alon Pinkas, former Israeli consul general to New York and a longtime adviser to Israeli presidents, premiers and military leaders, as well as a Jerusalem Post columnist and investment adviser, told 300 members of the Halifax Jewish community, that Israel’s success “has nothing to do with miracles.
“It was hard work, blood, tears and dedication that turned a country that was proclaimed an independent state in 1948, with 600,000 Jews and $1.6 million British pounds, living among 130 million Arabs, into what it is today.”
He joked. “You’d be thrown out of Las Vegas if you asked for odds and wanted to bet on Israel’s success against that 60 years ago.”
Referring to negative media coverage of Israel, he asked “Why is it an issue that Israel can continue to exist, that Israel can survive another 60 years?”
He said Israel is a normal place. “The people are not what the world perceives as Arab-killing, khaki-wearing pioneers. Israel is different people from different places working to foster the country’s reputation as a leader in economics, science, technology. It’s the only country where the people are threatened and imperilled, but continue to fight back – because it is a country, with a flag, independence and something to live for.”
Held at Pier 21, the Halifax gateway for immigrants from 1921 to 1973, the large reception and dining room was festively decorated, and tributes to Israel’s success were depicted on a large screen.
After speakers from the Jewish National Fund and United Israel Appeal Federations Canada praised Israel’s triumphs, Marcia Cantor, executive director of State of Israel Bonds for Ottawa and Atlantic Canada, implored the audience to try to destroy the negative image portrayed of Israel by the mainstream media.
“The average reader, listener and viewer doesn’t know right from wrong, truth from falsehood,” she said. “We have to let people know Israel is a stable, secure, purified, sophisticated nation, with a free press, healthy economy and strong values.”
Yet Pinkas cautioned that the increase in the Palestinian birthrate compared to that of Israelis should be cause for concern.
“Israel is faced with its greatest dilemma since [founding prime minister David] Ben-Gurion decided whether to develop the state. If Palestinians are granted the vote, by 2020, Israelis will be outnumbered,” he said.