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Israel: Not such a celebratory birthday

It's not that often that a country celebrates its birth - in this case, Israel, 62 years ago - to be confronted with a piece in a leading daily newspaper throwing down the gauntlet to its PM.

Bravely, Ari Shavit, writing in Haaretz in "An open letter to Netanyahu: Act before it's too late", takes his pen to PM Netanyahu:

"Mr. Prime Minister, here are the basic facts: The grace period granted the Jewish state by Auschwitz and Treblinka is ending. The generation that knew the Holocaust has left the stage. The generation that remembers the Holocaust is disappearing. What shapes the world's perception of Israel today is not the crematoria, but the checkpoints. Not the trains, but the settlements. As a result, even when we are right, they do not listen to us. Even when we are persecuted, they pay us no heed. The wind is blowing against us."

And:

"In order withstand what is to come, Israel must once again become an inalienable part of the West. And the West is not prepared to accept Israel as an occupying state. Therefore, in order to save our home, is necessary to act at once to end the occupation. It is essential to effect an immediate and sharp change in diplomatic direction."

Postscript: Interestingly, The New York Times' Ethan Bronner reflects in "Mood Is Dark as Israel Marks 62nd Year as a Nation" how Israel is "celebrating" its birthday.

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