The Triumph Of Israel, By Etgar Keret s The Girl On The...

Israel is undoubtedly a country for the history books with its great conflicts, victories, atrocities, and deep necessity which makes it quite unique from any others and there are perhaps no better words to describe its history than with â€Å"tragedy† and â€Å"triumph.† After this semester, I feel that I have a pretty clear viewpoint on these ideas. The triumph of Israel is its very existence both in general and specifically as a place for Jewish people that saved thousands and harbored refugees in times of great peril and horror for Jews. On the other hand, its tragedy is clearly the intense, seemingly unending conflict which is deeply ingrained within the region and that its very existence necessitates with the Arabs, as well as more specific†¦show more content†¦An Israeli’† (145). Israel’s existence gives the Jewish people a place to be free of antisemitism and hiding and a place that is their own with great importance to their history and religion. After years and years of feeling out of place and unsafe in Europe until finally the horrors of the Holocaust occurred, Israel is indeed a great victory for Jews and stands as a beacon of hope and progress. The triumph of the Jewish state is easily seen when assessing the bigger picture, but a huge part of it is on a personal level as well. Yes, thousands of refugees were able to escape to Israel from surrounding Arab countries as well as Europe, but that’s not all there is to it. The smaller scale successes of Jews that eventually led to the industrious, forward-thinking, competitive, and progressive Israel that exists today are just as crucial to the story of Israel. One example would be the Strauss story told by Shavit in My Promised Land, which he describes as â€Å"not only a story of a successful family and how it made its money, but a story of Israel’s industrious capitalism† (339). The Strauss family consisted of Richard and Hilda who married in Germany in 1934 as Adolf Hitler rose to power and, recognizing the impending danger and with concern for their child, the two decided to head to Israel. Hilda’s story specifically was extremely representative of the triumph of Israel, in my mind. Her pain and distress over leaving