Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: It all looks different from Israel

Geoffrey Alderman
July 11, 2008
http://thejc.com/articles/20087113216/it-all-looks-different-israel
‘So, what do you make of all this political corruption? Why do
politicians behave this way? They’re all in it for themselves — for
what they can get out of the system, eh?”
These were the opening remarks of a fascinating conversation I had
just a few days ago with an informed and talkative taxi-driver. But
the journey I had booked was not in the UK. It was in Israel.
There I was, in liberated Judea, journeying from Efrat to Jerusalem.
The driver somehow knew I was English (was it, I wonder, my bad Hebrew
spoken with a Hackney accent?). And as we negotiated the Efrat-
Jerusalem road he began to wax lyrical on the subject of corrupt
politicians.
For a few minutes I thought he must  have been referring to the local
political scene, and that I was about to be lectured to on the
iniquities of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has recently managed to
save his government — for the moment — as he faces the possibility of
indictment for corruption.
But it was not Mr Olmert to whom my remarkably well-read cab driver
(who turned out to be a university graduate) was referring. It was Dr
Gordon Brown.
“Your Dr” — he stressed the word ‘Dr’ with an impressive, facetious
grin — “Brown. Look at him! Look how he bought off those who opposed
the 42-day-detention proposal. Look at the mess your political system
has got itself into over party donations. How do you cope with it all?
Westminster?  The mother of parliaments!”
Well, what could I say? Could I defend the UK by replying that however
bad things were at Westminster they were not half as bad as the goings-
on in the Knesset?  And if I did, would this be true?
The world, you see, looks very different from an Israeli perspective.
Marion and I have come to Israel for a family simchah. But we have
taken the opportunity to travel extensively over the centre of the
country, including Judea and Samaria. It has been a full 10 years
since my last visit. I am astonished at what I have seen.  Astonished
and humbled.
Israel features in the British media only at times of political crisis
and terrorist outrage. The picture thus painted is — inevitably — one
of predicament and emergency. But from the moment you step off your
aircraft into the ultra-modern Ben-Gurion airport, you realise just
how unreal this picture really is.
The first things that struck me about 21st century Israel were the
number of new, dent-free cars on the roads, and the volume of new
construction that had taken place since I was here last. This is
especially true of Judea and Samaria. The settlements that I had
visited a decade ago were still unkempt building sites, with the
distinct air of frontier, wild-west towns. Now they wear the mantle of
civilised and ordered permanency (a sure sign of which are the number
of pampered pets one encounters on the sidewalks).
Israel on the 60th birthday of its re-establishment has moved on from
the kibbutz-dominated society that I knew and experienced 40 years
ago. It is high-tech. In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv I have met
construction engineers and research chemists who live on kibbutzim but
work in the big cities. In Netanya I have schmoozed with media tycoons
and computer geeks who jet-set, but still regard Israel as their home.
There can be no doubt that many Israelis regard the passing of the old
order with nostalgia and regret. Modernity has brought with it all the
evils that we experience here in the UK: street crime; pollution; a
sensation-addicted tabloid press.
About politicians there is widespread cynicism — as deep and as
unforgiving as that measured and confirmed by opinion surveys here in
the UK.
But what I have not found is any morbid obsession with the security
situation. In much the same way as we British got on with our lives
during the IRA emergency of the 1970s and 1980s, so Israelis have
learned to live with terrorism and the challenges and inconveniences
that it brings.  As distressing and as shocking as terrorist attacks
are here in Israel, I have been asked searching questions about how we
in Britain cope with home-grown campaigns of violence and
intimidation.
What I am describing is not and must not be confused with complacency.
Rather, it is maturity. Israelis see themselves as living in a mature,
self-reliant society.

 There I was, in liberated Judea,
un altro ultrà che sostiene le colonie...puoi andare...