Tenuous Tears at Israel’s Birthday Bust

Israel just celebrated its jubilee anniversary — 75 years of modern statehood. Yet, not unlike the way near octogenarians are shamefully neglected, few paid much attention to Israel’s special birthday — including many Jews. 

The party atmosphere was manifestly absent. Perhaps no one wanted to risk being photobombed while Zionists blew out candles. Indeed, with such sparse well-wishers, even “Happy Birthday” went unsung. A conflicted diamond anniversary was very much a dud.

It shouldn’t be a surprise, however. These days, people are far too occupied taking selfies and celebrating their own narcissism to notice anything momentous happening elsewhere — especially in the Middle East. And given the general antipathy toward the Jewish state, which has become a proxy for vintage antisemitism, Israel’s 75th birthday was bound to pass without much fanfare. 

It’s far more fashionable bashing Israel than attending its birthday bash. 

Israel’s fellow member states within the United Nations already gave the world a preview of how inconsequentially its birthday would be received. Back in December, the General Assembly passed a resolution designating Israel’s birthday not as a celebration, but as an official “catastrophe”—the “Nakba,” as Palestinians refer to the creation of the Jewish state. Israel’s best friends in the region — Egypt and Jordan — were among the sponsors of the resolution. And get this: Each of the signatories to the Abraham Accords voted in favor of it.

When neighboring states go out of their way to proclaim that your country’s upcoming birthday is a catastrophe, it portends a certain joylessness to the occasion. Of course, they’re loathe to mention that this “catastrophe” of a country is where Arabs have the most rights, freedoms and opportunities in the Middle East. But that’s for another day.

In any event, ignoring the day altogether was equally appalling, especially for world Jewry. After all, there’s only one nation that will bestow citizenship on all Jews without exception. Just one safe haven for descendants of the original 12 tribes of Israel, or for those who convert to Judaism and suddenly find themselves unwelcome elsewhere. 

After two millennia of wayward wanderings, the Diaspora has now enjoyed 75 years in which Jews can safely return to their ancestral homeland.

Far too many Jews can’t locate Israel on a map at a quick glance. Wild rejoicing at its jubilee anniversary was perhaps too much to expect.

That’s not something to take lightly. It called for more than a modest celebration. Yet, far too many Jews can’t locate Israel on a map at a quick glance. Wild rejoicing at its jubilee anniversary was perhaps too much to expect. 

Things were certainly different back in May 1978, when Israel celebrated its 30th anniversary. In what would be inconceivable given today’s cultural climate poisoned by woke dogma and colonialist accusation, the ABC Television Network broadcast a live show from Los Angeles with the city’s Philharmonic: “The Stars Salute Israel at 30!” featuring performances by Sammy Davis, Jr., Ben Vereen, Cicely Tyson, Flip Wilson (note the African-American presence), along with many others, including Jewish stars such as Paul Newman, Michael Landon, Barry Manilow, and closing with Barbra Streisand singing, “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem. 

What a difference 45 years makes, apparently. In what alternate universe could such a gala be produced today, given the unrebutted slanders against Israel—as apartheid state, ethnic-cleanser, lily-white land-grabber. But perchance to dream, imagine what a lineup could have been assembled for Israel’s 75th birthday: John Legend and Selena Gomez (both have staked out ill-informed, anti-Israel positions); Taylor Swift, whose favorite cowriters and producers are Jews; Billy Joel, whose father was a Holocaust survivor; Paul McCartney, a philosemite if there ever was one; Scarlett Johansson, who bravely stood up to BDS bullies when they demanded she step down as SodaStream’s, an Israeli company’s, pitch woman; Mila Kunis, a Russian Jew; John Turturro, who has arguably played more Jews than Italians on screen and appears in a Hanukkah children’s book; and, of course, Adam Sandler, who, among other things, once comically portrayed a counterterrorist, Zohan, and is among the very few celebrities brave enough to state publicly that Israel has a right to defend itself.

Such a showstopping celebration is nothing but a desert mirage, however. No TV network or streaming service would dare greenlight such a red flag nowadays, out of fear of being called racist Islamophobes. 

What a shame. Imagine hearing Idina Menzel belt out “Hatikvah.” And a lost opportunity in righting a historical and cultural wrong. 

After all, Israel’s first 75 years have been nothing short of a global miracle. All those Nobel Prizes in science, a startup culture that brought Google, Apple, Microsoft, Cisco, and Intel to the Silicon Valley of the Jordan Valley, resulting in such high-tech innovations as USB flash drives, network firewalls, Waze GPS, Apple’s FaceID, Microsoft’s XP and NT, Intel’s 8080 processor, along with blooming deserts, desalinated ocean water, and, let’s not forget, Wonder Woman. 

And all this from a tiny country of 7 million that hasn’t known a single day of peace since it declared its democratic statehood following a United Nations vote. All those wars and unrelenting threats of terrorism forced Israel to become a regional superpower. But what else would it have become had it been free to direct so much of its attention and resources to more life-enhancing ends?

When compared to other western democratic states, Israel is an infant. But what a precocious child it is. 

When compared to other western democratic states, Israel is an infant. But what a precocious child it is. Remember that Greece and Italy were the birthplaces of once dominant civilizations. Today they are global also rans.

Israel is the successor nation to the Kingdom of Judea, which preceded the ancient Greeks. Israel is actually Jewish Nation 2.0. Long before Bibi there was King David, he with slingshot, harp, and adulterous harpies. Walk around Israel and note the biblical stone and Roman ruins. Despite all those gleaming skyscrapers that now stretch along the beachfront of Tel Aviv — and the brains and brawn of modern statehood — Israel has always had a head start in advancing human civilization.

For this reason alone, the world, and its Jews, should have taken better note of Israel’s birthday. It wasn’t necessary to leave gifts, or stand in awe, but acknowledging the occasion would have been a gesture of common decency and respect. 

The age of 75, in human terms, is when arthritic knees wobble, eyesight fades, and hearing fails. For a young country, however, Israel’s overlooked anniversary announced a nation that was just getting started.

Thane Rosenbaum is a novelist, essayist, law professor and Distinguished University Professor at Touro University, where he directs the Forum on Life, Culture & Society. He is the legal analyst for CBS News Radio. His most recent book is titled “Saving Free Speech … From Itself.”