We have a wonderful country: It is true it suffers from quite a few “breakdowns” - as Israel’s sixth prime minister Menachem Begin once said - and still there is no other country our size that has birthed 12 Nobel Prize winners.
We have a wonderful country: Yes, we erupt in frustration when a government is formed with 36 ministers, numerous deputy ministers and two prime minister's offices - right in the midst of an economical crisis, when there are over one million newly unemployed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
And still, just before the coronavirus hit us, Israel had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world, the national debt had been reduced by nearly 60%, the average salary stood at around NIS 10,650 a month, the minimum wage stood at NIS 5,300, and the country's credit rating was among the best.
We have a wonderful country. Yes we may be divided, sometimes even within our own families. Some supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with cheers of “nobody but Bibi” while some vehemently oppose him with calls of “anyone but Bibi.”
The U.S. is the strongest nation in the world according to the annual ranking by the U.S. News and World Report, but tiny Israel is among the top ten, coming in eighth just after Russia and China.
We have a wonderful country. It is true the country suffers from missile attacks and other security dangers, but our brightest minds have developed a myriad of inventions to protect us.
From personal weapons such as the Uzi and Galil all the way to the Merkava tank, Lavi Jet and Arrow missile defense system, we are trailblazers. And let us not forget the Iron Dome, which has saved so many lives.
With all of the above, coupled with the might of the IDF, we are truly a Start-Up Nation, are we not?
We have a wonderful country. It is true that living costs are still way too high, causing many Israelis to relocate elsewhere, but the moment the epidemic broke out they quickly made their way back home. Because it is only here that they feel at home.
We have a wonderful country. It is here they invented the solar-powered water heater and the drip Irrigation system, the cherry tomato and the portable disk drive.
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IDF troops distributing food for Passover during the coronavirus crisis
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
It here that Waze was invented and then sold to Google for millions of dollars; it is here that the Mobileye driver-assistance system was created, and it here that Copaxone was made to treat multiple sclerosis.
And let us not forget other Israeli creations that send expats flocking to kosher stores: banana yellow soup croutons, pearl couscous, tzfat cheese, Bamba and Bisli.
We have a wonderful country. It is okay to moan, complain, get angry - especially those whose livelihoods were damaged due to the crisis, those who were promised grants and loans from the banks and have yet still received nothing.
This is most Israeli of weeks, beginning with Holocaust Remembrance Day, continuing with Memorial Day and culminating in Israel's 72nd Independence Day.
And this most Israeli of weeks is this year part of a month in which we celebrated Passover only with our nuclear families (save for a few who believe themselves above the common folk, and it okay to get angry about that as well).
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Israeli teens performing a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony outside an Ashdod care home where survivors live
(Photo: Avi Rokach)
A various points during this month we were angry at unexplained decisions that we believed to be arbitrary - and yet, it is in those very same days that we witnessed Israel in its true beauty.
We witnessed medical teams holding the line against the coronavirus epidemic, often leaving families alone at weekends and holidays, sometimes so they could be there as one of their patients drew a final breath.
We saw tens of thousands of teens volunteering to talk to the elderly and Holocaust survivors in self-isolation, to deliver them food and medicine straight from the heart.
Israelis sing Passover songs together
We saw singers singing beneath the windows of their parents’ homes or outside care facilities. We witnessed Israelis standing on their balconies during the Seder so they could sing Passover songs together.
Even the Sea of Galilee is on the rise.
These are the days to forget all the disputes and remember the good. Let us bow our heads in honor of the fallen and light a candle in their memory. Let us adorn our balconies with the Israeli flag and celebrate our eretz nehederet, our wonderful country.