Ayelet Shaked
Ayelet ShakedYonatan Sindel/Flash 90

In a special interview with Arutz Sheva on the occasion of Israel’s 69th Independence Day, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked on Monday spoke of the great achievements of the State of Israel and expressed great optimism about the future.

"Independence Day is first and foremost a great celebration, a day that symbolizes, throughout the modern period, the independence of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. I stop the hard work for a few minutes and think about how fortunate I and my friends and family are that we live at a time when the Jewish people are independent and sovereign in their country, and I think Independence Day symbolizes this more than anything," Shaked said.

"I am very optimistic, I think that the State of Israel is a huge success by any standard...In less than 70 years we have succeeded in becoming a technological security power, a very strong country economically and with a lot of social solidarity,” she continued.

"Sometimes, because of the discourse in the media and on social networks, and because they usually emphasize the bad and the polarization, the mutual responsibility and amazing social solidarity in the country are ignored. So if I'm looking at the Zionist project overall, I think it's a very big success."

Shaked opined that there is no contradiction between the independence of the State of Israel and the need to sometimes align with the United States and other world powers.

"We are independent, but we also live in the international community, and there are all sorts of conflicting interests around us. We have a very close relationship with the United States, and certainly with other powers here in the region, and sometimes we have to take into consideration the opinions of others. That doesn’t make us not independent," she said.

"Of course, it all has to be proportional, and first of all we have to see whether our interests are not harmed, and if we do it while thinking of and considering the U.S., which is truly a strategic ally, I think it's only reasonable if it is done in the right dosage."

Minister Shaked said she believes that the conflict with the Palestinian Authority is not solvable in the coming years, but does not endanger Israel either.

"If you look at the country to this day, then you see that relative to other periods, our situation today is the best it has ever been. Israel is the strongest country in the region without an existential danger from our borders."

"You have to look at it in perspective, too. I do not think that there is any solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the coming years and I say that honestly to people who ask me. In the coming years, we will continue to live by the sword. We simply have to always be the strongest in this crazy jungle we live in."

Shaked expressed optimism about the relationship between haredim, religious and secular in Israel.

"I am telling you that this year, more than in previous years, there is much more cooperation between the different sectors. Look how nicely the haredim today are integrating into the army and the workforce. The polarization between kibbutzniks and development towns in the south is also much better. I think that if you look at the situation today relative to the sixties and seventies, the melting pot is successful today," she opined.