The citizens of every country naturally wish to take pride in their nation. The British celebrate the success of their sports teams or, as seems to be more often than not the case these days, they look back nostalgically on the 
An appropriate time to consider how we might restore our national pride and vision.
1966 World Cup win and their past achievements. Although the Americans may now be reluctant to boast of their economic might, they can still find satisfaction in the strength and stability of their democracy, while the French continue to proclaim the superiority of their culture and their culinary expertise.
When measured on the human achievement scale, Israelis should have more cause to celebrate than others. The establishment and survival of a liberal democracy in the midst of a hostile Muslim world surely represents a major achievement, and reason enough to bring out the barbecue and launch the fireworks.
Not so long ago, most Israelis seemed to walk around with heads held high and take pride in the achievements of mass Aliyah, the success of the Israel Defense Forces, and making the desert bloom. To a large extent, these feelings were shared by progressive circles in the Western world. Today, left-wing Israelis delight in proclaiming the "crimes" of the Israeli army in Gaza to a Gentile world eager to sip from their slander-filled cup. Nationalist Israelis bemoan the expulsion from Gush Katif and fear the government's plans to offer up further territorial offerings on the altar of a gossamer peace. I know from responses to my previous Arutz Sheva article that there are also quite a few Israelis who are embarrassed by their country topping the developed nations' child poverty league.
The eve of Independence Day is an appropriate time to consider how we might restore our national pride and vision.
Aiming for the Achievable
Ever since its foundation Israel has been on a war footing. The experience of the past 61 years leaves little ground for optimism about reaching an honorable accord with our bloodthirsty neighbors. We need to draw on the lessons of history and be realistic about what we can hope to achieve within the current military and diplomatic reality, and pray that the advice of reputable military experts prevails over the schemes of self-serving politicians. With options for significant progress in this sphere so constricted, I think it makes sense to concentrate our national energies in areas where there is a much greater scope for making genuine advances.
The title of this article comes from the 1918 victory speech of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. After describing the tremendous loss of life in the First World War, he spoke of how "there are millions more of maimed lives in the sense of undermined constitutions through atrocious social conditions. ...A vigorous community of strong, healthy men and women is more valuable, even from the commercial and industrial point of view, than a community which is below par in consequence of bad conditions. Treat it, if you like, not as a human proposition, but as a business proposition. It is good business to see that the men, the women and the children of this country are brought up and sustained under conditions that will give strength to their frames, more penetration and endurance to their intelligence, and more spirit and heart than ever to face the problems of life which will always be problems that will require fighting, right from the cradle to the tomb. ...This problem has got to be undertaken in a way never undertaken before, as a great national charge and duty...."
Despite the old-fashioned language and different historical context, I believe these words have a contemporary Israeli relevance. After decades of almost exclusive concentration on security and peace issues, we do not have the luxury to continue to neglect the home front. Encouraging business enterprise to boost job creation, granting everyone the opportunity to support their families in dignity, promoting the building of decent housing at affordable prices, ensuring that that Holocaust survivors and other elderly citizens don't have to end their lives in abject poverty, and improving the quality of health care, are just a few of these pressing socioeconomic challenges.
Moving Forward
The current crisis is an ideal time to initiate long-postponed projects of national importance; for instance, building the railroad between Beersheba and Eilat. This venture has been on the drawing board for years and has tremendous potential as a booster for the entire economy. Not only the people directly employed in building the line, but all those providing ancillary services will benefit, and some of the poorest Israeli communities in the Negev will receive a new lease on life.
But why do we have to wait for the government to come forward with the funds? Surely there are private investors who realize the revenue-earning possibilities of this line and would be willing to finance and run it?
Why do we have to wait for the government?
At the same time, if, as in the words of Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado "a victim must be found" for cutbacks, then maybe a good case could be made for abolishing the entire Bituach Leumi (National Insurance) bureaucracy. Since it evidently lacks the capabilities and the political backing to provide any meaningful relief to Israel's poor and elderly, the tax paid by both employers and employees to finance its activities is effectively a tax on employment. Abolishing these payments for employers would reduce the cost of taking on new workers and, from the employee's perspective, it would boost expendable income. Since so many of the Israeli poor are actually in employment, rather than the welfare benefit scroungers the media portray, they would be amongst the key beneficiaries of this increase in real income.
Where Lloyd George and his government failed in living up to the expectations they generated, we must ensure that Israel succeeds in building a prosperous, yet caring and fair society, fit for heroes.