Israel prepares to celebrate the 60th year of its existence
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - Hundreds and hundreds of blue and white flags with the star of David are waving along the streets of Jerusalem and in the windows of cars. The hotels in the city centre are preparing to receive illustrious guests, like American president Bush, and former leaders Tony Blair and Mikhail Gorbachev. Heads of state and government officials from every continent are expected, including Nambaryn Enkhbayar, president of Mongolia, Victor Yushchenko (Ukraine), Lech Kaczynski (Poland), and former American secretary of state Henry Kissinger. President Shimon Peres, winner of the Nobel peace prize, has invited other Nobel recipients.
This year, the state of Israel celebrates the 60th year of its independence, declared on May 14, 1948, following the end of the British mandate and the partition of Palestine. The original project approved by the United Nations provided for the existence of two states, one Jewish and one Arab. This was rejected by the Arab League, and there was the first Arab-Israeli war, which concluded without an agreement on the borders of the new state of Israel. Since then, the situation has been "the conflict of the Middle East".
Events and celebrations are planned for every city in Israel, above all between May 13 and 15. There will be conferences, concerts, exhibitions of the armed forces, art competitions for children, memorials for the victims of the Holocaust, ecological activities, and exhibits. The entire programme will last for a whole year. The theme chosen for this anniversary is "the strengthening of Israel's children".
The anniversary of the foundation of the state is also an occasion for the local media to reflect upon the significance of its existence and on the prospects for peace with neighbouring peoples. Not all Jews, in fact, have the same view of the connection between the state of Israel as a nation and the Jewish faith as such.
The celebrations nonetheless appear to be overshadowed by the investigation underway into possible acts of corruption committed by prime minister Olmert.
A very different kind of shadow is being thrown over the celebrations by the call from security forces to vigilance, because the danger of terrorist attacks is not excluded in these days. The state of Israel is, in fact, the only one in the world that is the object of explicit appeals for its physical elimination, which have continued uninterrupted since the moment of its creation until today.
Some Palestinian websites have accused Israel of concealing behind the festivities the reality of continual violations of the human rights of the inhabitants of the "occupied territories" in Cisjordan and the Gaza Strip.
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