Israel’s angsty 75th anniversary

EVERYyear , around this time, Israel makes an abrupt transition from sorrow to joy. First the country comes to a halt for Memorial Day. Families visit army cemeteries; television channels show the names of fallen soldiers. Then, as day turns to dusk, mourning turns to joy in celebration of Israel’s independence.There should have been much to cheer at sundown on April 25th, as Israelis marked the 75th anniversary of the country’s founding in 1948. (The holiday follows the Hebrew calendar; the Gregorian anniversary is on May 14th.) A country founded amid war and privation less than a century ago is, today, richer than many Western countries and safer than it has ever been.