Like a ship adrift on the ocean

In an interview, former Speaker of the Knesset Avraham Burg discusses Israel today and tomorrow: "I have mixed feelings. Imagine I could talk with my forefathers of 500 years ago. I would tell them we have a sovereign Jewish state, that we speak Hebrew, that we have an army, universities, an economy and tourism, and that we are no longer in conflict with any other nation in the world. They would answer in astonishment: 'What happened? Did the Messiah come?' From the perspective of Jewish history we have never had things better. ... But because I know the reality, I can feel that something is awry. ... Israel is like a ship adrift on the ocean. Where are we headed? Towards peace? Towards war? Our state is in the grips of a dilemma. At present we are on an even keel, but do we have a future? ... Compared with two thousand years of exile, sixty years of independence cannot assure us of victory."

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