Israel [antikvár]

Introduction To the far east, beyond the Mediterranean, past the sunburnt beaches of Africa, on the other side of mythic Greece and the historic islands of Cyprus and Rhodes, lies Israel — a land both antique and modern at the same time. It is antique because it is here where the sunrise of civilization began and where the Patriarchs laid the foundations of Jewish monotheism. It is here where King David built his realm, and Jesus carried out his mission. It is antique because it gave birth to civilizations and short-lived empires and then fell into complete oblivion. It is new because in this century, an entire nation has been restored, and there is a rebirth of hope and dignity for an entire people. It is new because with the hundreds of kibbutzim a new way of living has been founded. After centuries of abandonment, the land is covered again with fertile fields. Above all, it is a new land because the inhabitants are a newly immigrated cosmopolitan people from over seventy cotmtries; they have been attracted to Israel by the promise of its Biblical prophecy. The length of Israel is 248 miles. Its width varies from 8 to 68 miles, but the historical depth of this coimtry is 5,000 years. From its desert sands to the ocean gulfs to the silent crevices of its grottos and caves, reminders of the past are everywhere. They range fi-om Israelite fortresses and Roman amphitheaters to Byzantine churches, Nabatean cities, and castles from the Crusades. However, only the human surroundings are able to give us an adequate idea of this small universe, where nature seems to offer to each person a climate and atmosphere suited to his needs. Land of exile, Israel is also a land of contrasts, in which contradictory elements exist together — the past and the future, the West and the East, mystics and technocrats, believers and agnostics. Israel cultivates paradoxes; it is a recendy formed state but it already possesses an avant-garde technology. Its people are passionately launched towards the future but have not forgotten for a single moment their earhest history, for that is what links them to their spiritual roots and resources. This strip of land is a melting pot where one can