Bibi's figure of $70,000 GNP per capita is a bit optimistic for now, but Israel is solidly in the upper tier of wealthy nations, ranked as an advanced, high-income economy, and the trend is clearly upward.
The currency, the shekel, is worth 25% more today than a year ago. Buying Chinese goodies on AliExpress and Temu is very convenient. European vacations are accessible to everybody.
In my sleepless nights, I compare today to the country when I decided to stay in Israel. General Moshe Dayan, the one with the eye patch, was envious of Switzerland with its million-strong militia. People still spoke of the fear of the last existential war with Egypt. TAHAL, the company I was working for, operated exclusive grocery stores, where unavailable products (like eggs) were sold for the ration books we were given. I was amazed by middle-class people investing in land, surprised by their faith in Israel's stability and future. Foreign papers unanimously said Israel could not last.
No comments:
Post a Comment