times more people, respectively, and Egypt, an active enemy until 1979, is
more than ten times larger. ¹

Although it is one of the smaller political entities in both the region and
the world, Israel has become a focus of unusual attention, especially since
independence in 1948. Israel's conflict with surrounding Arab states, its
central role in major Middle Eastern crises, and its social, economic,
and political development constantly arouse interest around the globe--
particularly in the United States and Europe. Some studies place Israel
among the ten countries with the largest foreign press corps during 1992;
270 news organizations keep a permanent representation there. When a su-
perstory breaks in times of war or other major crises, Israel becomes, after
the United States, the country most covered by the foreign press. There are
several reasons for this phenomenon.

First, Israel is the birthplace of the two Western monotheistic religions,
Judaism and Christianity, and it is also sacred to Islam. Events that affect
the "land of the Bible" and its holy sites are of major interest to believers
of these three faiths. Tom Friedman, the noted U.S. journalist, defined
events in Israel during 1987 as "the translation of the Bible to news items." ²
Events that involve the resurrection of the Jewish people in their native
home are theologically problematic for Catholics; they are significant, how-
ever, for fundamentalist Protestants who see their religious visions ap-
proaching fulfillment in Israel's revival.
Second, Israel has acquired prominence in Western consciousness because
it shares similar values with the West. Israel is one of the most democratic
countries in the Middle Eastern region. Much of Israel's political and eco-
nomic leadership is either Western-born or Western-oriented. Indeed, many
enemies as well as friends tend to perceive Israel as an extension of Western
civilization or even as a colonial outpost of late European imperialist ex-
pansion to the Third World. In addition, the trauma or perhaps some pro-
found guilt over the actions and inactions taken during the Holocaust
draws sympathy and support from Europeans. In 1992 fifty-one German
news organizations had representatives in Israel, second only to the fifty-six
U.S. representatives. ³ The transformation of yesterday's victims into a vi-
brant force has been noted with great interest and even with respect, if not
admiration. Until 1967 Israel was generally perceived as the weak David
facing the mighty Goliath but able to overcome him. After Israel's victory
in the 1967 war, the power and moral equations seem to have been re-
versed; in the eyes of the world, Israel's sheer power replaced its moral
strength.

Intellectually, Israel constitutes an exciting social and political experi-
ment. Its propelling national ideology, Zionism, is no doubt the most im-
portant underlying force that has profoundly revolutionized Israelis' private
and collective lives. There is no historical parallel for an ethno-religious

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