The highest form of this discipline is the combined discipline of the people of a country, where a sense of patriotism impels people to give priority to national interest over personal well being. High level of literacy and a unifying culture are pre-requisites for a disciplined country. Such a state of affair promotes miracles in history of these countries. Living examples are the people of Israel, Japan and Germany. These are small countries, all spawning their modern history after the 2nd world war. They all started with not a zero, but a negative balance sheet. But what they possessed is the intangible wealth of human spirit and wealth of essential knowledge. No war or political upheaval or natural disaster can rob the intangible wealth. But they come to play more dynamically in such times of trial.

A living example is the Tiny State of Israel. A newly created State consisting of immigrants from 70 countries, partly desert conditions, with scanty rainfall and Surrounded by several hostile neighbours. Hereunder are a few facts about this dynamic people, who have made history for themselves

Israel is located in the Middle East, along the eastern coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, bordered by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. It lies at the junction of three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa. Long and narrow in shape, the country is about 290 miles (470 km.) in length and 85 miles (135 km.) in width at its widest point. Although small in size, Israel encompasses the varied topographical features of an entire continent, ranging from forested highlands and fertile green valleys to mountainous deserts and from the coastal plain to the semitropical Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. Approximately half of the country's land area is semi-arid.

Israel is a land and a people. The history of the Jewish people, and of its roots in the Land of Israel, spans some 35 centuries. In this land, its cultural, national and religious identity was formed; here, its physical presence has been maintained unbroken throughout the centuries, even after the majority was forced into exile, With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Jewish independence, lost 2,000 years earlier, was renewed.

Israel's climate is characterized by much sunshine, with a rainy season from November to April. Total annual precipitation ranges from 20-50 inches (50-125 cm.) in the north to less than an inch (2.5 cm.) in the far south. Regional climatic conditions vary considerably: hot, humid summers and mild, wet winters on the coastal plain; dry, warm summers and moderately cold winters, with rain and occasional light snow, in the hill regions; hot, dry summers and pleasant winters in the Jordan Valley; and semi-arid conditions, with warm to hot days and cool nights, in the south.

The scarcity of water in the region has generated intense efforts to maximize use of the available supply and to seek new resources. In the 1960s, Israel's freshwater sources were joined in an integrated grid whose main artery, the National Water Carrier, brings water from the north and center to the semi-arid south. Ongoing projects for utilizing new sources include cloud seeding, recycling of sewage water and the desalination of seawater

Israel is a country of immigrants. Since its inception in 1948, Israel's population has grown seven-fold. Its 6.2 million inhabitants comprise a mosaic of people with varied ethnic backgrounds, lifestyles, religions, cultures and traditions. Today Jews comprise 78.5% of the country's population, while the country's non-Jewish citizens, mostly Arabs, number about 21.5%.

School attendance is mandatory from age five and free through age 18. Almost all three- and four-year-olds attend some kind of preschool program. The population's median years of schooling are 12.1.

Israel's institutions of higher education include universities, offering a wide range of subjects in science and humanities, and serving as research institutions of worldwide repute, colleges offering academic courses and vocational schools. The country's high level of scientific research and development and the application of R&D compensate for the country's lack of natural resources.

The State of Israel, a member of the United Nations since 1949, maintains relations with the majority of states around the world. With memories of centuries of persecution and the devastating experience of the Holocaust and the decades-long Arab Israeli conflict, Israel's foreign policy has been geared to advance peace by resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict, while ensuring the country's security promoting cooperation with all nations.

Since its establishment (1948), Israel has expressed eagerness to share with the international community skills learned from its own development experience: overcoming harsh climatic conditions, inadequate water resources, desertification, disease and epidemics, and finding solutions to socio-economic problems. This desire led to the founding (1958) of MASHAV - THE Center for International Cooperation - within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In cooperation with other government ministries and professional and academic institutions throughout Israel, MASHAV offers training programs for participants from developing countries all over the world designed to enhance professional skills by combining theory with a hands-on approach, by integrating research with project implementation and imparting concepts and ideas to be adapted as on-site solutions to meet the priorities of developing countries.

Since MASHAV's inception, over 50,000 men and women from as far away as Mongolia and as close as the Palestinian Authority have taken part in MASHAV courses in Israel; almost 70,000 trainees have participated in on-the-spot courses abroad; and over 10,000 long- and short-term consultants have been sent to assist in the design and implementation of development projects throughout the world. MASHAV is currently cooperating with 141 countries, authorities and international agencies to promote technical cooperation programs in various fields. Cooperation efforts include countries in Africa, Asia, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Latin America.

Who is the architect of this legendary State and the people? A few words about Ben Gurion, to whom goes the full credit.

He was the architect of a new nation state that altered the destiny of the Jewish people--and the Middle East. Ben-Gurion was the great architect and builder of both. Throughout the tragic years from 1936 to 1947, while millions of Jews were rounded up and murdered by the Germans, denied asylum by almost all nations and barred by the British from finding a home in Palestine, he subtly orchestrated a complex strategy: he inspired tens of thousands of young Jews from Palestine to join the British army in fighting the Nazis, but at the same time authorized an underground agency to ship Jewish refugees into the country. As the British were intercepting, deporting and locking away these survivors of the Nazi inferno in barbed-wired detention camps, world opinion grew more and more sympathetic to the Zionist prescription for the plight of the Jews. This strategy helped bring about the favorable atmosphere that led to the 1947 UN resolution, partitioning Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state.

But even before the British left, attacks on Jews were unleashed all over the country. On May 14, 1948, in accordance with the UN resolution, Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israel's independence, ignoring last-minute admonitions from Washington and overruling doomsday predictions by some of his closest associates. Within hours, military forces of five Arab nations invaded Israel, joining Palestinian militias in an openly declared attempt to destroy the Jews. It was the worst of several Israeli-Arab wars: 1% of the Jewish population died, as well as thousands of Arabs. More than half a million Palestinians lost their homes; some fled, some were driven out by Israeli forces.

Having led the struggle to establish the State of Israel in May 1948, Ben-Gurion became Prime Minister and Defense Minister. As Premier, he oversaw the establishment of the state's institutions. He presided over various national projects aimed at the rapid development of the country and its population: "Operation Magic Carpet"," the airlift of Jews from Arab countries, the construction of the national water carrier, rural development projects and the establishment of new towns and cities. In particular, he called for pioneering settlement in outlying areas, especially in the Negev.

In late 1953, Ben-Gurion left the government and retired to Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Negev. He returned to political life, after the Knesset elections in 1955, assuming the post of Defense Minister and later the premiership. Continuing as Prime Minister, Ben-Gurion supported the establishment of relations with West Germany, despite bitter opposition. He also led the country during the 1956 Sinai Campaign, in which Israeli forces temporarily secured the Sinai Peninsula.

In June 1963 Ben-Gurion resigned as Prime Minister, citing "personal reasons." Leci Eshko; took over the posts of Prime Minister and Defense Minister. But Ben-Gurion remained active politically, with a rivalry developing between him and Eshkol. In June 1965, the Mapai Party split, with Ben-Gurion establishing Rafi (List of Israeli Workers), which won ten Knesset seats in the following election. In 1968, Rafi rejoined Mapai and Ahdut Ha'avoda, to form the Israel Labor Party, while Ben-Gurion formed a new party, Hareshima Hamamlachtit (The State List), which won four Knesset seats in the 1969 elections.

In June 1970, Ben-Gurion retired from political life and returned to Sde Boker where he passed away in 1973.

We will discuss the other two modern historical miracles growth and economic dominance of Japan and Germany in the next chapter.