People claim their anger is about politics—settlements, borders, wars. But beneath the slogans lies something deeper. The unease is not with what Israel does, but with what it is.

A nation this small should not be this strong. Israel has no oil, no vast natural resources, and a population comparable to a mid-sized American city. It is surrounded by enemies, condemned at the UN, targeted by terror, and boycotted by cultural elites. And yet it thrives.

It excels in defense, medicine, technology, agriculture, and intelligence. It turns desert into farmland, pulls water from the air, intercepts rockets mid-flight, rescues hostages from hostile territory, and wins wars it was expected to lose. The world watches and struggles to explain it.