I'd argue that Mr. Pipes' last sentence hits the nail on the head. It's because Israel faces an existential threat every single day that its citizens make the most of their time. Leisurely living that comes from cheap security leads to sloppy, wasteful lives (cf. the Old Europe).

Churchill's line about being shot at without effect applies here. Not that Israel has never been shot at with effect -- but given all the hatred and violence directed its way, it remains. The constant threat must be a big reason for Israel's success.

Yeah but it's got the highest creativity per capita and it's a "pocket superpower" ... in the arts.

Nevermindshutup just GO ISRAEL.

At current growth rates (Turkey: 1.2%; Israel: 1.8%) Turkey would finish the century with over 200 million and Israel at just under 40 million. That assumes either country can or will want to manage the population densities involved. It's certainly doable (see Bangladesh) but not necessarily desireable.

The Israeli Muslim population is increasing annually by 2.6% and the Israeli Jewish population by 1.7%. Their relative rates of growth change, but Muslims are consistently outbreeding Jews. At current rates Muslims will comprise at least a third of Israel's population by 2100.

But sorry for citing facts that disagree with your fancies.

Unfortunately for Israel, she has basically been abandoned by a Europe that has suffered from white/western guilt.

When will the Muslim world answer the question as to why Israel and the Judeo-Christian west has flourished while the Muslim world has stagnated. I mean an answer besides "All our problems are caused by Israel and the Judeo-Christian west."

….because, unlike most of the things the US Government spends money on; we get a heck of a lot in return for the relative peanuts we throw the way of the only liberal democratic regime in the Middle East that doesn’t, incidentally, hate our guts. For one, the Egyptian/Israel peace agreement is made possible by the financial aid we provide to Egypt and Israel and prevented a war which would cause the US economy incalculable damage (Think about how much oil pieces increased form the minor Libyan bombing campaign, now imagine a full blown war between the Arab states and Israel). Given the increasing power of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, this would be the worst possible time withdraw aid and send the Arab states and Muslim radicals the message that the US has abandoned Israel and this would be a splendid moment to attack.

If that explanation doesn’t suit your fancy, a majority of Americans feel an affinity for Israel because of our common Judeo-Christian cultural roots. Our forefathers viewed America as a “New Israel,” the antecedent of American Exceptionalism and even as we’ve secularized, Americans still tend to view America as a secular “new Israel” “Chosen” for a special role of upholding liberal democratic values. The “New Israel” supports the “Old Israel” (even as the old Israel is newer than America). For these reasons, and because Americans are decent people in a way that much of the world is not, most Americans don’t want to see the world’s only Jewish state annihilated, and a relatively miniscule amount of aid seems like a small price to pay for preventing this calamity.

>"most Americans don’t want to see the world’s only Jewish state annihilated"

That's a very noble impulse. Now, if only we could get Americans to feel equally protective towards America, the worlds only American state ...

Its amazing what can happen when Uncle Sam is paying 25% of the national budget.

We have the Messiah Obama who promises us everything and gets nothing back