From Thursday’s Hardball:

MATTHEWS: I‘d like to say something now about the founding of the state of Israel 60 years ago. The first time I visited that incredible country was in 1971, when it was still in the afterglow of its wondrous victory against all sides in the Six-Day War. I remember sitting in a restaurant—it was really more of a bar. There was as an older fellow, who had had a few, loudly proclaimed his pride in a group of young soldiers who had just entered the room. How exciting to be in such a little country that had just taken on such tough odds and won. Being a movie buff, I spent a lot of time in movie theaters in Israel, where everybody is a movie buff. I remember looking down at the Uzi lying on the seat next to me, that had been brought along by a young woman member of the IDF, the Israeli Defense Force, sitting near me. Talk about a self reliant country, where some guy‘s date is carrying along an automatic weapon along for the date. Yes, I‘ve been back a trio of times since and I have loved the mix of the old and the new in Israel, the mix of the three great religious sites side by side in the old city of Jerusalem, where I, as a Christian, love to visit the old church of the Holy Sepulcher. I feel at home in Israel and have nothing but joy and goodwill and Shalom to wish to this great and gutsy country on its 60th anniversary.