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Wayne Bowen

The Pen and the Sword

Wayne Bowen received his Ph.D. in history from Northwestern University, and is also an Army veteran.

Column: Israel is living well but dangerously

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Israel is a safe country, with crime rates lower than the U.S., most of Europe and East Asia. The daily safety of its citizens is even starker when compared to Africa, Latin America and most of its neighbors in the Middle East. Indeed, it is far more dangerous for the average American tourist to visit a major U.S. city -- such as Chicago or Miami -- than to vacation in Israel. By many other measures -- life expectancy, medical care, educational attainment, social justice, even overall happiness -- Israelis enjoy not just a higher standard of living, but a greater sense of satisfaction with their lives than citizens of the United States and most other developed nations. Indeed, for these reasons Israel continues to welcome 15,000-20,000 new citizens every year, with France and Russia, witnessing rising anti-Semitism, as major European contributors of immigrants.

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