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It has been a month now since I have been in Israel and I have been able to think about my visit. One thing struck me throughout my travels in Israel was the sense that Israel isn't accomplishing as much as it should be.

In general most Israelis didn't see Israel as the best place to live in the world.Even with all the accomplishments that have occurred over the last 60 years there was a sense that Israel isn't moving forward fast enough.

I was in Israel during the teachers strike and was amazed at how the government dealt with the problems of the teachers. I wasn't aware before how little teachers earned and how second rate a profession teaching has become. The fact that the government didn't see fit to find a good solution to this problem only shows how bankrupt the Israeli political system is.

Here in the U.S. schools are run on a local level. The education budget is determined by local taxes. These taxes are generally determined by the appraised value of property. Where there are good schools the values of the home are higher and there is more money for education.

In Israel there are many competing interests for tax money and for some reason the educational system hasn't been able to compete well for those funds. The fact that the public didn't see the strike as some thing that was of extreme importance to the country and force the government to negotiate in good faith only shows how broken the political system is.

Another fact that I saw in Tel-Aviv that I found very disturbing was the amount of trash and garbage all over the streets. I came to the conclusion that the core problem was in the way trash is collected. Most of the buildings didn't have big enough trash cans and there always seemed to be an over flow. When the trash was collected about 2% always got left behind. The trash collectors don't pick up the over flow and it just spreads over the city. In other large cities there are fines for buildings that leave trash about. In Tel-Aviv it is just tolerated and accepted.

On a positive note Tel-Aviv looks very modern with lots of development everywhere. It seems as if more and more high rise buildings are going up in almost every corner of the city. The economic activity seems fast pace and the city has developed some very nice public spaces. Jaffo and Neve Tzedek seemed be going through a beautiful renaissance.

The kibbutzim seemed to have revitalized there economies and there was lots of building going on, on many kibbutzim.

The airport is as modern as any in the western world and train and light rail are now starting to take hold in Israel. Now that there is an electric car project in it's early stages, perhaps Israel will show the world how it's done.

Israel is a country of many contradictions of good and bad. Over all Israel has many natural attributes and many talented individuals. There are many competing forces at work and some decisions are moving the country forward while others are not.

What Israels greatest attribute is is that it is a Jewish nation the only one in the world. The spirit and enthusiasm of a people are felt in Israel. Those that live there don't understand how different the tempo and culture of the country is. For them it is the norm. The fact that the country has been able to modernize as fast as it has is a tribute to the special culture of the Jewish people in Israel.

Israel is now a modern nation that can become an example of how to further develop in the 21 st century. In many fields it is already the leader and will teach the rest of the world how to move forward.