Israel perfectly embodies the essence of ‘happiness’ - opinion

Once again, the solons of the World Happiness Report have prepared their list of the happiest countries in the world, and, amazingly, Israel is ranked at number five. While the naysayers will point out that we slipped a notch from the previous ranking, the rest of us will find our placement to be nothing short of astounding.

Let’s remember that this ranking was focused on 2023, one of the most difficult years in our history. From the dissension of judicial reform to the horrors of October 7, and the painful sacrifices and dislocations of the ensuing war, the idea of being happy was not at the top of the list of anyone that I know.

Yet, the index's criteria are social support, income, health, freedom, generosity, and the absence of corruption. Some of these criteria lend themselves to objective comparison, while others leave much room for subjective interpretation.

As in the past, the leading countries are Scandinavian or Nordic countries, countries with significant social welfare nets and frankly, not much to be unhappy about. None of them are on the front lines facing implacable enemies.

As I have noted previously (“In birth and death, Israel is the happiest country in the world,” The Jerusalem Post, March 23, 2018), the criteria do not include two indicia that reasonably could be viewed as the ultimate barometer of happiness: birth and suicide rates. If these were to be included, I have little doubt that Israel would top the list.

But even apart from this, it is positively mind boggling that Israel would rank where it does, or even be close to it. I would suggest that the mix of indicia, particularly social support, generosity and freedom, all mesh into the larger, if vaguer, concept of meaningfulness.

Proudly, when it comes to meaningfulness, Israel is indeed likely to be a chart topper. Meaningfulness has little to do with income, though with privation it is very difficult to look beyond the need to provide fundamental necessities for oneself and one’s family.

Meaningfulness is what one derives from the experience of living. There was much anger during the months of the judicial reform controversy, but such anger gave voice and mission to so many on both sides of the issue.

The nightmare of October 7 was an existential slap in the face, reminding us of the tenuousness of our situation here. Tenuousness need not be the antithesis of happiness, especially when it leads to the outpourings of selfless service by our soldiers and reservists, and the myriad gestures of support for them from those of us on the home front.

The great pain caused by the seizing of hostages and the loss of life of soldiers has energized us to do something about them. Having the hostages return and assuring that our soldiers’ sacrifices will not be in vain are purposeful missions, not depressions.

Young people in Israel are significantly happier than most of the world despite mandatory service

ONE OF the most telling rankings was the division by age group. In the category of under 30 Israel was ranked second in the world. What an incredible disconnect does this reveal between “difficulty” and “happiness.” Mandatory service for most of our population, especially when such service is often life threatening, seems to not impede happiness.

Arguably, it increases happiness by providing a context for seeing oneself as part of a larger, cohesive picture. This is in contrast to just focusing on one’s own needs and wants.

By way of a proof text for this notion was the distressing ranking of the United States. America fell out of the top 20 to land at number 23. More concerning by far, however, was that in the under 30 category America was 62nd.

Can it be that woke obsessiveness, the lack of required national service, the incessant focus on victimization, the anger inherent in DEI, that all of this comes at a high emotional and existential price? In the still quiet of being, these are all life draining.

Finding safe spaces, looking for reasons to judge, categorize and ultimately demean others for reasons that have nothing to do with their character, all of this comes at an immense cost to one’s self. What the report should validate is the joylessness of all of this, the focus on substitutes for fulfillment, purposefulness, and meaning.

Not surprisingly, we here in Israel do not have an extensive frame of reference for life led in other parts of the world. Yes, the grass can seem greener elsewhere, and yes, things here can seem endlessly frustrating.

However, as this index should remind us, there are problems and then there is the question of what one makes of and does with those problems. There are the questions not just of how one copes, but also of how one compensates.

We should celebrate the reality that there is much here to compensate for our burdens. For many it is their religious faith and practice. For a great many it is the sense that we are part of a people, a people that is still embarked on a great adventure of national rejuvenation.

And as our soldiers are showing us by their implicit example, there is the sense that tenuousness means that each of us counts, each of us can be doing something in our way to steady and steer the ship of our society.

In Israel there are two, at the most three degrees of separation about pretty much everything. This creates a sense of intimacy, of relatedness, of common undertaking. We might be the odd man out on the world stage, but here we are not alone.

There is a reason why we have the highest birth rate among developed Western nations. We look forward to bringing our new ones into this crazy, but ultimately magnificent undertaking that is called the State of Israel.

They will not have it easy; but like us, they will be happy.

The writer is chairman of the board of Im Tirtzu and a director of the Israel Independence Fund.