A Brief History of Israel
Jacob Dyrud
May 2018
May 2018
This issue of The Letters was inspired by The Wall Street Journal's articles regarding Israel throughout April 2018, and also by Radio Deutsche Welle coverage of Israel from a European perspective.
Israel has had a long and troubled history as the world's only Jewish state. During the 1800s, much of the Middle East was colonized by England, France, Italy, and Germany. After the Allied victory in World War II, many former colonies were liberated, including much of the Middle East. The Palestinian Mandate, as the territories of Israel and Palestine were called, declared its independence in 1948.
The English devised a plan to split the Mandate into two parts, an Arab and a Jewish part. The Old City of Jerusalem would remain under English control. This plan was eventually realized, but the original borders gave Israel only the coast of the Mandate, with Palestine occupying the rest.
The "Green Line" ended the Israeli War for Independence and divided Jerusalem into East and West sections along the so-called "Green Line." Currently, most countries recognize the Green Line as the border between Israel and Palestine. The Old City of Jerusalem, where most of the landmarks are, is located east of the Green Line in Palestinian territory.
Israel has had a long and troubled history as the world's only Jewish state. During the 1800s, much of the Middle East was colonized by England, France, Italy, and Germany. After the Allied victory in World War II, many former colonies were liberated, including much of the Middle East. The Palestinian Mandate, as the territories of Israel and Palestine were called, declared its independence in 1948.
The English devised a plan to split the Mandate into two parts, an Arab and a Jewish part. The Old City of Jerusalem would remain under English control. This plan was eventually realized, but the original borders gave Israel only the coast of the Mandate, with Palestine occupying the rest.
The "Green Line" ended the Israeli War for Independence and divided Jerusalem into East and West sections along the so-called "Green Line." Currently, most countries recognize the Green Line as the border between Israel and Palestine. The Old City of Jerusalem, where most of the landmarks are, is located east of the Green Line in Palestinian territory.
The Consequences of American Urbanization:
What Economic Opportunities Await Us?
Jacob Dyrud
January 2018
January 2018
This issue of The Letters was inspired by The Atlantic’s article on December 29, 2017 (The Places that May Never Recover from the Recession), and uses data from The Wall Street Journal’s December 29th article: The Divide between America’s Prosperous Cities and Struggling Small Towns.
The American Civil War taught Americans many lessons: beyond the headline issue of slavery, the total victory of an urban society over an agricultural one ushered in a new era of territorial and economic expansion. This culminated in today’s highly urbanized society.
(I like cities very much. For the purposes of this article, however, I will stray away from South Beach, Central Park, and Beacon Hill. A bigger part of America still lies in its remote areas.)
Fast forward 150 years to 2018 and the urbanization trend has continued, suburbs sprouted, and inner cities have undergone a resurgence. But it has not continued uninterrupted: 10 years ago, the largest financial collapse occurred, briefly exposing the fragility of our current economic system. Some areas have yet to recover from it, like Hemet, California.
Hemet is unique among struggling areas of the United States: while many “distressed communities” are located in the Rust Belt states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, there are many other communities (especially in the West) that have shriveled due to economic problems. These problems were caused by overbuilding and over-speculation.
Remember that homes - and their prices - are relative to the economic and social opportunities surrounding them. The most convenient homes will suffer if they do not have a good sense of community. The most remote homes will do well if they have economic and social advantages.
Thus begins the problem with Hemet: “…Hemet’s problems are also the result of structural changes in the economy - changes that have been underway for several decades but were masked by the heady days of the housing boom. Middle-class jobs have been disappearing while high-wage and low-wage jobs have grown - but in different geographic locations.”
Middle-class jobs, like farming and manufacturing, are quickly on the decline. Low-wage jobs in services industries are on the rise in rural areas. High-wage jobs in technology, finance, and management are growing in urban areas. So where are the economic opportunities for an entrepreneur?
Opportunities in Distressed Rural Areas
There are many services that are unavailable to rural-area inhabitants that urbanites take for granted. The nearest grocery store might be 10 or 20 miles away. Forget about a laundromat - it’s likely that there are none within 50 miles. (WSJ) There are many opportunities to expand a service business into rural areas to serve a local population.
So why are businesses so concentrated in urban areas? Part of it is traditional: In the early 1900s, during the first wave of urbanization, most businesses were based in the cities because of need. Communication was difficult then, and rural areas were isolated from urban cities. Now, the Internet has closed the gap to a mere 0.04 seconds of communication time between coast to coast. A stock-trading or software business can just as easily start in Texarkana, TX as in San Francisco. So why, then, have high-wage businesses stayed in the cities?
The American Civil War taught Americans many lessons: beyond the headline issue of slavery, the total victory of an urban society over an agricultural one ushered in a new era of territorial and economic expansion. This culminated in today’s highly urbanized society.
(I like cities very much. For the purposes of this article, however, I will stray away from South Beach, Central Park, and Beacon Hill. A bigger part of America still lies in its remote areas.)
Fast forward 150 years to 2018 and the urbanization trend has continued, suburbs sprouted, and inner cities have undergone a resurgence. But it has not continued uninterrupted: 10 years ago, the largest financial collapse occurred, briefly exposing the fragility of our current economic system. Some areas have yet to recover from it, like Hemet, California.
Hemet is unique among struggling areas of the United States: while many “distressed communities” are located in the Rust Belt states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, there are many other communities (especially in the West) that have shriveled due to economic problems. These problems were caused by overbuilding and over-speculation.
Remember that homes - and their prices - are relative to the economic and social opportunities surrounding them. The most convenient homes will suffer if they do not have a good sense of community. The most remote homes will do well if they have economic and social advantages.
Thus begins the problem with Hemet: “…Hemet’s problems are also the result of structural changes in the economy - changes that have been underway for several decades but were masked by the heady days of the housing boom. Middle-class jobs have been disappearing while high-wage and low-wage jobs have grown - but in different geographic locations.”
Middle-class jobs, like farming and manufacturing, are quickly on the decline. Low-wage jobs in services industries are on the rise in rural areas. High-wage jobs in technology, finance, and management are growing in urban areas. So where are the economic opportunities for an entrepreneur?
Opportunities in Distressed Rural Areas
There are many services that are unavailable to rural-area inhabitants that urbanites take for granted. The nearest grocery store might be 10 or 20 miles away. Forget about a laundromat - it’s likely that there are none within 50 miles. (WSJ) There are many opportunities to expand a service business into rural areas to serve a local population.
So why are businesses so concentrated in urban areas? Part of it is traditional: In the early 1900s, during the first wave of urbanization, most businesses were based in the cities because of need. Communication was difficult then, and rural areas were isolated from urban cities. Now, the Internet has closed the gap to a mere 0.04 seconds of communication time between coast to coast. A stock-trading or software business can just as easily start in Texarkana, TX as in San Francisco. So why, then, have high-wage businesses stayed in the cities?
The answer is simple: the supply of workers available to work in the country is small. Most companies have (ironically) moved their manufacturing businesses back to the suburbs, when in fact they never were there in the first place. Much of this has to do with supply and demand: College-educated and city-raised individuals like to stay in cities, preferring the hustle and bustle of the city over the bucolic countryside. Also, high-achieving youth in rural areas are likely to migrate to the city for economic opportunities. There are simply more jobs available.
The synopsis: Even though rural areas remain connected, they are often left behind. Be wary before betting on a rural resurgence.