): In these troubled times, the author recalls his childhood in Israel, when his native land first became known as the State of Israel. While in Europe most of his relatives were exterminated in the Nazi Holocaust, in the Middle East the Arab world invaded the newly-born state, swearing to throw all the Jews into the sea. His story of tragedy and triumph is relevant to the present crisis Israel and the rest of the human race are undergoing, and offers hope for a better future.