Member At Large Four Year Public, West: Fill & Download for Free

As of this moment, I have applied to nine schools, been accepted to eight, and have yet to commit.About me: I am a first-generation immigrant from South Korea but I moved fairly early in my life and thus never had academic struggles relating to that. My parents are both college graduates and because my brother chose to go military, I will be the only college student in my family during these years. I attend a fairly large (>2,000) public high school in the Kern County.Stats:GPA: 4.0 UW, 4.5 Weighted but capped: my high school caps GPAs at 4.5, resulting in several valedictorians a year.Class rank: On track to be valedictorian with several othersSAT: 1510 superscore (770 Math, 740 English), 1500 single best sitting (770 Math, 730 English). Best essay score of 21/24.SAT Subject Tests: Math II (780)ACT: 35 Composite (35 English, 34 Math, 36 Science, 36 Reading) Essay score of 10.AP Exams: AP Euro (5), APUSH (5), Calculus AB (Scheduled), AP Macroeconomics (Scheduled)Dual Enrollment: English B1A and B1B through local community college, Geology and Political Science through local CSU.Taken every GATE/AP/Honors class available in my courseload.Other Application Info:Over 250 hours of community serviceCurrent president of my community service club, Interact. I've been an officer for three years and a member for four.Current president of my French Honors Society. Officer for two years, member for three.Current president of my school History Club. President for two years, officer for three. Club was founded my sophomore year.Four years of French and four years of choir.Four years of regional honor choir.Worked a seasonal afterschool job for two years.Results:Because I applied with my ACT score, the normal system of checking the middle 50% of a school's admission didn't really work and I ended up not applying very ambitiously. The schools that I selected as matches had fairly low admission rates and therefore almost counted as reaches and the one real reach, UPenn, I ended up not applying to because I chose not to take my Chem subject test.Local CSU: AcceptedDidn't want to attend, applied because I was told to apply to it as a safety.UCI: Accepted with honors.UC Davis: Accepted with honors.With the UCs, I wasn't crazy about any of them. I applied because I felt like I should, as a California student, and as safeties. However, I didn't actually count them as safeties because the UC admissions are notoriously unreliable and I didn't want to risk any flukes.Colorado School of Mines: Accepted.I applied to this school because I had missed a financial aid deadline at one school and failed to send a transcript to another, I was freaking out about those factors nullifying my applications, and they offered me a free application. Quite frankly, I didn't necessarily want to go here and it was never on my planned list. Furthermore, the two schools told me not to worry about missing the deadline by a few days and I freaked out for nothing :)University of West Florida: Accepted with honors.I applied here because of their guaranteed merit scholarship. Their tuition, which I mistakenly thought was their cost of attendance, was $32,000 and their guaranteed merit scholarship gave me $32,000… over four years. What I thought was a full ride was a quarter tuition. Needless to say, my financial aid was nothing like what I thought it would be.Miami University: Accepted with honors.Once again, I applied because of a guaranteed merit scholarship but this one was actually per year. Their tuition was $36,000, which I once again mistook for cost of attendance, but their financial aid still wasn't too bad. They ended up offering me $28,000/yr but with other expenses like housing, meal plans, and travel, it wasn't as good of a deal as I had initially thought.Reed College: Accepted early actionColby College: AcceptedSwarthmore College: RejectedMy private universities were honestly the only colleges I was excited about. They are all small colleges with good student-faculty relationships and a commitment to strong financial aid. I researched each one pretty extensively and I'm super glad I got accepted into two of them, even if Swarthmore ruined my streak.Decisions:Based on financial aid, UWF, Colorado School of Mines, and UC Davis were immediately out. UWF, while being relatively cheap even out of state, wasn't nearly the deal I expected and nothing there really excited me. Colorado School of Mines, while a great school, is pretty expensive and I wasn't invested in it. UC Davis offered me a few merit scholarships but left me with $27,000 to account for alone so it wasn't a great deal.It's quite sad that Miami University, an out of state university, would actually have been cheaper for me to attend than UC Davis. Fortunately for me, I will not be spending my days in Ohio because my private universities pulled through.Reed and Colby both accepted me with generous financial aid packages. Reed is closer to me, in Oregon, but Colby, all the way over in Maine, offered me the better deal.UCI hasn't sent me my financial aid information yet so I haven't committed yet but based on UC Davis's paltry sum, I'm not holding my breath for them.Between Reed and Colby, it was a tough decision. Reed is closer, meaning my family could drive up if they needed to, and I have a few friends with family in Oregon so I might be able to see them if I went. Reed's acceptance box and other mail was personalized and they had a very distinct campus culture. They're located in Portland and so they're right next to a bustling city with lots to offer. If I’m being completely honest, I liked Reed’s campus culture a little better, partially because I never really got a clear feel for Colby’s, and it would be a safer choice. It’s still far enough that I couldn’t come home whenever I felt like it but close enough that I could come home if I felt like I really needed to.However, Colby offered me a better deal by a couple thousand dollars and it really just came down to financial aid. Barring extraordinary circumstances, it seems like Colby is going to be the college I commit to. It’s a very small school, with a population about the size of my high school, and it’s located in a small college town. It has a commitment to research and a super cool system called the Jan Plan, where students take the month of January to study abroad, learn a skill, do an internship, or do anything to explore their not necessarily academic interests. Of course, it is going to be cold, I will be very alone on the East Coast, and I am sure I am going to be quite homesick at times, but I am super excited for an opportunity to really prove to myself who I am and just what I’m capable of. It isn’t official, but I’m very likely going to be part of Colby’s class of 2024 :)

1. Putin Earned A Black Belt In Judo Because He Was Slow To Start PubertyBy the age of 18 Putin had achieved a black belt in judo - something he refers to as a "life philosophy" - and he still practises the martial art during his spare time. Interestingly, Putin - who also trained in the Russian martial art Sambo (or Samozashchita Bez Oruzhiya) - revealed he took up judo in order to "keep his place in the pack" and not be bullied because other male teenagers had started puberty before him.2. He is really good at HockeyReally good. He was even able to score a goal against a keeper for Russia's national team! (That guy was definitely playing his hardest.)3. He Spent His Childhood Hunting Rats In An Apartment BlockPutin was born into a poor Soviet family in Leningrad (now St Petersburg) and he lived in a communal apartment block with his parents, siblings and three other families. In his official biography, the Russian President revealed he spent his spare time hunting rats on the stairwell.Source: 25 Mind-Blowing Facts About Vladimir Putin4. Secret life of Putin's DaughtersCredit : Vladimir Putin with his wife and daughter Katya, spring 1985, from the Putin family album. (Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images)Putin has two daughters with his former wife Lyudmilia, Yekaterina and Mariya, both of them in their early-thirties.Editing Needed*There are photos with the girls leaked to the media, but they’ve never been photographed as adults in public. Not even Kremlin insiders know what they look like. Furthermore, Putin doesn’t allow anyone to find out where they reside, whether or not they’re married, etc. The Russian newspapers reported in 2005 that Putin’s daughters were attending college in St. Petersburg, but all speculations were immediately quashed.*They have been photographed but their life remains secretive.Source 1 : In Spotlight of Power, Putin Keeps Private Life in ShadowsSource 2 : News, Facts & Other Information You Love - UncoverDiscover.com5. He Has Several Pet Dogs And Used One To Scare German Chancellor Angela MerkelThe Russian President loves dogs and keeps several as pets - and he also uses them as political devices to scare the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, it seems. It was alleged in January 2007 that Putin brought his black labrador, Koni, to Sochi for a diplomatic meeting with Merkel - knowing full well she is petrified of dogs, having been bitten by one as a youngster - in order to intimidate her. The meeting - involving discussions over Russia's supply of energy to Germany - ended with Merkel nervously commenting: "Now the dog is going to eat the journalists..."5. Putin Went Scuba-Diving For Ancient Greek JugsIn August 2011, during one of the countless photo ops Putin undertakes every year, the Russian leader "discovered" ancient Greek vases while scuba-diving in the Black Sea. However, two months later his chief spokesman admitted that the footage of Putin collecting two fragments of 6th Century BC Greek Jugs - in which he grabs them in clear water and declares "the boys and I found them" - was actually staged. Apparently the jugs had been discovered earlier by archaeologists and deliberately placed there for Putin to "recover".6. Putin Helped To Put Out Wildfires In The Russian Countryside By Co-Piloting An AircraftIn August 2010, Putin co-piloted a fire-fighting plane in order to help put out hundreds of wildfires in western Russia. The wildfires, in the Ryazan region, had covered Moscow in a huge smog but Putin pressed the button which dumped hundreds of litres of water on to the affected areas to help calm them down.7. Putin Worked As A KGB Agent And Spied On The WestCredit : Vladimir Putin in KGB uniformFor 16 years Putin worked as an officer in the KGB (the Committee for State Security), spying for the secret police agency in East Germany between 1975 and 1991. Putin's primary job was to recruit foreigners in Dresden in the hope of sending them as undercover agents to the USA. While the Berlin Wall was falling in 1989, Putin even burned KGB files as a mob tried to enter the agency's headquarters in Dresden. He moved back to Russia in 1991 and left the agency with the rank of lieutenant colonel.8. Putin Is A Fluent German Speaker But Is Nervous At EnglishHaving been posted to East Germany, Putin became fluent in German and regularly converses in the language with Angela Merkel. However, Putin is less competent at English. He does have conversational English but lacks confidence in speaking the language publicly, only doing so on a handful of occasions.9. You Can Buy Putinka Vodka and PuTin Canned GoodsIf there were ever any doubts about how highly Putin was held in his home nation then the fact that his name and image has been used to advertise several products should put them to bed. T-shirts bearing images of the Russian leader, as well PuTin canned food, Putinka Vodka and Gorbusha Putina caviar, are sold throughout the nation.9. He Believes Same-Sex Marriage Is Akin To Satan-WorshippingPutin is a devout Orthodox Christian and he stringently holds to the traditional values of the church - with often-controversial results. One belief Putin holds is that same-sex marriage is akin to Satan-worshipping - and argued in a speech in September 2013 that Russia must avoid following European countries who were "going away from their roots" by legalising gay marriage and allowing for excessive "political correctness".10. Putin Has An Alleged Personal Worth Of £46 BillionAlthough no-one knows for sure, it has been alleged that Putin has a huge personal wealth of up to £46billion. Russian opposition politicians and journalists have alleged that Putin secretly owns huge stakes in numerous Russian companies, adding to his supposed hidden wealth. It is believed that Putin owns at least 11 luxury watches (worth a combined £500,000) as well as 20 villas and palaces, nine of which were built during his time as President. What's more, one of those mansions - dubbed "Putin's Palace" - is being constructed in Italianate style near the Black Sea village of Praskoveevka and is allegedly costing £750million to build.Source :11. He Is The Hero In An Online Comic Series Called "Superputin"Russian writer Sergei Kalenik began an online comic series in 2011 named "Superputin" - in which the Russian President saves his nation by judo-chopping terrorists. Putin is depicted as a superhero who fights the twin evils of public protest and terrorism - and in one episode even stops a bomb from blowing up a bus, while in another he destroys an army of zombies.Comic link : "Человек как все"Information link : 25 Mind-Blowing Facts About Vladimir Putin12. He Announced His Divorce From His Wife During An Interval At The Ballet They Were Attending TogetherIn June 2013, while Putin and his wife Lyudmila were leaving during the interval of the ballet La Esmeralda that was being performed at the Grand Kremlin Palace, they were asked why they were so rarely photographed together in public. Putin immediately responded saying that a "joint decision" had been made for them to be separated because they "practically don't see each other". He also referred to the separation as a "civilised divorce".Source: 25 Mind-Blowing Facts About Vladimir Putin13. West German Intelligence Described Putin As A "Wife-Beater"West German spy agency BND described Putin as a "philanderer and a wife-beater" during his time as a KBG agent in East Germany. A BND agent codenamed "Balcony" - due to her large breasts - supposedly became acquainted with Putin's wife Lyudmila. Lyudmila then told Balcony about her husband's many infidelities, as well as his physically abusive side.Source : 25 Mind-Blowing Facts About Vladimir Putin14. Putin Effectively Used A Constitutional Loophole To Gain Re-Election For A Third TimeHaving served as President from 2000 to 2008, Putin was unable to stand for a third-consecutive four-year term due to the terms of the Russian constitution and had to leave office. His protege, Dmitry Medvedev, instead assumed the presidency, appointing Putin as his Prime Minister between 2008 and 2012. In September 2011 the Russian constitution was then altered to allowed presidential terms to be extended from four years to six and, having been out of office for four years, Putin was re-elected for a third, non-consecutive term in March 2012. The Russian constitution prohibits more than two consecutive terms, but allows for more if they are non-consecutive - unlike the terms for the American presidency, when a single person is limited to two full terms and a total serving time of 10 years. Putin has three years of his current term remaining, and could in theory extend his cumulative time as President of Russia to 24 years if he runs for re-election in 2018.Source: 25 Mind-Blowing Facts About Vladimir Putin15. Putin Is A Huge Fan Of The BeatlesHis own fondness for singing may have already been revealed, but it has also been claimed by those close to Putin that the Russian premier loves The Beatles. Paul McCartney is his favourite member of the 1960s pop group - with Yesterday his most-loved track.Source : 25 Mind-Blowing Facts About Vladimir PutinThat's all from my side. Enjoy yourselfP.S. All these data has been acquired from different websites which has been mentioned already. For the validity and correctness of information you may visit the site as mentioned earlier.Sources : 25 Mind-Blowing Facts About Vladimir PutinEdit 1: Thank you for 13k views :)Edit 2: Thank You User-13651895928466930760 for pointing out a mistake in this answer.In reference to my text“Putin has two daughters with his former wife Lyudmilia, Yekaterina and Mariya, both of them in their mid-twenties. There are photos with the girls leaked to the media, but they’ve never been photographed as adults in public.”I apologize for the mistake and as you can see it has been said “mid-twenties” which make this news 5 years old as they are now 30 and 31 respectively. But regarding the secrecy, so yes Putin is highly protective towards them.“He is very sensitive, and I promised him not to expose very much about that.” About the family, said Mr. Seipal: “They are existing. They are phoning. They are available.”(Hubert Seipel is a German journalist and documentary filmmaker .)But now as they have been so I will edit my answer.Thank You Again.Edit 1: Thanks for my first 1K upvote.

Like any election there are big winners and losers and in Israel there is always a great deal of fuzziness in-between. From Netanyahu’s perspective he has a clear mandate to go forward with his pro-business initiatives, trade policies and his security and foreign relations detail. Kudos to him for pulling off another victory at the election box.Here are the results of the 2019 election as they stood at the 97% mark.Israeli election 2019 results - As of April 12th 2019 Likud picked up one more seat to move to 36 while Shas dropped one to go to 7 . The vote count reached 100%.Source: Israel Elections: Where Does the Israeli Left Go From Here?The WinnersLikud - Once again Likud has emerged as Israel’s largest party taking 36 seats in the 120 seat Knesset. This represents a pick up of six seats over the 2015 results. While the economy is undoubtedly a big factor, Likud likely benefited by picking up votes from those who in 2015 opted for the right wing Jewish Home or the centrist Kulanu.Netanyahu has now won his fifth election (fourth in a row) . He assumed office in 2009 and if he completes his new four year term can claim seventeen years as Prime Minister (well ahead of the nation’s father David Ben-Gurion).If one considers that Likud were reduced to 9% of the vote in 2006 and a meager 12 seats in the Knesset, Netanyahu’s accomplishments in turning around the party of Menachem Begin, are all the more impressive.However as is the case after every Israeli election he will have to cobble together a coalition with various parties in order to govern. Common wisdom is that such a coalition will include Shas, UTJ, Yisrael Beitanu, United Right and Kulanu. In other words, a mixed bag of religious parties, centrists and those parties to the right of Likud.Benjamin Netanyahu - Onward to a fifth term as Prime Minister. Source: Jewish Telegraphic Agency - The Global Jewish News SourceBlue and White Political Alliance (BW) - Despite finishing as runner-up to Likud, BW (Kahol Lavan in Hebrew) performed extremely well in this election and will enter the 20th Knesset with 35 seats. The collapse of Labor and Meretz no doubt augmented their performance.Various media sources in the West have portrayed BW as a left-of-center alliance. They are not. The alliance consists of three major parties - the Israel Resilience Party (Benny Gantz), Yesh Atid (Yair Lapid) and Telem (Moshe Ya’alon) and has largely a centrist position with strong Zionist credentials.BW’s biggest challenge will be the maintenance of the alliance in the four years that follow. Benny Gantz, who heads BW is not personally popular with the Israeli public and will no doubt be challenged by Lapid, who is more charismatic and very outspoken.BW also needs to formulate what they stand for beyond the anti-Netanyahu focus. They need to convince the average Israeli what they can bring to the table that Netanyahu hasn’t already. Failure to take the initiative here, could doom BW to taking on the moniker of another anti-Netanyahu alliance from the past, the now dissolved Zionist Union.Benny Gantz - Strong military credentials. May be Prime Minister in the future. Source: Show us who you are, Benny GantzThe Religious Parties - Between the two of them United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and Shas picked up a total of 15 seats, with each party gaining one more than they did in 2015. Religious Party momentum will likely increase into the future as per demographic trends.UTJ largely represents Haredi Ashkenazi Jewish concerns while Shas draws support from observant Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews.Both are likely to feature prominently in the governing coalition which from a secular perspective does not necessarily bode well, especially if the very polarizing ‘Who is a Jew?’ question becomes front and center of the debate platform once again.Oddly enough United Torah Judaism attracted some Arab votes because of the good work of Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman shown above. Source: https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/11/strange-bedfellows-united-torah-judaism-and-the-arab-israeli-vote/The LosersLabor and Meretz- Every Israeli Prime Minister from 1948 to 1977 was a member of the Israeli Labor Party (Mapai). As late as 1999, the Party’s leader Ehud Barak defeated Benjamin Netanyahu in the run off for Prime Minister. The failure of both the Oslo Agreement and the 2000 Camp David Summit however, exposed the center-left Labor as a spent force.Fast forward to 2019 and the party of David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin has become a shell of its former self. Six seats in the Knesset in 2019 is its worst ever performance. This was two more than the number of seats won by the left wing Meretz Party. However this does not offer much comfort as Meretz came within a hair’s breath of missing the minimum cut off for the Knesset (they were likely saved by Druze voters). Next stop for Labor and Meretz though is irrelevance. The Israeli left needs to rethink its strategy.Ehud Barak - His Labor Party may be on the verge of extinction unless they can find a way of convincing the Israeli electorate that they are worth voting for. Looking at the last two election cycles this does not appear to be the case. Source Picture: Jerusalem PostThe Arab Parties - Low Arab turnout (believed to be a response to the Jewish nation-state law) did not help the two Arab alliances Hadash-Ta’al (six seats) and Ra’am Balad (four seats). This represents a drop of three from the Joint List (JL) tally of 13 that these parties achieved when they pooled their resources in 2015 to run under the JL banner. Other factors may be at play here, including a disenchantment with the party’s leadership whose socialist economic policies seem to be out phase with the country’s embrace of free market principles.Right of Center smaller parties - Yisrael Beitanu (Avigdor Lieberman), the United Right (Rafi Peretz) and Kulanu (Moshe Kahlon) won a total of 14 seats but this represents eight less seats than the number they achieved in 2015. The net benefactor of this seat shift appears to be Likud. Gone from the 20th Knesset are such figures as Naftali Bennett (once believed to be a rising star…he may still be) and Moshe Feiglin who will likely have to rework their future election strategy as the right consolidates around Netanyahu.So where does this all leave the country?Netanyahu looks stronger politically than he did in 2015. He can put together a more robust coalition, going into the 20th Knesset with 65 seats as opposed to the 61 from four years earlier. Likud is also stronger than they were in 2015.His partners in the coalition will demand their ‘fair’ share of ministerial positions and this will create the expected problems. Lieberman in particular is often at loggerheads with the PM (at times for good reasons) and Bibi can expect push back from the religious parties.The pro-settlement United Right could also be problematic as is evident by the rhetoric of their leader Rafi Peretz. Netanyahu needs to stand his ground and should not give into the growing one state chorus.Israel’s Right-Wing One-State Solution Won’t Work — But Neither Will the Left Wing Two-State SolutionThe smaller parties in the coalition need Bibi just as much as he needs their seat count in the Knesset. They are unlikely to achieve more success in a BW dominated coalition and Netanyahu must make this clear from the get go. Israel can ill afford to be held hostage for example by Haredi politicians over matters of religious orthodoxy or by the United Right’s drive to pour money into a renewed settlement drive.The Prime Minister though has several cards in his favour. The Free market direction that has defined his administration has largely been successful. Israel is the quintessential model for start-up nation and has developed into a hot spot of technological excellence. While there are issues about the spread of the wealth from the tech boom to the rest of the country, Bibi’s policy of global outreach is bearing the necessary fruit. There is largely an upbeat tone about Israel on this front with the necessary reservation expected.Israel's Economy Beats Expectations on Consumer SpendingIsrael's coming election will give the winner control over a booming economyBibi also enjoys a strong working relationship with the American President. The movement of the US embassy to Jerusalem, American withdrawal from the flawed Iranian nuclear deal and Trump’s recognition of Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights are all positives. Relations with the White House have improved remarkably since the dismal days of the Obama administration, when the former US president made no secret of his animosity towards Netanyahu and indeed intervened in the Israeli elections at the expense of the Israeli Prime Minister.Obama, Netanyahu spat seeps into Israeli elections - CNNPoliticsHowever Netanyahu has to be cautious. The Democratic Party is a powerful force in US politics and sooner or later will return to power. This may not occur under Bibi’s tenure, but Netanyahu needs to resist the temptation to play the partisan line with respect to the US. This could damage US-Israel relations in the future.There is still - despite the posturing of Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Bernie Sanders and others - considerable support for Israel among US Democrats, as there rightfully should be. It is after all the only real democracy in the Middle East and its survival resonates well with the American electorate.Iran’s belligerent stance will continue to threaten Israel and this will likely be Netanyahu’s biggest challenge over the next four years. The Iranians have renewed clout in Syria (with Russian backing) and will continue to use their proxy Hezbollah forces in Lebanon to harass Israel.The lifting of sanctions that followed the implementation of the P5 + 1 agreement (aka the Iranian Nuclear deal) has greatly benefited the Mullahs and strengthened Tehran’s hand in the region. Trump’s pullout from the deal is much welcomed but a great deal of damage has already been done and may still occur with the Europe Union and various other players often gaslighting Iran’s obvious threat to Israel.The P5 +1 Iranian Deal https://www.sampsoniaway.orgWith respect to the Palestinians, Netanyahu doesn’t have to push any renewed initiative at all, nor should he until the Palestinian get their house in order or at least show an inclination to do so. At present they have failed miserably at the task.Gaza is controlled by an Islamist regime (Hamas) that regularly lobs missiles at Israeli civilian targets and encourages the storming of borders, using human shields, to create international incidents that play into a scripted false victimhood narrative.Add to this the great deal of resources that Hamas has spent in digging tunnels into Israeli territory for the sole purpose of inflicting misery on the Israeli population and it is even more clear how morally repugnant they are as a political force, let alone the de facto government in Gaza.Hamas is not a partner for peace not as long as its existence continues to be predicated on the destruction of Israel as opposed to the establishment of a viable and workable Palestinian state in Gaza.The situation in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), with the corrupt Palestinian Authority (PA) serving as the poster child for government ineptness, is only marginally better.Mahmoud Abbas has essentially abandoned democracy and is now in the fourteenth year of what should have been a four year term of office. The PA continues to support an education curriculum that advances antisemitism at the school level and refuses to drop the Palestinian Right of Return from its political agenda (a euphemism for the destruction of Israel).Mahmoud Abbas - Focus of his policy by all indications is to hold on to position of power for as long as possible. In that respect he has been remarkably successful. Source: Mahmoud Abbas is here to stay, says Mahmoud AbbasAbbas himself often plays the antisemitic card. He has a tendency to minimize the Holocaust and as late as 2018 gave a speech at the Palestinian National Council that was so repugnant that it was jointly condemned by the United Nations, the European Union, Israel, several former Obama officials, Peace Now, the ADL and the New York Times. https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/World-fumes-over-Abbass-antisemitism-553351.Yes he is tainted but does deserve credit for bringing together forces that often take different positions with respect to the Israeli-Palestinian issue to universally condemn him.Abbas is not a peace partner either. Like his Hamas counterparts there is not much evidence to suggest that he believes that Israel has the right to exist within peaceful and secure borders.If Abbas showed meaningful movement in this direction he could make a strong case for a Palestinian state. The Palestinian people could greatly benefit from Israel’s economic and technological clout. I am not holding my breath.Such progress is unlikely to be forthcoming. Nor does it appear to be on the agenda for the future, so long as the Palestinian obsession with destroying Israel dominates over the need to build a workable infrastructure of their own. Bathing in a culture of victim hood and not moving on towards the future is ultimately self-destructive. The BDS movement exemplifies this pathology in spades.This is the great tragedy here. The Israeli population knows this and is well aware that the attitude would not change if Gantz, Lapid, Barak or any other mainstream political figure were in power in Israel.In the mean time Israel is looking forward. Problems persist on the home front (education and housing) but at the 71 year mark in its history the prognosis is looking good. We will wait and see what the future brings.