Alva Review-Courier -

JERUSALEM (AP) — Seventy years since the day of Israel's founding, wildly contrasting images of victory and violence showcased the contradictions that bedevil the Jewish state.

Deadly protests flared along the Gaza border, where troops killed dozens of Palestinians, while politicians feted the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem as a symbol of ironclad alliance with Washington. And with improbably odd timing, seemingly oblivious to both, crowds gathered in liberal Tel Aviv to exult over the winner of a campy European pop contest.

Nahum Barnea, Israel's leading columnist, said the events highlighted...