The Hebrew poet Bialik greeted the news of the first burglary in the all-Jewish city of Tel Aviv years ago by thanking God for letting "us live to see this day and hour." Bialik was reflecting the universal Jewish desire to live like other people, to have their own nation, even if it meant having their own criminals.
Last week, as Israel proudly celebrated the fourth anniversary of its independence, the wish had been fulfilled. The tiny, overcrowded land of 1,500,000 people had all the appurtenances of nationhood. It had as many murders last year as metropolitan London, which has...
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