During their 1948 War for Independence, Israeli Jews adopted a phrase to hearten one another no matter how gloomy a situation appeared. "Yihye tov," they would say in Hebrew, meaning "It will be good." The words gradually became a talisman against any troubles, and they were invoked frequently during the Six-Day War —whose third anniversary comes this week. Now, however, the phrase has been amended. "Yihye beseder" or roughly, "It will be O.K." The difference seems slight, but it is not. Confidence has given way to a nagging note of uncertainty. Things may...
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