By MICHAEL OREN | The Washington Post How in 40 years the Jewish state went from inspiring underdog to supposed oppressor.   This year Israel is celebrating . . . a series of accomplishments that have surely exceeded the expectations of its most visionary founders. It is one of the most powerful small nations in history. . . . has tamed an arid wilderness welcomed 1.25 million immigrants. . . . The Israelis themselves did the fighting, the struggling, the sacrificing in order to perform the greatest feat of all—forging a new society . . . in which pride and confidence have replaced the despair engendered by age-long suffering and persecution. So Life magazine...

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