From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Israel turns 60 for better or worse.

Hello again, I'm Orman Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

the daily look at the issues. Americans care about most.

Israel's 60th Independence Day has produced both a joyous celebration of extraordinary progress

and somber reflection on what's to come. A tiny country has become a haven for Jews, a world

capital of culture and technology, and a nuclear power. But it's surrounded by hostile neighbors

internationally criticized for treatment of the Palestinians,

and be set by uncertainty about its future identity.

On to the point, with an Arab population that's growing fast,

can Israel be both democratic and Jewish?

What are the prospects for a two-state solution?

On reporter's notebook later on, a former commander of the war in Iraq says he was set up for failure.

Here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund,

whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Hello again. Mormon Alney back with To the Point. Israel turned 60 today, celebrating the past, but looking forward to an uncertain future. On To the Point with a growing population of Arabs, can Israel be democratic and remain Jewish at the same time? On reporter's notebook, General Ricardo Sanchez, former commander of

coalition forces in Iraq, accuses the Bush administration of gross incompetence and dereliction

of duty. First is news update. Fierce gun battles erupted today in Beirut, Lebanon, after the

western-backed government said it would shut down the telecommunications network run by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah's leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, called that a declaration of war.

Nicholas Blanford is based in Beirut for the Christian Science Monitor.

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