Disclosure:
I will confess to having viewed news reports on TV a few minutes ago. If that makes me a pariah, so be it.
The news about shootings of protesters in Syria, near-riots in Jordan and civil war in Libya give me pause to have gratitude to the Ribono Shel Olam that Eretz Yisrael by comparison is calm (even after taking into consideration this week’s horrific bus bombing) and that its government (whatever its other flaws) is not engaging in such behavior.
This is not intended to start a debate on the halachic merits or demerits of medinat yisrael. Whatever those are, the fact of calm and the ability for a Jew to walk through the streets of arei yehuda and sadei yisrael must command our gratitude.
Think of this. Thousands of Jews now are walking towards the kosel hama’aravi to daven kabalas Shabbos soon. The contrast between the serenity in which they may walk and the murderous chaos that engulfs the neighboring countries is a bracha.