<p>With the state of Israel being continually mugged in the court of public opinion, I decided to check out Monday's celebration of the nation's 78th birthday, held by the Consulate General of Israel in Chicago. See how they are holding up.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Expecting something fancy, I put on my blue blazer and khakis. </p><p>"These are Israelis, right?" said my wife, whose point of reference is when you could take a taxi from Israel to Egypt and sleep on the beach.