Jamie

Weinstein

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May 12, 2008

Israel and Innovation at 60

Last Thursday, Israel celebrated 60 years as a modern nation. At 60, Israel has much to look back and be proud of.

From its very first breath, Israel has had to fight for its life. The fact that this tiny oasis of freedom in the totalitarian Middle East is even around today to celebrate its 60^th birthday is a testament unto itself. Depending on how you count, Israel has been involved in at least four wars against enemies who so vehemently and earnestly sought her destruction. Each time, Israel rose to the challenge, rallied its citizens and saved itself without sacrificing its soul.

But too many in the world know Israel primarily as a place of conflict. Less well known is the fact that Israel is a hub of great technological advancement. As Israel celebrates its birth as a nation, the world should celebrate its contributions to innovation.

In the midst of war and peace, terror and bloodshed, Israel has somehow risen to the forefront of technological discovery. While her enemies have exported destruction, terror, hatred and misery, Israel has exported creative genius, technological advancement and modernity.

The embattled Jewish state is a worldwide leader in technology. This is why the world's most important technological companies come to Israel. Microsoft, Cisco Systems, IBM and Motorola, for instance, all have major research and development facilities in the Jewish state. Recently Warren Buffett, the world's richest man and most celebrated investor, decided that the technologically sophisticated Israeli metalworking company Iscar would be his first major investment outside of the United States.

"If you go to the Middle East looking for oil, you don't need to stop in Israel," Buffett said in a prepared video presented at the American Israel Pubic Affairs Committee's 2007 Policy Conference. "But if you go looking for brains, for energy, for integrity, you know, it is the only stop you need to make in the Middle East."

This grandiose endorsement is worth a second thought. What have Israel's neighbors contributed to the world in the last 60 years? Michael Jordan has probably provided just about as much for the international community over that period of time as the country of Jordan. Everyone appreciates fine Egyptian cotton sheets, but Egypt is hardly overflowing with innovative gifts for mankind. And Syria? Well, they may be the hub for more terrorist organizations than anywhere in the world, but I doubt that a single technology company has opened up shop there.

In contrast, Israeli technological achievements are all around us. When you turn on your computer containing a Pentium chip, when you use AOL instant messenger to communicate with your friends, when your life has been saved as a result of something found in a CT scan or a MRI – all this and much more you can thank Israeli technology for. Even when Britney Spears told Kevin Federline that the "romance" was over through a text message, she had Israeli technology to thank for providing her such an impersonal forum.

In his forward to Helen and Douglas Davis's book Israel in the World – where you can read about the many of the innovations previously mentioned – News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch sums it all up. "From media and telecommunications to IT and banking," he writes, "Israel technological advances are key contributors to the progress and strength of the global economy."

But it is just not technological achievement that makes Israel stand out. If you can judge a nation by the friends it keeps, then here too Israel has much reason to hold its head high. American presidents from Harry Truman to John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush have all called Israel a friend and a partner. The great former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once noted: "I am a Zionist. Let me make that clear. I was one of the original ones after the Balfour Declaration and I have worked faithfully at it."

Great philosophers, scientists, politicians, and humanitarians have all stood behind Israel in both its times of prosperity and in its times of need.

Yes, at 60, Israel has much to be proud of, both in terms of its contributions to humanity and the way it has conducted itself under the most trying of circumstances. And while Israel's enemies are still numerous and still openly call for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map, the words of John F. Kennedy ring truer than ever: "Israel was not created in order to disappear – Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom."

Happy Birthday, Israel. Here’s looking to many more.

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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