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Can the world afford to be without Israel
Israel, the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world's
population, can lay claim to the following:
Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the
world. Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation
by a large margin - 109 per 10,000 people - as well as one of the highest per
capita rates of patents filed. In proportion to its population, Israel has the
largest number of start-up companies in the world. In absolute terms, Israel
has the largest number of start-up companies than any other country in the
world, except the U.S. (3,500 companies mostly in hi-tech). Israel is ranked #2
in the world for venture capital funds right behind the U.S. Outside the U.S.
and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies. Israel
has the highest average living standards in the Middle East. The per capita
income in 2000 was over $17,500, exceeding that of the UK. Israel's $100
billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined. On a
per capita basis, Israel has the largest number of biotech start-ups.
Twenty-four percent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees - ranking
third in the industrialized world, after the U.S. and Holland - and 12% hold
advanced degrees. Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship - and
the highest rate among women and among people over 55 - in the world. Israel
leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce,
with 145 per 10,000 as opposed to 85 in the U.S., over 70 in Japan, and less
than 60 in Germany. With over 25% of its work force employed in technical
professions, Israel places first in this category as well.
Technology. with more than 3,000 high-tech companies and start-ups, Israel has
the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world (apart from the
Silicon Valley). The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola, which has
its largest development center in Israel. Most of the Windows NT operating
system was developed by Microsoft-Israel. The Pentium MMX Chip technology was
designed in Israel at Intel. Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.
Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the U.S. in
Israel. Four young Israelis developed the technology for AOL Instant Messenger
in 1996. In response to serious water shortages, Israeli engineers and
agriculturists developed a revolutionary drip irrigation system to minimize the
amount of water used to grow crops.
Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita. An
Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered
and fully functional electricity generating plant, in southern California's
Mojave Desert.
Medicine. Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized,
no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer. An Israeli company
developed a computerized system for ensuring proper administration of
medications, thus removing human error from medical treatment mistakes.
Israel's Givun imaging developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it
fits inside a pill. Used to view the small intestine from the inside, the
camera helps doctors diagnose cancer and digestive disorders. Researchers in
Israel developed a new device that directly helps the heart pump blood, an
innovation with the potential to save lives among those with heart failure. The
new device is synchronized with the heart's mechanical operations through a
sophisticated system of sensors. A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the
ClearLight device, produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free,
narrow-band blue light that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct - all without
damaging surrounding skin or tissue.
Miscellaneous . Israel has the world's second highest per capita of new books.
Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net
gain in its number of trees, made more remarkable because this was achieved in
an area considered mainly desert. Israel has more museums per capita than any
other country. Israel has two official languages: Hebrew and Arabic. In 1984
and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000 Ethiopian Jews at risk in Ethiopia
to safety in Israel. Relative to its population, Israel is the largest
immigrant-absorbing nation on earth. Immigrants come in search of democracy,
religious freedom, and economic opportunity. Israel was the first national in
the world to adopt the Kimberly process, an international standard that
certifies diamonds as "conflict free." According to industry officials, Israel
designed the airline industry's most impenetrable flight security. U.S.
officials now look to Israel for advice on how to handle airborne security
threats.
All the above while engaged in regular wars with an implacable enemy that seeks
its destruction, and an economy continuously under strain by having to spend
more per capita on its own protection than any other country on earth. This
from a country just 55 years young having started off life on a very
frontiers-like basis, whose population had mostly just emerged from the
devastating World War II years.
What other country in the world can lay claim to such an achievement? How many
countries with more advantages than Israel have become basket cases and a burden
to the world community offering begging bowls instead of humanitarian succor?
The question should be not what makes Israel such a special case, but can the
world really afford to be without it?"
From Rabbi George Schlesinger
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