Israel is a nation of many miracles. From its independence, it has proved the world wrong time and again. A nation of refugees from all corners of Earth learned how to be democratic, militarily strong, liberal, and productive.
Israel's enemies may attempt to argue the objective truth that Israel is democratic and liberal, or make claims that its military strength is only from U.S. and diaspora Jewish support. However, the one point no one can refute is its remarkable economic ingenuity and productivity.
Israel is not only the clear regional leader in research and development, but a world leader as well. Israel flourishes in civil and military research and technology, environmental advancement, creating startups, and medical research. From a pure numbers game, Israel is 14th in the world in the number of patents produced, even more impressive when you take into account Israel's relatively short history and small population.
The number of multinational corporation R&D centers in Israel is among the world's highest, and is the highest per capita. The World Economic Forums' innovation index ranks Israel second. Israel is third on the Nasdaq for the most companies per country, ranking only behind the United States and China.
Why and how does Israel have such high levels of productivity and development? There are multiple potential factors that come into play. One is how Israelis are groomed to be successful and productive.
Most Israelis have to serve in the army in some capacity; this gives the country as a whole a massive number of veterans in the work force. Military training provides Israelis with discipline, work ethic, respect for leadership, teamwork skills, and a unique national camaraderie. It also creates an atmosphere of urgency regarding military research and development.
Israel is in the top three in rates of college-educated people, with 46 percent of its population holding college degrees. Israel impressively has the highest number of engineers per capita of any nation, and is first in the number of researchers per million people.
Culturally, Israelis have a strong sense of national pride and great desire to give back and strengthen the country. This generates a working atmosphere that is not only centered around personal success but geared toward strengthening the state. Israel's constant threats from its neighbors and from international campaigns, such as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, give great purpose to Israelis to work hard and be successful to ensure safety for the next generation.
In America, we work to achieve the American dream of success and stability for ourselves. In Israel, the country as a whole is the dream, and its citizens and supporters work to keep the nation prosperous and strong for future generations.
Another factor to Israel's success is waves of immigrants with high levels of education and professional development. The most notable and significant of these immigration cycles was the post-1990 mass Russian immigration after the fall of the Soviet Union. Roughly one million Russians of Jewish descent moved to Israel between 1990 and 2006. This wave has been considered a pivotal moment in Israel history, where a massive educated bloc of people entered the work force and ramped up the already growing high-tech industry.
From 1990 to 1993, 57,000 engineers and 12,000 doctors immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union. Prior to this there were only 30,000 engineers and 15,000 doctors in total in Israel.
Israel's success is important for its growth; however, it is also important for the world. Israeli technology has been used across the world to help alleviate environmental and humanitarian crises. Israel didn't stop at making its deserts bloom; it is committed to making the world bloom.
For example, Israel has offered vital water conservation technology to Iran amid a serious drought plaguing the country. Israeli company Netafim reinvented world agriculture by mastering and spreading drip-irrigation technology. This is specifically prominent in India and Africa where the technology has been vital to their more recent agricultural revolutions. Israeli tech even helps the most developed of nations. Amid serious droughts in California, Israel desalination companies are building units outside San Diego to help with the crisis.
Israel is a world leader in medical research and technology, which is vital in both its domestic needs and for the international community. For example, the ReWalk exoskeleton designed by Argo Medical Technologies has revolutionized movement for physically handicapped people. ReWalk has even allowed paraplegic runners to complete marathons.
The company Gamida Cell is transforming blood cancer treatment with its stem cell treatments, with clinical trials showing very promising results. Israeli company Nano-Retina has developed its Bio-Retina technology that gives people with heavily deteriorated sight the ability to see again. The technology is inserted into the eye as an artificial retina and can transmit light to electrical impulses in the brain, allowing people to see.
Israel's economic and technological success is unprecedented and potentially surprising. However, when you analyze Israeli culture and history, you can see how this small, young country was able to progress so rapidly and successfully.
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Noah Bradshaw is the University of Arkansas campus fellow for The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA).
Editorial on 02/28/2019