This month, Israel – the feisty little country founded on “HaTikva” (the hope) and not much else—celebrates its 60th birthday, proving at least one thing: Even today, miracles happen.
Many times during those six decades, Israel faced total destruction, when it appeared the noble experiment had failed. But each time, something happened and Israel was saved.
Today, in spite of the best efforts of its enemies, Israel is still here. The country’s meager 10,000 square miles are constantly under assault, while most of the world hates Israel for defending itself.
In March, MSNBC News reported that after Iran, Israel was the world’s most hated country. Sometimes, we Israelis don’t even like ourselves. Even though 80 percent of us want our corrupt and self-serving prime minister removed, there is little we can do. Lacking both a constitution and most of the safeguards a real democracy would have, Israel’s people have little actual power. Last year, a strike shut down the school system for so long, some kids lost a whole year. Iran is another issue, daily promising The Big One is on the way. It’s no wonder seasoned commentators suggest that today, Israel is the weakest it has been since 1948.
Even so, don’t count us out. To paraphrase former Union writer Mark Twain, rumors of our demise are greatly exaggerated.
So instead of doom and gloom, let’s celebrate some of Israel’s achievements.
Technology
Israel – the world’s 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world population – is a technological powerhouse. Per capita, we have the highest percentage in the world of home computers. Cell phones are an Israeli development, by Motorola’s Israeli branch. Microsoft-Israel developed Windows NT software, while Intel’s Israel branch designed the Pentium MMX Chip technology.
Love it or hate it, voice mail was developed here, too, as was AOL’s Instant Messenger.
Food
If you ask me, the cherry tomato ranks among Israel’s finest inventions. Researchers in the Negev’s Kibbutz Revivim – mentioned in the April 25 column – discovered that when tomato plants were irrigated from saline aquifers deep under the desert, they’d go into shock, producing smaller, but exquisitely tasty fruit. Today, “Desert Sweets,” Israel’s own unique variety, set the standard for cherry tomatoes everywhere.
Israel’s fine kosher wines prove there’s a world beyond Manischewitz. Last month, two Israeli wines, from two different wineries, won gold medals at the Challenge International du Vin in Bordeaux, France—beating out 30 other countries with 4,771 total entries. Four other Israeli wines, from three different wineries, won silver medals and three more captured Bronze.
The People
Israel has the highest living standard in the Middle East. Israel’s $100 billion economy is bigger than all its immediate neighbors combined. Proportionally, more Israeli citizens hold university degrees than any other country in the world.
Per capita, we’re the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth. Imagine the diversity issues in my city of Beersheba: with about 200,000 residents, the local school system includes kids from 180 different countries, speaking 160 different mother tongues. We hold another record, too – Beersheba has the highest per capita percentage of Chess Grand Masters in the world – one for every 22,875 residents.
Book lovers abound. Israel has the world’s second highest per capita number of books. We also have more museums, per capita, than any other country in the world. Israel ranks third in the world in business formation and first among businesses owned by women and by people over 55. And eat your heart out, Hillary: Israel elected a woman as prime minister back in 1969, when Milwaukee-raised Golda Meir took over.
Environment
By 2011, your home may be using electricity developed by an Israeli company. PG&E just contracted to buy enough electricity to power 400,000 homes in northern and central California, electricity generated from solar panels built by Solel, a Beit Shemesh company, installed in the Mojave Desert.
Modern drip irrigation came from here, too. In 1959, Simcha Blass and his son Yeshayahu improved an older system that relied on perforated pipeline, with holes that easily became plugged. With the Blass system, developed in Kibbutz Hatzerim, water passes through larger and longer pathways, using friction to slow its release. California farmers were among the first users of Israel’s Netafim drip systems.
We like trees, too. Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in the number of trees. Interesting, as most of Israel is a desert.
The Future
As ages pass and milestones are met, one thing never changes in Israel: our hope for the future. “HaTikva,” the Israeli national anthem, says it best:
“Our hope will not be lost,
The hope of two thousand years,
To be a free nation in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.”
To read part one of this series, click here