The people of the new nation of Israel had the odds against them in 1948.Their backs were to the sea, their enemies who outnumbered the citizens by dozens to one, and armies with up to date weaponry and led by experienced British former officers were lying in wait for the emergence of the first Jewish State since 135 CE. After the declaration of Statehood the torrent of war was launched and arms embargoes were declared by nations, even friendly ones who feared the loss of oil supplies and future access to petrol products. The new nation had to improvise and did, ingeniously.
From homemade tanks to cannon and mortars the new citizen army fought back invaders from all over. Byzantine pilots brought in veteran Spitfires and P 51’s as well as volunteer pilots with Ace ranking to defend the skies over The Land. There were new victory marks on the cowlings as skies were filled with contrails and tracers. Israel is a land of miracle and when the enemies finally relented and the shooting stopped the new nation stood independent and steadfast.
The intellectual and educational power contained in Israel is simply astounding. From tinkerers of necessity to innovators of the unheard of, new technologies worthy of world investors and business partners are a daily occurrence in The Land. Israel’s technological success began before The Land itself was legally constituted as a separate State. In 1912 while the Ottomans ruled as somewhat benevolent despots from Istanbul, the Technion Institute was established. Since then over 98,000 graduates have shared their minds, ideas and concepts. They have partnered with inventions, innovations and research that have made the world a better place.
Israel leads the world with the most start-ups per capita. It also has the third highest number of patents granted per capita as well. The United States and Switzerland are Israel’s leading partners in R&D cooperation. Today the average person is most familiar with two Israeli-made and developed items that occupy opposite ends of the technology spectrum: SodaStream and Iron Dome. The history of homemade soda pop is full of flops, literally. Combinations of wrong mechanical parts, expense or just bad tasting soda pop sent all the predecessors to the charity stores. SodaStream, through well developed technology and simplicity and excellent partnering in world marketing has succeeded where others ran out of bubbles. When Israel deploys the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system, those under it are safe. This immensely successful, dead-on system can be moved to threatened areas and protect those under its shield, whether Jewish, Arab or visitor to Israel, equally and effectively from attack by those who would rain down death and destruction on military or civilian targets.
Israel’s faith has saved many times over and even provided a technological boost to inventiveness. The Zomet Institute has matched scientists, R&D specialists and rabbis to develop technology items that can be used on Shabbat. Improvements to such everyday items as metal detectors, jeeps, elevators, wheelchairs and other items used by health institutions, airports and defense organizations have been led by restrictions on use of electricity on the Sabbath Day.
Rabbinical opinions of the past have leaned towards a prohibition of the use of generated electricity since it involves lighting a fire on Shabbat, directly prohibited by Torah. Ultra-Orthodox and Haredi communities strenuously have objected to use of electrical power on Shabbat. Some communities began to set up and install their own power generators in buildings in order to be satisfied with their interpretation of this facet of Torah observance. One of the few examples of execution for a precept of Torah comes from this particular instance where a man was stoned for gathering wood for fire in full view of others. A conscientious effort to be compliant in the Jewish State has led to technological innovations to generate and save electricity, in short, Kosher electricity. These developments are energy saving and have applications beyond the immediate solutions as well.
From Iron Dome and delicious homemade soda pop, to electricity that obeys Biblical injunctions, Israel’s innovations are found in many places doing many things. Even before the State began in 1912 minds that desired to apply their curiosity and genius to problem solving came to The Land and the Technion. Today Israel is a world leader in technology and innovation. What else could you expect in a land of milk and honey and the best fizzy soda pop?
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