About Us Israelis – Israel's Major Achievements at 65

Israelis have become notorious for their country's geo-political circumstances. Less is known about their great achievements and their contribution to humanity. So, let me try and give you a taste of the latter. 

The Jewish People is more than 3000 years old but its nation state is only 65 – a toddler in historic terms. Yet, never in modern history has such a young country achieved so much. We are only humans and we have and continue to disperse our share of mistakes along the timeline; but in the final account of things, it seems that we are doing rather well. In fact, Israelis rated their country in the 14^th place, out of 155 countries, in the latest annual "Happiness Report", conducted by the Earth Institute of Columbia University. We are happier than Brits, Belgians, Germans, Japanese and the French. Surprising, isn't it? Well, not for us!

What is considered by most to be natural and undisputed – the simple notion that people have a God-given right to exist – is by no mean natural and undisputed for Jews living inside and outside Israel. Israel rose out of the ashes of the holocaust with the clear, declared and unequivocal aim of creating a national home for the Jewish People – the most persecuted people in history. This is also one of the greatest Jewish achievements in history.

In this respect, Israel's greatest achievement up to date is its mere existence. This achievement is astonishing when you take into account the hostile forces that surround it, their monumental financial capabilities, the number of players in the international arena and their overwhelming numbers in population. The threat of annihilation is always hanging over our heads, not as a metaphor, but for real. It is stated publically before roaring crowds by all sorts of lunatics – some of them leaders of nations. Bearing in mind our kind of history, don't blame us for taking these threats very seriously.

The years have seen Israel growing strong, absorbing millions of immigrants, making friends with the peoples and nations of the world, and flourishing socially and economically. The Israeli Defense Forces have grown ever-stronger, successfully meeting military challenges and ever-adapting itself to the complicated realities of our region and to new technologies. Our greatest friends, the American People, with their generosity and shared values, have stood by us and helped us grow stronger and more secure. It is a fact that, while still facing many security challenges, Israelis today feel more secure than in the past.  

Another great achievement for us Israelis is the realization of the Zionist dream. Zionism is, not only the dream of returning and settling the Promised Land. It is also to see the day when most of the Jews in the world will be living in it. Well, that day is already here. In 2013, the majority of Jews, some six million strong, are living in Israel. This has taken a high birth-rate, long life-expectancy and years of absorbing new Jewish immigrants from all over the globe to achieve. Although one must admit with all honesty that this so called achievement has also to do with the unfortunate decline in numbers of American Jewry – primarily through low birth rate and assimilation.

Another monumental achievement of our 65 year development is Israel’s miraculous economic success. Defying the annoying lack of natural resources in an area packed with oil and gas mega-powers, Israel today is a proud member of the exclusive OECD club, enjoying one of the most stable economies in the world, led by industries based on cutting-edge technologies, innovation and scientific brilliance.

In the last 20 years, the Israeli market has grown by a stunning 270% while Israel's population grew by only 140%. Israel's 21% growth in the last five years is higher than in all 34 OECD countries. Its GDP per capita is approximately $US 30,000 and its unemployment rate in 2013 is lower than in the United States and in most European countries. Israel's high-tech industry is second only to the United States in the number of start-up companies, in innovation and in its contribution to the world's technological advancement. Suffice to say that if you look at the inside of a computer, cellular phone or tablet, you will find many Israeli hand-prints; and when you switch these on, you will encounter many Israeli applications, vital for these devices mere functioning.

Furthermore, the Jewish state has been ranked number 20 by The Economist in its research bearing the title "the best place to be born." The project's aim is to identify which of the countries of the world will offer their citizens in 2030 the best living conditions, health system, public safety and general prosperity. Not bad considering the world comprises 196 countries – as I write these words. We’re in the top 10 countries for life expectancy and our young population is expected to grow more than 6% by 2020. This insures economic strength and sustainable success for generations to come.  

Another remarkable achievement is Israel's educational system – on all levels. The People of the book always regarded education as its highest priority. While Israeli higher education institutions enjoy immense respect in and outside of Israel, recent years have witnessed a fierce debate among us Israelis with regards to the quality of education provided to primary and high-school pupils. The debate is ongoing and it deals with both the condition of the state-run education apparatus and its curriculum. Critical as we are of everything, Israelis have been bashing and slashing the government for what is perceived as a constant deterioration in the quality of education.

Surprisingly for many of us, studies show otherwise. In fact, they show the opposite. The Progress International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which performs comparative literacy, Mathematics and Science tests, have ranked Israeli children second in the world in literacy, seventh in Mathematics and eighteenth in Sciences. So I guess our educational system is not so awful after all.

Having an efficient public health system is another huge achievement worth mentioning. An international team, consisting of OECD and external experts, studied Israel’s medical services immediately after the country became a member of the Organization. They visited the country's five largest hospitals and many community health funds clinics in Jewish development towns and in numerous Arab villages. They stated in their report that Israel has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. This achievement is unprecedented in light of the fact that the Israeli system covers each and every single Israeli citizen, regardless of age or chronic diseases.
Israel’s health system is especially praiseworthy for its early diagnosis of chronic diseases, which prevents unnecessary hospitalization – this again, according to the European experts’ report.

Another far-reaching Israeli achievement continues to be our Agriculture. Since its birth, our agriculture sector has been forced to provide our citizens with advanced solutions to agricultural challenges. Situated in one of the world’s most arid regions, Israel had to find ways to overcome the grave desert limitations. This led the country to become a pioneers in what is known today as Agri-Tech, namely, finding technological solutions to agricultural problems. Soon, Israelis gave mankind ground-breaking inventions like drip irrigation, recycling, purifying and the reuse of wastewater for agriculture purposes, the genetic engineering of fruits and vegetables durable for desert surroundings, and hot-house technology, which allows growing all kinds of crops regardless of weather conditions. Israeli farmers and researchers, together with government funding and the Israeli agriculture-related industry, have found ways to overcome most of the problems introduced by the harsh Israeli terrain – for the benefit of Israelis as well as humanity.

This brings me to another unprecedented achievement of Israelis - our contribution to humanity. In the first decade of the 21^st century, Israelis of the Jewish faith are ranked first in Nobel Prize laureates. This is an amazing figure considering the fact that Israel's population is 0.2% of the world's population. Israeli Nobel Laureates have conducted research in economics, medicine, chemistry and mathematics, adding to humanity’s understanding of our universe – of our lives.

We have many more achievements to brag about, but I think the point has been made. So when thinking about us Israelis, remember that there is much more to us than the hard-news images the international media chooses to show on your TV screens; and that behind, beside, and ahead of every attention-grabbing news item, there’s usually an equally fascinating story of humanity and the human spirit on the other side.