Sand and Brains: Israel's Only National Resources

According to Gavriel Iddan, inventor of the PillCam and founder of Technicon (one of Israel’s largest biotech companies), the types of attitudes driving Israel’s inventiveness reflect “…‘modern-day versions of the old pioneering spirit…The only national and natural resources we have are sand and brains. And with brains we’re turning sand into silicon” (Rosenthal, The Israelis, 92). Today, Israel’s high-tech industries “remain the piston driving Israel’s economic engine” (80).
    

            By all accounts, Israel is leading the global pack in terms of its contributions to high technology and science. Since its creation, Israel has made significant advancements in the fields of agriculture, alternative energies such as wind and solar, computer science, electronics, engineering, genetics, medicine, and optics. According to Donna Rosenthal, “Israel has more engineers, scientists, life science researchers, and physicians per capita than any country in the world. After the United States, Britain, and Germany, Israel leads in the number of biotech, medical devices, and diagnostics startup companies” (96). This is a huge achievement for a country roughly the size of California with a population a little more than that of Los Angeles.

            For example, Since 1974, Israel has been working in collaboration with Intel designing computer processor chips . Additionally, Israel has made great advances in biotechnology, where, among other things, it has created non-invasive procedures for the detection of cancer and disease. These procedures aim to detect ailments early so that treatment can be administered, and ideally, to be able to prevent them. Israel has also pioneered the development of the Internet. In terms of agritech, Israel has increased health within the Middle East region by enriching the nutritional quality of wheat, and by erecting desalinization plants to improve irrigation. Furthermore, Israel has contributed to defense technology with the inventions such as the Uzi and innovations to missiles and satellites. Israel has also been working hard to improve alternative energies such as wind and solar. According to the Israel High Tech & Investment Report, “Israel, which long has been a global leader in military technology, is adapting its technologies to develop green advances. Countless other advances are responsible for Israel’s growing prominence within the international community."

            Israel’s technology sector has arisen out of technologies developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Technologies once developed for the purpose of warfare have been reapplied within civilian commercial enterprises. The technology boom is also largely due to the number and quality of educational and research institutions in Israel, as well as the number of scientists and researchers that have immigrated to the country since World War II. Scores of scientists, engineers, and other academics flocked to Israel both during and after the Holocaust and for various reasons thereafter.

            The attitudes of Israelis are largely responsible for Israel’s success. As a result of training within the IDF, people have learned how to work together as a team. Their training has enabled them to make important decisions quickly and well. According to Rosenthal, “To Israelis, the word ‘no’ is a dare…Israelis always try to find another way. You close the door on them and they jump in through the window” (81). In other words, given a solution to any situation, Israelis will try to find another, better solution. Generally speaking, the life experiences and attitudes of Israelis motivate them to greater success. In the words of Imad Younis, president of Alpha Omega Biomedical Engineering, one of Israel’s most successful biotech companies: “If people could see our labs, they’d see another reality: people working together not just for our bank accounts, but for humanity. It’s a very inspiring picture of how life can be” (96).