This week, according to the Jewish calendar, is the 70th anniversary of Israeli Independence. One item that has been mentioned caught my attention because I live in Israel. According to a UN survey measuring “happiness” of residents of 160 countries Israel was ranked 11th. That was ahead of the US and the UK. There are other notable items about my adopted country. We have about 0.1% of the worlds population and yet attract 20% of the investment in new start-up companies. There is a reason our software developments are said to come from silicon wadi. Many are bought by the giants in silicon valley.
Incidentally, one major factor in our high rating in happiness is that Israeli Arabs feel they have more freedom of choice, including voting rights and acceptance to higher learning institutions than Arabs living elsewhere in the world. That isn’t only in the traditional Arab countries, but also in Europe and North America.
A lot of media coverage talks about conflicts in our region, but the UN has yet to pass a resolution condemning Syria for using poison gas on her own civilian population. This mirrors some earlier conflicts where Iraq dropped poison gas on towns within its own border and Egypt used poison gas when it intervened in Yemen some 50 years ago. Using poison gas has been outlawed since the end of the First World War a century ago.
There are other areas where Israel stands out as a pioneer and innovator. I’m proud of her achievements in agriculture and medicine, and for sharing these things with other nations. I’m also proud of her launching satellites into space. Only 6 other countries have ever done that and they are all much bigger than our tiny little slivver of land at the Eastern end of the Mediterranean.
Wetherhorn 