Logical disconnect
This is a tale of two countries; country one: is always under international political pressure, it is surrounded by enemies and is in a state of war with many of them. It is a pariah nation in the UN and its actions are perpetually under the microscope of international agencies and it is continually lambasted in the media for actions that in other countries are tolerated or ignored. Country two: is a peaceful country with a successful economy that has weathered the world economic crisis better than most. Its hi-tech sector is second in the world only to the US, and it is progressing economically in big strides, it has the largest desalination plants in the world and is known as an innovator in many areas, including the development of cellular phones, drones and many other systems.
Of course, both countries are Israel! How is this possible, how can both be the same country? It seems impossible. Somewhere there is a logical disconnect between these two constructs. The former is purely negative, the latter is purely positive. How can we reconcile this dichotomy about the same country. Perhaps the problem is one of perception, that Israel's enemies see only the negative, Israel as an aggressive, occupying force, and Israel's supporters see only the positive, Israel as a progressive, liberal and democratic state. Perhaps the truth lies between the two extremes. But, we should be careful of this compromise, just because there are two extremes it does not mean that the truth is equidistant between them. Just because there are Jews and anti-Semites doesn't mean that the anti-Semites are half right. Just because Israel exists doesn't mean its enemies are half-right.
"Start-up Nation" by Dan Senor and Saul Singer is an excellent account of how Israel went from being a small agrarian nation with ca. 650,000 people in 1948 to being an amazing economic success, particularly in the area of hi-tech. During the same period in which Israel experienced a 10 fold increase in population from the influx of mostly impoverished immigrants, and during which her people fought 5 major wars (1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982), Israel nevertheless increased its GDP per capita 60-fold (!) and is now on a par with most developed countries. Its hi-tech sector is second only to the US and it has more start-ups than Europe, Russia, and Japan combined. This kind of economic burst is unique in history, no other nation has accomplsihed so much even without the massive problems of accomodating immigrants and fighting continual wars.
The Senor-SInger book describes and tries to explain this phenomenon, how it is that Israel could have accomplished this feat, and they tell a fascinating and amazing tale. But, I feel that their explanation is too pat, it's all due to the Israeli character and the willingness to fail and the influence of the IDF on the thinking and actions of men who go into business. But, I feel that they avoid the most obvious reason, it is because Jews are good at abstract thinking. Given a problem Jews will try to solve it intellectually. This capability may have been developed from two influences, millenia of emphasis on Talmudic learning, and genetic selection in a very repressive and antagonistic world. Whatever the reason for this development, it seems to be true, given the number of Jews who have won Nobel Prizes (in Physics 22% from a world population of ca. 0.05%) and who have been successful in the arts, maths and sciences and have dominated some professions (e.g. psychiatry or molecular biology) far out of proportion to their numbers.
Applying these abilities to the problem of Jewish survival at last, with the appropriate military and security technologies, allows the IDF to do amazing things. For example, Israel now has 6 satellites, more per capita than any other country. With these and the use of drones and sophisticated software, Israeli eyes can see terrorists moving around the world, they can see the Iranians building nuclear bunkers and they can watch enemy military planners having meetings. They can also find out what the planners are saying and writing using humint (human intelligence), something that no other country, including the USA, has been able to do.
But, this book passes over the many terrible mistakes and errors that Israel and the IDF have made. For example: 1. The complete disregard by top security personnel of the impending Egyptian attack on the Suez Canal in the Yom Kippur war of 1973. The top brass were still thinking of 1967, but things had changed dramatically, and it was only the tenacity of the Israeli conscripts who managed to defeat the massed armies of the surrounding enemies. 2. Israeli hasbara, or PR, is universally recognized as woeful. The attitude fostered by politicians such as Shimon Peres is that because we are "right" we don't need to persuade people of our position. 3. Israeli's environmental record is pathetic, the few rivers that Israel has are polluted, and impressive development has been accomplished with almost no regard to environmental protection. 4. The death rate on Israel's roads is terrible, much more than people killed by terrorism and wars. Yet successive Israeli governments have failed to seriously tackle this problem.
Please read "Start-up Nation," and marvel at the amazing statistics of Israel's successes, particularly in hi-tech. But, bear in mind that this is only one side of the coin, and many people out there are plotting to undermine and destroy this amazing people in its sliver of land on the edge of civilization.
Of course, both countries are Israel! How is this possible, how can both be the same country? It seems impossible. Somewhere there is a logical disconnect between these two constructs. The former is purely negative, the latter is purely positive. How can we reconcile this dichotomy about the same country. Perhaps the problem is one of perception, that Israel's enemies see only the negative, Israel as an aggressive, occupying force, and Israel's supporters see only the positive, Israel as a progressive, liberal and democratic state. Perhaps the truth lies between the two extremes. But, we should be careful of this compromise, just because there are two extremes it does not mean that the truth is equidistant between them. Just because there are Jews and anti-Semites doesn't mean that the anti-Semites are half right. Just because Israel exists doesn't mean its enemies are half-right.
"Start-up Nation" by Dan Senor and Saul Singer is an excellent account of how Israel went from being a small agrarian nation with ca. 650,000 people in 1948 to being an amazing economic success, particularly in the area of hi-tech. During the same period in which Israel experienced a 10 fold increase in population from the influx of mostly impoverished immigrants, and during which her people fought 5 major wars (1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982), Israel nevertheless increased its GDP per capita 60-fold (!) and is now on a par with most developed countries. Its hi-tech sector is second only to the US and it has more start-ups than Europe, Russia, and Japan combined. This kind of economic burst is unique in history, no other nation has accomplsihed so much even without the massive problems of accomodating immigrants and fighting continual wars.
The Senor-SInger book describes and tries to explain this phenomenon, how it is that Israel could have accomplished this feat, and they tell a fascinating and amazing tale. But, I feel that their explanation is too pat, it's all due to the Israeli character and the willingness to fail and the influence of the IDF on the thinking and actions of men who go into business. But, I feel that they avoid the most obvious reason, it is because Jews are good at abstract thinking. Given a problem Jews will try to solve it intellectually. This capability may have been developed from two influences, millenia of emphasis on Talmudic learning, and genetic selection in a very repressive and antagonistic world. Whatever the reason for this development, it seems to be true, given the number of Jews who have won Nobel Prizes (in Physics 22% from a world population of ca. 0.05%) and who have been successful in the arts, maths and sciences and have dominated some professions (e.g. psychiatry or molecular biology) far out of proportion to their numbers.
Applying these abilities to the problem of Jewish survival at last, with the appropriate military and security technologies, allows the IDF to do amazing things. For example, Israel now has 6 satellites, more per capita than any other country. With these and the use of drones and sophisticated software, Israeli eyes can see terrorists moving around the world, they can see the Iranians building nuclear bunkers and they can watch enemy military planners having meetings. They can also find out what the planners are saying and writing using humint (human intelligence), something that no other country, including the USA, has been able to do.
But, this book passes over the many terrible mistakes and errors that Israel and the IDF have made. For example: 1. The complete disregard by top security personnel of the impending Egyptian attack on the Suez Canal in the Yom Kippur war of 1973. The top brass were still thinking of 1967, but things had changed dramatically, and it was only the tenacity of the Israeli conscripts who managed to defeat the massed armies of the surrounding enemies. 2. Israeli hasbara, or PR, is universally recognized as woeful. The attitude fostered by politicians such as Shimon Peres is that because we are "right" we don't need to persuade people of our position. 3. Israeli's environmental record is pathetic, the few rivers that Israel has are polluted, and impressive development has been accomplished with almost no regard to environmental protection. 4. The death rate on Israel's roads is terrible, much more than people killed by terrorism and wars. Yet successive Israeli governments have failed to seriously tackle this problem.
Please read "Start-up Nation," and marvel at the amazing statistics of Israel's successes, particularly in hi-tech. But, bear in mind that this is only one side of the coin, and many people out there are plotting to undermine and destroy this amazing people in its sliver of land on the edge of civilization.
posted by Jack Cohen at 4:36 PM
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