Exploring Israel, the startup nation (Part 1)
This was originally written in 2019 and I am publishing it in November 2022. I haven’t edited it since so as not to dilute my initial perspective from 2019 but the last 3 years have been challenging for most of the world including Israel with the Covid pandemic, Russia, Ukraine conflict and economic turmoil. Part 2 is here.
I am not objecting but if that concentration of the cunningest brains in the world were going to be made in a free country… I think it would be politic to stop it. It will not be well to let the race find out its strength. If the horses knew theirs, we should not ride anymore. (Mark Twain)
On 25th February 2019 I got on a plane with twenty two other people I had never met to a country I’d never visited, with all expenses paid by a non-profit organization (Birthright) I’d never worked for or donated to. Although I’d have loved to have said I had been given this opportunity because of something I’d achieved or some promise I’d shown earlier in my life that couldn’t be further from the truth. I was on this trip purely because of my family tree and the fact that I had Jewish grandparents who in an alternate history could’ve been targeted in the Holocaust if they had been living in mainland Europe rather than the UK. For someone who is appalled by the extreme versions of nepotism that occur in the UK (and elsewhere) and the indifference shown to kids born to parents without vast amounts of wealth, power and connections the irony wasn’t lost on me. I was taking advantage of an opportunity that was only available to me because of my family identity.
At the airport the individual I had the longest conversation with wasn’t on the organized trip at all. Her job was to ensure I didn’t pose a threat to the state of Israel and to advise that I keep my suitcase unlocked so that it could be searched. She was friendly enough but being asked questions about my itinerary, plans and motivations for traveling to Israel prior to getting onto the flight having had zero hours sleep the night before was an early reminder that this wasn’t just another vacation. I was traveling to a nation state that was less than a century old, landlocked by other hostile nation states with a recent history of regular suicide bombings and with arguably the most significant security and military challenges on the face of the Earth. There were similarities to the experience on landing in the US and so it didn’t surprise me that much (in some ways it was reassuring) but others complained about the abrasiveness of the experience, how their suitcases had been rifled through and in one case the seemingly arbitrary way they decided to seize a personal item of electronic equipment.
The two aspects that interested me most before embarking on the trip were the technology sector in Israel (will be explored in Part 2) and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I will cover the latter first because this conflict (and the UK media coverage of the conflict) was probably the primary reason I didn’t take the opportunity of a free Birthright trip when I was younger, which is when the majority of participants complete it. It also seems to be the primary reason Israel gets into the news abroad. Positive stories don’t seem to proliferate globally as effectively as flare ups between Israelis and Palestinians. Similarly, the UK only seems to make the news bulletins in the US when royalty get married or have babies (perhaps deservedly).
I don’t want to blame the UK media entirely for my prior perspective on Israel. I (and I think many others) find it more natural to empathize and sympathize with the less powerful and less resourced. At least in recent history, the people in Gaza are massive underdogs when it comes to military resources and effectiveness. That seems to be even more the case today where thankfully the regular suicide bombings perpetrated by Palestinians a decade ago seem to have almost entirely been eradicated. For that, the Israeli military deserves significant credit because the threat posed by individuals in Gaza does not seem to have dissipated.
Some treatment of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers that has circulated online has been extremely uncomfortable to watch and assuming their authenticity, ethically questionable. I do not seek to excuse these examples just like I do not seek to excuse other unacceptable behavior perpetrated by soldiers in other national armies. However, I challenge anybody to put themselves and their country in Israel’s shoes. I was born in England in the UK. The equivalent for England would be having Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and France all hostile to England and not recognizing its right to exist. All possessing armies, air forces and navies funded by oil rich oligarchs. Before university your sons and daughters face compulsory army service with many serving in bordering regions with daily interactions with people who would like to kill or wound them. Most Prime Ministers have built their reputations in the military. Indeed the brother of the current Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu was killed during a military exercise. No army (or country) is perfect and Israel’s isn’t either. But to watch those incidents online in isolation without a broader understanding of the situation and putting oneself in another peoples’ shoes is ridiculously shortsighted. Those in countries like the UK and the US are living in different worlds.
Whilst I was in Tel Aviv in March 2019 there was a rocket attack on Tel Aviv from Gaza presumably launched by Hamas. They were the first rockets to reach Tel Aviv in five years. Not only do they rarely reach as far as Tel Aviv but Israel also has a missile defense system installed called the “Iron Dome” which according to sources has a 90% success rate of intercepting rockets targeted at Israel. Inevitably there was an Israeli military response as there would be if France sent rockets across the English channel.
Borders are complex and ambiguous things. They have historically been drawn up by the winners of wars or forged in blood on the battlefield. There is little mathematical logic why a border between nation states should be where it is. The greatest defense for a border in today’s society are historical internationally recognized treaties. But every border drawn up initially had no historical precedent. The case for more generous borders for a Palestinian state is widely understood given the shocking living conditions experienced by the people of Gaza. However, the case for more generous borders to the Israeli state seems to be less widely understood. Israel, amongst other things represents the one place on Earth that guarantees a safe harbor from anti-semitism whilst it is ruled by a majority Jewish government. The history of global anti-semitism is shocking even if you were to ignore the events of the Holocaust and the 20th Century. For centuries if not millennia it was common for Jewish people to leave their country of residence due to discrimination and “pogroms” (physical attacks on Jews). If you believe that all peoples should have at least one nation state on Earth where they are truly safe from discrimination and violence you really should support the existence of a Jewish state and it being given the freedom to flourish.
Below is the area of land that makes up the Israeli state. Nearby countries such as Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia all have majority Muslim populations. Israel is the one state in the region (and the planet) with a majority Jewish population providing a safe harbor for Jews. Wherever you think borders should be drawn, we are not discussing a Genghis Khan attempt to build the largest empire in history. The borders and very existence of Israel get a lot of attention but neighboring nation states have similar histories. We are not analyzing a region where borders were globally recognized centuries ago and Israel is seeking to break them down. We are also not talking about an attempt to drive minorities out the country. It is important that the majority of the population is Jewish to maintain the legitimacy of a Jewish state but other faiths and ethnicities are free to follow their own customs and worship their own gods. The Christian and Muslim quarters of the Old Town in Jerusalem are protected and secured. This is not a country or government that is seeking to destroy diversity amongst its population and seeking the Jewish “purity” that some critics lazily suggest when comparing Israeli treatment of Palestinians with the Nazis’ treatment of Jews.
This yin and yang of every strength being a potential weakness and every weakness being a potential strength was a regular theme for me as I observed Israel for the first time. Take military expertise and readiness for example. A military without external threats carries out seemingly pointless military exercises by routine rather than in preparation for a real world exercise. There are certainly some that would argue that the US has been eager to get involved in wars thousands of miles from the US due to restless and unoccupied generals in addition to motivations to project its influence in all four corners of the world. Israel has no need to go searching for military exercises elsewhere because there are more than enough threats to keep it occupied on its own doorstep. These threats protect against this inevitable slide into mediocrity and rustiness when tools and expertise are not regularly sharpened. However, these threats are only relevant because they are truly threatening. The US would not choose to be surrounded by hostile nation states that threaten and oppose its very existence if it had a choice. Israel’s situation is both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness at the same time. But you can’t extract the weakness from the situation without also extracting the strength.
There was a national election in April 2019 with Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu seeking to become the longest serving Prime Minister in Israel’s history. As with President Trump in the US, there are rumors swirling on illegal acts committed by Netanyahu during his tenure related to corruption. I have not studied the evidence nor am I a lawyer so I can’t comment on whether these claims are justified. There is a saying “no smoke without fire” but having watched the desperation to fix charges of Russian collusion on Trump in the US I don’t know what to believe. From what I have watched (on YouTube) and read (e-books and online articles) Netanyahu seems both an impressive and formidable figure. He describes himself as right wing or center-right so obviously the left wing do not agree with his politics. The settlement policy in the West Bank is expansionist and understandably generates opposition from those who would rather allocate that land to a Palestinian state.
High profile politicians in Israel certainly seem a cut above the politicians I am used to in the UK. They seem to be more intelligent, knowledgeable, courageous and determined than the political class in the UK. I am certain one of the causes is the military service that Israelis must complete. Whilst British politicians typically go to $20,000 a year private school, study Politics Philosophy & Economics at Oxford and don’t gain any expertise in anything other than politics, Israeli Prime Ministers like Sharon and Netanyahu have built careers in the military leading operations risking their lives for the future of their country and building lifelong friendships with nationals from all societal backgrounds. It is almost embarrassing for me to compare them to the political class back in the UK.
Israel has so many ingredients that make a magical combination. There is this unique juxtaposition of a rich religious history (for Jews, Christians and Muslims) and the novelty of a nation state less than a century old. It trumps both the thousand year history of Britain with its biblical stories and the novelty of the US having been formed over a century later. It also demonstrates what is possible when you aspire to high levels of competence. Despite being a strong ally of the US, Israeli companies have made great inroads into the notoriously challenging Chinese market. Even countries with adversarial histories can be wooed when you have something to offer them. In this video Netanyahu offers Iranian citizens access to water purifying technology developed in Israel. Technological competence can be a much more effective tool for peace than appealing to emotions or a peoples’ sense of fairness.
No one can predict the future. But to me Israel feels like a nation with a purpose, a painful history of sacrifice and a bright future. In a world that is increasingly technological and totally transformed by startups the Israeli military and security apparatus is churning out some of the most highly competent technologists and startups outside of Silicon Valley. Whilst some nations are distracted by the incessant noise of politics and political correctness, others are building and preparing for the future. The startup nation may no longer itself be a startup. As promised I’ll explore the technology sector in Israel in Part 2.
