Education is the highest Jewish value in every family. The result is
that Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the
population in the world. Moreover, twenty-four percent of Israel's
workforce holds university degrees - ranking third in the
industrialized world, after the United States and Holland - and 12
percent of them hold advanced degrees.
The country's institutes of higher learning have gained international
standing. The Weitzman Institute of Science has been voted the best
university in the world for life scientists, to conduct research.
Scientific studies are in the forefront and as a result Israel
produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a
large margin - 109 per 10,000 people - as well as one of the highest
per capita rates of patents filed.
Israel has compulsory army service. Every youngster, at the age of
18, enters the army for three years. The army has served as a
front-runner in conceptualizing and developing state-of-the-art
weapons systems. Its technological and research departments have
contributed enormously to providing cutting-edge technology whose use
is far wider than state-of-the-art weapons systems. Such units have
made world-class breakthroughs in ballistic missile technology,
electro-optics and other fields. Soldiers from these units are highly
sought after in the hi-tech world, and have gone on to adapt their
experience from these units to use in household PCs, internet
portals, wireless communication and even in cancer research.
The Government of Israel has taken a strong stance in the financial
support of young technological enterprises.
The R&D Fund is the main support channel of the OCS, in terms of
budget, and it is open to all Israeli registered firms wishing to
engage in technological research and development. The proposals are
screened by technological evaluators, the final approval being that
of the Research Committee, chaired by the Chief Scientist. The annual
budget of $300 million is spent on about 1,000 projects being
undertaken by 500 companies.
In order to attract foreign investments the Government has created
the Law for the Investment of Foreign Capital. The key of the law is
an outright 18% cash grant of capital invested. As a result companies
such as Intel, IBM and Motorola have set up shop in Israel and employ
thousands of workers.
63 Israeli start-ups were acquired by Israeli or foreign companies
last year for an aggregate $2.75 billion. 332 start-ups were founded
and 204 closed down in 2005, and Israel had 2,622 start-up operating
at the end of the year.
Finally, salaries in high-tech companies are considerably higher
than those of paid in other professions.
We take this opportunity to wish our subscribers and the many
visitors to our web site a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Peaceful
New Year.
Much has been written about Israel's technological prowess and
ingenuity. Recognition has been awarded and in the United States
alone Israel has the single largest number of companies listed on
Nasdaq, the stock market specializing in technology issues.
Less attention has been focused on the factors responsible for this
excellence. Perhaps, first and foremost, is the high level of
education and an innate striving for success. Two Israelis have won
the 2004 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their ground-breaking work in
cancer research. In the past four years four Israelis have been
awarded Nobel Prizes.