Posted on 12/21/2009 5:35:31 AM PST by Ari Bussel
Israel, A Bird’s Eye View by Ari Bussel
Israel from above is a miracle and looks too innocent to be generating all the havoc around her. As we increase our distance into the clouds, she looks petite, fragile, almost under-developed, clearly out of proportion with the daily uproar that surrounds her.
Flights to Europe that depart at the early morning hours are a disaster, forcing one to wake up at 2AM in order to leave at 3AM for the airport to catch a 5:30AM flight. Essentially, the night’s rest is ruined, nonetheless, seeing the horizon lit with a yellowish-reddish light was worth the effort.
For a second I was reminded of the sun rising over the hills of Judea and Samaria when I was in boot camp. Sharing a tent with 20 other young men, we were innocent, full of naiveté and ideals. At that time, there was an Israeli-Arab conflict and there were no “Palestinians.” Arafat was a murderer and a wanted terrorist, Gaza was a place no one wanted to control or live in and “freedom fighters” (or as they are called today “Palestinian Authority police peace keeping forces”) were not armed to the teeth.
I remember clearly the night that preceded that wonderful sunrise. A discussion was taking place about matriculation exams, without which a person cannot advance in Israel. I, the foreigner who graduated from Beverly Hills High School, had completed none. The other recent-high school graduates explained the importance of the opportunities afforded people like myself during service to catch up and complete the exams. My fellow soldiers were from all walks of society, no common thread was evident. No one other than the base commander knew I was on a leave of absence from Stanford University.
Education is a crucial element for the Jewish people. Some compare Chinese and Jewish people in that respect. I remember another picture, the end of the school year during sixth grade. We were in Iran at the time, at an Israeli school. Class sizes were the best of any institution I have ever known. We gathered at my classmate Karen Balass’ home to celebrate the end of the school year. Karen’s mother congratulated me warmly. Her daughter and I had competed for the position of top student. It was not so much the grades that were being celebrated; it was the emphasis on the value of education, the need to excel, the drive to be the best that drove Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews alike.
Success was not measured by grades alone. There were family values, which to this very day characterize both the Persian people and the Jewish nation (albeit for different reasons and in different manifestations altogether).
Israel’s geography has now disappeared below the cloud cover. I recall the discussions about education in Israel. Much like in the USA, education is suffering greatly, a generation is growing up knowing how to Google or Twitter, YouTube or Facebook, but cannot locate a particular country on the globe, lacking the knowledge of one’s own history, not to mention other required basics to be considered intelligent, prerequisites to becoming a productive member of society.
Israel’s Business Conference
Earlier this week, Israel’s Business Conference by Israel’s leading financial paper Globes was held in Tel Aviv. Two and a half days of Israel’s business and government elite gathered in one place. Of all the conferences I have attended in Israel, this was the most unique. Let us look at some of its highlights.
The opening evening, a message like no other
Among the usual congratulatory remarks, food and drinks and a musical performance, the Mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffe spoke. He talked about a city celebrating its centennial, a city with 250,000 residents at the time of formation of the modern State of Israel. Israel then had 650,000 Jewish people living in the country.
Today too, Tel Aviv-Jaffe is the center of gravity for the country. There is “The Center” and “The Periphery” (everything outside the main block around the greater Tel Aviv-Jaffe region). It is the center of business and diplomacy (there are no embassies in Jerusalem, rather they prefer Tel Aviv), of nightlife and day commerce.
It is said that as long as missiles do not reach or hit Tel Aviv, the rest of the country can suffer and not much would be done. Tel Aviv is the redline that should not be crossed. Yet, we know that it was crossed, some 19 years ago when Saddam Hussein targeted the center of Israel (as well as the Nuclear Reactor in the Negev). We also know it will be crossed again, since Hamas just had completed an operational demo with new imports: Iranian missiles that can easily reach Tel Aviv.
Tel Aviv became the symbol of a vibrant, proud Israel. Like the embassies, it is disconnected from Israel’s true and eternal capital. It is young and alive, growing and contains a promise for the future. Yet, there are quarters there where foreign workers live in third-world conditions; there are places where prostitution and drug use are rampant; and few can afford the fabulous prices of condos.
Tel Aviv at 100 is amazing and thrilling, yet is signifies the advance of materialism, the height of “what’s in it for me” mentality. It is the good life.
During the Second War in Lebanon the missiles hit south of Haifa. During Operation Cast Lead, the rockets from Gaza must missed Rehovot in the outskirts of the southern part of “The Center.” We should expect in the next war to see the downfall of The Center. The Azrieli Towers and the military’s General Headquarters, the Diamond Exchange and the 40 to 50 story high residential buildings are too tempting to pass.
What will Israel do then? Escape from the Center to the Periphery?
The Mayor of Tel Aviv did not provide these doomsday scenarios. He reminded those present that the business community has a great and important social responsibility. He used the phrase “a more deserving society,” which gave the tone to the next two days. This was the cue to this year’s conference. People did not go heavy hearted, but were astounded by the depth of the message and the Chutzpa the Mayor displayed by reminding them with great power also comes great responsibility.
Into the future, a standing room only
The CEOs of Google Israel, 888 and other top communication / Internet providers participated in a panel. The room was packed full, the average age younger than other sessions. Preceding the panel discussion, a young guy spoke. Jared Cohen is member of the Policy Planning Staff of Secretary of State Clinton. He presented what the USA is doing around the globe.
Cohen emphasized the role of new technologies in transforming public diplomacy and foreign policy. He gave the examples of Kenya and Afghanistan where salaries are paid via cell phones, thus cutting corruption and increasing efficiency. In 2008 in Kenya, $1b was paid through transfers over cell phones.
He recalled interviewing young Persian kids in Iran during a stay in 2004-2006. They were using Blue Tooth technology in a way we in the West are not accustomed. They were able to communicate in a short range of a few hundred yards. He asked “are you not afraid?” at which they laughed saying that no one over thirty understands what they are doing.
He also told the story of Twitter. The US Government does not actively dictate to businesses what to do (at least not yet), but when the rebellion in Iran was at is height, Twitter was about to shut down for pre-scheduled maintenance. The founder of Twitter was summoned and urged to re-schedule the maintenance. That enabled communication in Iran to continue, despite the crackdown on dissidents. It resulted in private business-government cooperation for the betterment of humanity. It enabled people to continue communicating, despite walls that have been erected to stop them.
Innovation is today’s chisel that breaks down walls. Technology is a tool that needs to be utilized.
Opportunities missed
The CEOs followed, essentially completely ignoring the previous presenter. If only they had turned away from the prospects of one buying the other or the third dominating them all, they could have addressed some of Israel’s pressing cyber-terrorism threats and proposed solutions.
When exceptional minds meet, sparks fly. If only their attentions were turned to the previous speaker’s remarks and the threat Israel faces, it could have turned into a brainstorming session the likes of which I would have liked to attend. Instead, the headlines the following day were about a hacker that caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and that has corrupted several Internet sites in Israel.
Israel creates and exports the technology. It thrives on these exports and excels in them. Yet most often it forgets to implement some of the very same lessons, technology and know-how at home. Strange.
The great debate
Three leading journalists expressed their opinions followed by the Minister of Education. Clearly opinions varied. The minister believes in statistics and examinations, whereas one of the journalists challenged him to return to basics like arithmetic and English.
There was an outcry to learn for the sake of learning and teach for the sake of teaching instead of a factory for preparation for matriculation exams where the sole indicators are the examination results. The feeling is that Israel has given up on the will to learn in favor of matriculation exams results. Grades rather than education: “Once Israel had narrow roads and wide universities. Today it is quite the opposite. Are we teaching children to be intelligent or how to pass tests? We need an Education Minister, not an Examination Minister. We need a Prime Minister whose flag message is education rather than real estate and infrastructure.”
The Education Minister responded, understanding little of the thrust of his predecessors’ pleas, attacking them and solidifying the idea of examinations and test results as litmus tests. Lacking foresight, he is a technician rather than visionary. He will survive (during the past fifteen years, there have been ten education ministers), but in thirty or forty years, we will lament the state of education and look back to blame the first decade of the century – us today.
The Prime Minister’s message
To accommodate the Prime Minister’s appearance, special security was provided. We were all seated well ahead of his entrance, when we were all asked to stand.
Netanyahu is a most eloquent speaker, but to me his speech, which was in Hebrew with simultaneous translation, was too long and covered too many aspects of government. In retrospect, the seeming lack of coherent message, the attempt to cover too much ground, may be indicative that his mind was elsewhere, on a much more pressing, life-existential problem. Clearly, I may be mistaken.
Netanyahu, whose policies brought Israel to a phenomenal growth, although not without a painful social cost, has much to brag about. He indeed made repeated references to the past as he described the path he envisions for the future.
Netanyahu’s single most important direct message was his call to invest in education. He urged to take some of what Israel exports so successfully – knowledge and brainpower – and implement it at home. Netanyahu proudly cited the achievements of Prof. Ada Yonath of the Weizmann Institute as an example of a result of Israel’s previous investment in education. Prof. Yonath is the most recent Nobel Prize Laureate and the first Israeli woman to win that coveted prize. But the education system in Israel today fails, and today’s Nobel Laureates did their basic research in the 50s and 60s.
We should turn inward and develop and invest in Israel proper. If we do not, decades will come when our human capital will no longer lead and be the foremost in the world. Decades will come when Israel’s source of strength will be crippled, her ability to compete deteriorate and chances of survival diminish.
It was a very long speech, and much was covered. Undoubtedly primary, secondary and post-secondary education must be improved. There are dangers just around the corner whose shadow is so frightening that the future may be darker and more different than anything we can envision at present.
The message of American Jewry
Stanley Gold, Chairman of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, was a very sought after guest of honor. For more than two decades he has headed Roy Disney’s investment arm and is responsible for more than $400 million invested in Israel. He chaired two of Israel’s largest conglomerates and while he gives credit to his subordinates, it is clear that he is responsible.
His message: Now is the best time to invest in Israel. Israel is in a unique position to offer a safety net to money that is looking for long- term places to park and grow. Pension funds and university endowments that require a higher-than-usual return both to cover their immediate needs and allow for growth, provide in return huge amounts of money for 20 to 25 years. Stanley Gold advocates that Israel is the right candidate and proclaims:
Invest in Israel not for Zionism or other ideals, invest in Israel to make money. It is the most basic reason, the selfish need that can be satisfied today through Israeli investments.
The closing session
The closing session was very sparsely attended. After the intensity of the Conference people were ready to retire to their hotel rooms or go home or to the businesses they had neglected for two days. It seemed that they were correct: The discussion was about the future, projections and forecasts. Much was said with very little substance, until the arrival of Dr. Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s Finance Minister.
Dr. Steinitz, in this top position only nine months, explained how Israel has managed to exit the financial meltdown with fewer scratches than the rest of the world. He claims that to resuscitate a patient who stopped breathing, the world has pumped oxygen in the form of trillions of dollars. Israel took a different route. She emphasized stability and worked toward that goal. Rather than enlarge the debt to proportions previously unknown, Israel focused her efforts on a first ever two-year plan. Step after step, Israel restored confidence.
But this was just the preface to a true performance that followed. Dr. Steinitz chose the closing session to attack the Israeli Supreme Court. He used unequivocal language, calling the behavior and decisions of the Supreme Court the Wild Wild West. “While they take into consideration in their rulings Israel’s national defense, they completely ignore Israel’s economic security,” he declared.
Dr. Steinitz gave examples of recent rulings that completely ignore costs to the Government. While his office is trying to prioritize and balance the needs and minimize a budget deficit, the Supreme Court causes hundreds of millions here, several billion there to be required out of thin air or reduces the State’s income by the same amounts.
Speaking with clarity and conviction, Dr. Steinitz then proposed new legislation, much like the one that prevents the Government or the Parliament (Knesset) from passing any legislation that has a cost ramifications beyond a certain amount, so he proposes that the Supreme Court will be prevented from “legislating from the bench” without boundaries or responsibilities. The justices dictate, he must come up with the monetary solutions, and he clearly does not like this. This approach, he claims, completely undermines the work of his Ministry and endangers Israel no less than any military or security threat.
Dr. Steinitz’s surprise attack at the closing of the Israel Business Conference provided the headlines for the news on the hour each hour for the next 24 hours and was the front page news on all the Israeli papers the following day.
But in Israel, today’s big issue is soon forgotten, something new is always around the corner.
When the top echelon of business, government, the non-profit sector and the media watchdog come together, synergies create a force of energy stronger than the sum of the individual capabilities. I have talked about trends and future forecasts, lessons from the past and the process of implementation for a better future.
There was also a very simple act that I brought home with me. With thousands of attendees, it is easy to promise something, get distracted and move on. Those working at the conference never failed in this respect. They owned each request, following it up to the very end. They were courteous and attentive, they took necessary action even without being told or encouraged.
It was on the Friday at the end of the first week of Operation Cast Lead. A woman, clearly in shock approached. She was confused, more importantly she needed immediate mental first aid (which later would have lessened the effects of PTSD). I walked with her from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs temporary quarters, just behind her home, to the nearby military post.
A young officer, a Captain I think, approached. She did not have the tools or the training to deal with the woman. However, she took ownership, and I knew that the woman would not be let down, that support would be provided. It was one person helping another down the line to recovery.
Change will only arrive one step at a time, one good person after another, as determination and knowledge, good deeds and values, destiny and strong will work together to create a better future.
### In the series “Postcards from Israel,” Ari Bussel and Norma Zager invite readers throughout the world to join them as they present reports from Israel as seen by two sets of eyes: Bussel’s on the ground, Zager’s counter-point from home. Israel and the United States are inter-related - the two countries we hold dearest to our hearts - and so is this “point - counter-point” presentation that has, since 2008, become part of our lives.
© Postcards from Home, December, 2009 Contact: aribussel@gmail.com
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