For at least two decades, Israel has excelled in latest industrial revolution, which has loosely been called high-tech: internet, mobile, cleantech, nanoteach and more. Simply, this is all about grasping the freedom and the opportunity to push back the established boundaries of what was considered an untouchable norm.

This week, Jews around the world prepare to celebrate the festival of Passover, when the Children of Israel fled Egypt after the story of the Ten Plagues. In Hebrew, this period is often referred to as the festival of freedom. With some ironic sense of timing, the positive higtech news from Israel of recent days illustrates the connection between the religion and finance.

Take the headline that GM is likely to double its r&d presence in Israel over the next few years. Gil Cohen, the local CEO, observed that: “The expansion is a central component of our investment in the idea of the autonomous vehicle.” The campaign will aspire to mimic the human mind, allowing the vehicle to make real time decisions instead of a human driver. Regulation cannot control such progress.

Meanwhile, based in central Tel Aviv, Apester has just raised a further US$12million to support its operations, which provides publishers and brands with tools for telling stories and encouraging user engagement. The company has been around for barely two years, yet it has offices throughout Europe, as well as in America and in Japan.

What is really clever is not only does Apester allow companies to predict accurately the tastes of its clients. The same techniques can be applied to politics. Thus, in recent weeks, this start up has predicted with increasing detail and accuracy just why Hilary Clinton was going to win the state of New York from Bernie Sanders.

In the field of biotech, many of the world’s leading conglomerates are now seeking Israeli partners, who are directed to source them the next mega technology. Roche, Novartis and Bayer are three prime examples. The reason is very simple. These commercial giants have long realised that their own teams cannot keep up with every single area of new technologies. To power to create a change in the status quo lies elsewhere.

What next? There had been plans to regulate Israel’s cyber industry. This policy was scrapped earlier in the week, and instead the local authorities will rely on an international standard. Freedom, so long as it is not abused in the name of political correctness, is a most valuable tool. We should cherish it. We should understand what freedom provides both in terms of added commercial value and also in our way of life.