Afternoon Tea in Jerusalem Blog

In addition to my work as a business coach, one of my interests is blogging about life in Israel. This is a country full of contrasts – over eight million citizens living in an area the size of Wales. You can see snow and the lowest place on the globe in the same day. Although surrounded by geopolitical extremes, Israel has achieved a decade of high economic growth. My work brings me in contact with an array of new companies, exciting technologies and dynamic characters. Sitting back with a relaxing cup of strong tea (with milk), you realise just how much there is to appreciate in the Holyland. Large or small operations, private sector or non profit, my clients provide experiences from which others can learn and benefit.

Israel’s economy is a study in contrasts“. Thus headlined “The Economist” magazine a few days ago.

The article is wide in its scope. For example, it highlights the desert city of Beersheva as a world leader in creating cyber technology. And that is just for starters. The economy grew at 4% last year. Unemployment resides at a lowish 4.3%. Public debt at 62% of the GDP is one of the best ratios in the OECD. The shekel currency has appreciated by 13% against a basket of leading global currencies. And so on.

The magazine does feature the weak side of the Israeli economy. Restrictive import and licensing practices keep the cost of food unnecessarily high. Productivity stats are poor. And with boring predictably, the authors cites Israel’s defense policy for the main cause of the a weak Palestinian economy. Thus, in real terms, “Gazans are about 25% poorer today than they were at the time of the Oslo Accords”.

This is an argument that sounds politically powerful. However, it bares up, neither in the numbers game nor against the facts on the ground. First, as I have mentioned in the past, when the World Bank examined the Palestinian economy prior to 1994, when it was governed by Israel, “the annual growth rate (for the period 1968 to 1999) establishes itself at 5.5%.” As the author Sebastian Dessus observed, this was one of the highest rates in global terms, even allowing for substantial population growth.

The point is that this begs the question as to why the Palestinian politicians refuse to allow cooperation with Israel.

And then there is 8200, renowned as Israel’s high-tech unit in the army, whose geeks produce software and hardware that James Bond filmmakers cannot even dream about. In parallel, for some years, many of the alumni of this elite group have struck out in the start up world. And it is no secret that against what might be considered assumeded norms from around the globe, they have been openly seeking cooperation with the Arab sector in Israel.

Well the 8200 “Hybrid Accelerator” has just initiated its latest round of intakes. They include SAF, Brainkos and Shareshipper to name just three of the seven involved. One cardinal condition for acceptance into the programme is that each team must include at least one Arab member on its staff.

It is this form of contrast which sets the Israeli economy apart, especially from those of its neighbours. This approach, embracing the views of all religions and backgrounds, that is one of the key reasons why Israel has become known as the start up nation. And that is why “The Economist” is able to report on such positive economic stats for the Holy Land.

0 comments

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

Client Feedback

"Michael transformed the way I think and approach working, and also how to monetize my social media and communal projects."

CEO of digital media company

"Michael helped my high tech company take off."

CEO of clean energy start up

"Michael has been an invaluable resource to me throughout all of the steps of starting up my business."

Art Studio owner

“Working with Michael Horesh is like having root canal treatment, marriage counselling and business coaching all rolled into one, successfully.”

CEO of digital media company
CEO of clean energy start up
Art Studio owner