The Pope and the Israeli Prime Minister seem to be running a competition. Who can make the most silly mistakes each day in Jerusalem, and then get caught out in the press.

Meanwhile, quietly, professionally, away from the cameras, Israeli commerce is getting on with the job of creating wealth for the country.

Item 1: Forbes has named 13 Israeli companies in its annual rankings of the top 2000 global public companies. Not bad bad for a country of 7.4 million people and stuck in a war zone, especially as America took over 25% of the placements.

Item 2: Seeking to emulate those 13 firms, 14 Israeli start ups have been named by the prestigious magazine, Red Herring, in a top 100 of most promising companies in Europe and Asia.  Again, a stunning achievement considering the meagre resources of the country and against such strong competition.

Item 3: Nilit has just concluded its fourth overseas acquisition in as many years, paying out US$20 million for an American company. I can personally vouch for a number of other Israeli manufacturers who are cash rich and are scouring potential M&As very seriously.

A lot of money and very little talk. A message for the busy politicos?