For all the concerns about the future of the Israeli high-tech sector, November 2016 is turning out to be a great month for entrepreneurs in the Holy Land.

Item No’ 1: NEC, the Japanese tech giant and still known to many as Nippon, is about to open an r&d centre in Israel. This has been on the cards for a few months, and the move has also probably been enhanced by the waning influence of the Arab oil issue. Indications are that the centre will be run by Ze’ev Weiss, former army intelligence, and will concentrate on cyber security in the first stage.

Item No’ 2: Back in the 1980s, I used to read about a small kibbutz company, located near the Sea of Galilee, called Degania Medical (DM). Today, that enterprise has mushroomed into a world manufacturing leader of catheters and silicone medical products. DM is about to be sold for around US$250 million to the American giant Q Holdings. As the kibbutz owns 30% of the company, that will result in a tidy windfall for the Jordan Valley farming community.

Item No’ 3: Staying in the medical sector, it was announced yesterday that the “US company Edwards Lifesciences Corporation is acquiring the Israeli valve repair device company Valtech Cardio Ltd.” The total value of the deal is placed at about US$1 billion.

Item No’ 4: In a different light, it is wonderful to see CNN covering the growing position of Israeli high-tech in the automotive sector. Considering that Israel has almost never been a part of this global industry and recalling the history of the Arab oil boycott, it is somewhat ironic that Israeli knowhow is driving – pun intended – international road safety, self-driving cars, car safety and much more.

And what will December 2016 deliver for the start up nation of the Middle East and thus also the rest of the world?