#143 Israeli Technology
#143 Israeli Technology
In this lesson, you will learn about the new technologies that are being created in Israel for domestic and international use. Israel is one of the centers of innovation around the globe: from internet to software, from agriculture to engineering – all of which help businesses, individuals, the military, countries, and the planet itself. Israeli tech companies are some of the most well-respected in the world. Israel has been dubbed the “Start-Up Nation,” and “the Silicon Valley of the Middle East,” because of its culture of innovation in so many areas. Today, you will learn about just some of these innovations.
But, before you begin this lesson, brainstorm a list of technologies that are important in your daily life, and we will see if they were invented in Israel!
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#1 WATCH: Israeli Tech You Use in Daily Life!
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#2 READ & WATCH: Technology and Entrepreneurism in Israel
What makes Israel the “Start-Up Nation?” Zionism does! The very idea of the State of Israel lives out the idea, begun by the Greek philosopher, Plato, that “necessity is the mother of invention.” Israel is a desert country, with no natural resources to speak of, which exists in a harsh physical and political environment. Israel has to make do with with what it does have: smarts, the Jewish ideal of questioning, diversity, adversity, lots of immigrants, and the willingness to work hard. These are Israel’s “natural” resources – its people and its mindset.
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#3 READ & WATCH: Israel High Tech
Israel has many high-tech companies, in every field of innovation. How many is “many?” With more than 330 million citizens, American has the most companies listed on the NASDAQ (technology stock exchange). With fewer than 10 million citizens, Israel has the second most listings on the NASDAQ! More than China and Japan! These companies often work together and across fields to achieve new breakthroughs in high-tech. Because of this, many of America’s top tech companies do a lot of their research and development in Israel.
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#4 READ & WATCH: Innovations in Water Technology
In some countries, the most precious natural resource is gold. In others, it’s oil. Or diamonds, or lithium, or silver, or even rich soil filled with nutrients. In Israel, like any desert country, water is a rare and important resource. Unlike other desert countries, such as Qatar and Kuwait, who can use the money they make on oil sales to buy fresh water, Israel has developed many ways to save water, to recycle water, to re-use water, and to even create clean water! In doing so, Israel has not only become water-independent, it has turned its technological advances with water into big businesses which are helping cities and countries all over the world deal with increasing populations and a hotter planet. Water may seem like a cheap and easy natural resource to find, but in a world where it is becoming harder to find, Israel is helping to meet the challenges that water scarcity causes.
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#5 Review and Response
1. Remember your brainstorm from the beginning of the lesson.
What can you add to that list now?
2. Why is Israel one of the leading places for tech innovation in the world?
3. Why is agriculture and water technology an important research area?
4. Is there a tech innovation that you have that could help the world?
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Need some help? We’re here for you. At any time, if you have any questions, please contact one of our teachers so that we can help you. Also, at the end of the session, remember to review your responses in your Tamid Workbook so you can get credit for this lesson. Behatzlacha(Hebrew for good luck)! You can reach Christina at (646)360-0689 or connect@tamidnyc.org