By Joe King
Conquering cancer, enabling the blind to see and the crippled to walk, ending the scourge of diabetes – these are only some of the extraordinary contributions to human progress being provided by Israel – despite the fact that it is surrounded by extremist nations endlessly bent on its destruction.
The people of Israel, less than 1/10 of 1% of humanity, provide the world with extraordinary achievements – in science, medicine, technology and agriculture.
The Gifts of Israel are of immense importance to every person on earth.
Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to its population in the world,
produces more scientific papers, per capita, than any other nation, and is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.
Twenty-four percent of Israel’s work-force have earned university degrees – third in the world (after the United States and Holland). And 12 % have earned advanced degrees!
Vast green forests in Israel are in vivid contrast to the drab brown dominating the landscape in most countries bordering the Jewish State.
The area was part of what was known as “The Fertile Crescent,” but neglect has turned much of the area into desert. Modern Israel is the exception– rolling back the swamps and deserts. Israel is one of only two countries in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees! (The other country is the United States.)
The world of medicine is increasingly benefiting from Israeli research and inventiveness. One of the most dramatic examples of Israeli world-wide prominence in medical research came with the selection of the country’s researchers and doctors to find a cure for diabetes. The American pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, is funding D-Cure – an intensive Israeli high-tech and biotechnological program to find a cure for diabetes. D-Cure is, furthermore, an effort to change the way doctors and scientists approach research. The program harnesses the skills of researchers from leading Israeli medical centres in a collaborative effort to find a cure for the disease.
