It took me over a year to find courage to write down my impressions after my visit to Israel. It is hard to say whether the reason for this is the fact Israel is the cradle of some of most influential world religions or because this is one of most complex countries and regions in the world. Or perhaps I was reluctant for not wanting to seem ridiculous in writing things I cannot be sure or fully understand – no matter how much I know or read. In any case, here I am, finally puting on paper my impressions from this visit and from all I was reading and experiencing regarding this fascinating land. If the reader finds this text incomplete or inadequate enough, I apologize in advance.

One of my favourite movies is “Kingdom of Heaven” by Ridley Scott, which portrays the crusades and the battle for Jerusalem at the end of the 12th century. Just before the end of the movie, Balian (the Baron of Ibelin) surrenders Jerusalem to Saladin, asking him at the moment, and in the context of great casualties and loss of life in previous battles: “What is Jerusalem worth?” To this, Saladin, resolutely and calmly, responds: “Nothing!,” only to turn around after couple of steps and raising his hands in victory by adding: “Everything!” This is a very good representation of what is the meaning and importance of religion, holy places and all sacred to man from spiritual reasons. Kraljevstvo nebesko Ridleyja Scotta, koji govori o križarskim ratovima i borbama za Jeruzalem potkraj 12. stoljeća. Pred kraj toga filma Balian (barun od Ibelina) predaje Jeruzalem Saladinu i pri samoj ga predaji pita u kontekstu velikih žrtava i velikoga broja izgubljenih života u prethodnim bitkama: „Koliko vrijedi Jeruzalem?“ Na to Saladin rezolutno i smireno odgovara: „Ništa!“ te se potom, udaljivši se i prošavši par koraka, okrene, uzdigne ruke i slavodobitno doda: „I sve!“ To je ujedno dobar prikaz što znači religija, sveta mjesta i općenito sve što je čovjeku sveto i važno iz nekog duhovnog i neopipljivog razloga.

Think about just how much blood was spilt in Jerusalem, Israel and generally in the world on account of religion and different beliefs, how many people were killed, tortured or done terrible and unthinkable things in the name of God. And, all of this was done in the name of noble, higher purpose, not realizing God surely does not want to harm other people because they worship Him or experience Him differently, or because someone’s religion or religious customs are different from someone else’s. This is terrible and fascinating at the same time. Israel and Jerusalem represent the center of the World in terms of religions emerging and colliding, as well as the origin of the world history and civilization. On the other hand this area represents the source of conflict in the Middle East which can potentially affect the whole world. Therefore on one hand this is religious center of the world and on another it is a center of world instability and potential war. What is even more interesting and absurd, Jerusalem means the city of peace (Jer/ir – city, Salim/shalom – peace), while at the same time it represented a source of constant conflict and war for over two thousand years.Jer/ir – grad, Salim/šalom – mir), a izvor je konstantnih sukoba i ratova već preko dvije tisuće godina.

A legend says that God gave to the world ten measures of beauty, from which nine were ment for Jerusalem. And truly this is a city like no other, full of history, legends, and contradictions. It is a beautiful city which projects simplicity, spirituality and certain mystique attached to it. Israel is a place full of contradictions which cause to some admiration but also to others lots of negative conotations. It’s impossible to be indifferent towards this country. I shall try to be objective in this text, without taking any sides, but I cannot avoid to be impressed by the contradictions and beauties of this country.

Israel is relatively small country given the global influence it has. Population of Israel is around 7,5 million people, out of which 6 million are Jews, and 1,5 million are Arabs and others. In addition, about 3 million Arabs live in the West Bank and another 2 million in Gaza, with about 4 million Arabs/Palestinians who have emigrated to neighbouring countries (Syria, Jordan etc.). It is estimated that some 8 million Jews live outside Israel, out of which as many as 1 million on Manhattan. Therefore, we are discussing some 14 million Jews throughout the world. In comparison, it is estimated that at least 6 million Jews have been killed during the WWII Holocaust (mostly in Poland – about 3 million, and Russia – about 1.5 million), which is the equivalent of the whole today’s Jewish population in Israel or almost half the current number of Jews worldwide. Given that 14 million represent a significantly small percentage of humans in global proportions (some 0.2 per cent of world population), fascinating are estimates that about 25 percent of Nobel prizes during 20th century, and as many as 30 per cent in 21st century, were given to people of Jewish origin. One needs not discuss the film industry at all – the list of most famous and most influential film producers, directors and actors of Jewish origin is endless. It is also estimated Jews control one third of American capital, which can definitely help explaining the strong connection between USA and Israel. I could see this myself example that could testify this bond in the souvenir shop at hotel in Jerusalem, where I could find T-shirts, magnets and mugs with inscriptions “America, Israel is with you”.

What is the secret of the great success and influence of the Jewish population (especially given its limited size in the global scale)? Is it religion, upbringing, discipline, values or something entirely unpredictable? Jewish success (primarily in finance and wealth creation) was the greatest reason for the birth of anti-Semitism and all the grief that followed them for hundreds of years, culminating in the tremendous tragedy during WWII. Numerous people throughout history tried to answer what could be the reasons for Jewish extraordinary success. I do not even dare to think that I could provide this answers in this text, but I shall try to offer some of mine personal views and percpectives based on my visit and all that I had chance to read of hear about Jewish and Israel.

Holy Land

I shall start my story where, according to the Jewish religion, it all started for the mankind. And this is Rock of Creation in Jerusalem. Famous Dome of the rock is one of most recognizable signs of Jerusalem. It is the first construction of Muslim architecture in Jerusalem, dating back as far as 695. Below it lies, according to Jewish faith, a relic of all relics – rock of creation of the world. During the first day when God created Earth, Rock of Creation went to Heaven, to be returned later to Earth by the angel Gabriel (there is a palm print of Gabriel on the rock left) and it landed exactly to this holy place. When God exiled Adam and Eve from Heaven, he left them precisely on this rock. Moses received the Ten Commandments and the Bible on Sinai in 1250 BC and asked the people on behalf of God to construct the Dome of the Rock.

After forty years of wandering in the desert, the Jewish people came down to Jericho, the oldest city in the world. According to the God instructions, they played music in front of the wall of Jericho for seven days and after the seventh day, the walls of Jericho fort came down. In the period from 1200 to 1000 BC, Earth was ruled by local administrators, the judges. After this, the prophet Samuel proclaimed Saul to be the first Jewish King. At the time, Philistees and Phoenicians held the coast. In a famous historical battle, Philistees chose Goliath to represent them and Israels did the same with the tiny David. After David’s victory over Goliath, after some time Saul decided to entrust David to rule over the kingdom after his death (interesting to mention in that Isus is a descendant of the king David). David subsequently constructed Jerusalem and purchased the land at the location of the Temple of the Dome. David’s son Solomon built the Temple, which was the greatest temple in the world at the time (King Solomon’s Temple). In 586 BC, the army of Babylon (Nabukodonosor) conquered Judaea and Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple and enslaved Jews (topic of the famous Verdi’s opera Nabucco). When Persians attacked Babylonians, Jews helped Persians and after their victory, returned to the Holy Land, building the Second Temple (a replica of the first one). During the 70s of AD, the Second Temple was destroyed, and between 134 and 135, Romans banished Jews from Israel. Nabucco). Kada je perzijska vojska napala Babilonce, Židovi su pomogli Perzijancima i nakon pobjede Perzijanaca vraćaju se u Svetu zemlju i grade Drugi hram (kopiju prvoga). 70-ih godina n. e. srušen je Drugi hram, a 134. – 135. n. e. Rimljani su protjerali Židove iz Izraela.

The symbol of the Jewish faith (same as the cross in Christianity) is the famous seven prong menora which symbolizes the seven days of God’s creation of the world and the seven day in the week. It is curious to know the Jewish religion has no ten commandments, but speaks of as many as 613 commandments Moses received from God (out of which some relate to matters such as that one always has to wear a hat, respect the Temple in different ways etc.); these include 365 bans and 248 commands. After the disappearance of the Temple, the interpretation of ancient religious customs and commandments needed adjusting, because one third of original commandments referred to the Temple, and one third to priests in the Temple. After the destruction of the temple, in the 2nd and 3rd century AD came Mishna as adjustment to the 613 God’s commandments and as a temporary solution before Talmud apeared. The Talmud (teaching or interpretation) appeared in 5th – 6th century AD, in two versions: in Tiberius (Jerusalem version), and in Babylon (Babylonian Talmud, which is more accepted one). Talmud explains and interprets how to best respect God’s commandments after the destruction of the Temple.

According to the Jewish belief, on Temple Mount, below the Jerusalem Dome of the Rock, there is place where lies rock of creation, for which I understood that it is mentioned in all three religions (Muslim, Christian and Jewish). A local guide explained to me the Rock of Creation has quite similar meaning for Jews, Christians and Muslims. At the very same spot, according to Muslim belief and the interpretation of the Quran, Muhammed wrote the very Quran. Today, neither Christians nor Jews have access to Rock of Creation, because it is under Muslim jurisdiction. In 695, the famous Dome of the Rock was erected at the location, and the remnants of ancient Solomon’s temple are underneath it. Jews (and Christians) are allowed access to one side of the construction only. Jews and Christians often come here (sometimes even Muslims and Chinese) and pray to God to grant them certain wishes. Religious Jews can often be seen in front of this wall, crying and waining in their prayer because they cannot reach their holy places, and for being away from homes for over 2,000 years. This is how this wall got its name – the Wailing Wall (the Western Wall).

Overlapping of Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem and Israel is very frequent and is unfortunately causing disputes throught a history which sometimes results in bloody wars. I found the example of the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth especially interesting. The church was founded at the place where Joseph, Mary and Jesus lived in Nazareth. In front of the church, some fifty meters away, I noticed a plaque which says “There is no other faith than Islam.” When I asked my guide what is the background behind this, he told me a very interesting story. At the very spot, Saladin’s brother died (Saladin, the conqueror of Jerusalem), and Muslims wanted to construct an enormous mosque with a minaret, which would completely shadow the Annunciation Church. They asked for permission from the Jewish government and got it. It is rumoured Saudi Arabia wanted to finance the project with as much money is needed. Hearing of this, the Vatican cancelled all tours that were supposed to go to Israel that year (this happened in the beginning of the 1990s, somewhere between 1992 and 1995), and once Israel saw what losses this could imply for tourism if they went to “war” with the Vatican, they cancelled the permit and the whole project for the construction of the mosque. This is, of course, an unofficial version, but it sounds quite possible one – especially given the quite large inscription I noticed that brought my attention in the first place.

The issues of overlapping in Jewish and Muslim sacred places (as with Jewish Temple and Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem or Annunciation Church and the place where Saladin’s brother died in Nazareth) could potentially be even harder and more complicated. When prophet Omar (he was a caliph i.e. the successor to the prophet Muhammed) visited Jerusalem, he did not pray on the tomb of Jesus during his visit knowing this could create problems in the future. Instead he prayed some distance away and this is where today’s Omar’s mosque with a minaret stands. If he had prayed on the tomb of Jesus, this could have caused terrible religious fights in future, probably even worse than the ones caused by the conflict in locations of the Jewish Temple and the Dome of the Rock. It is fortunate he was wise and tolerant man who had a clear vision of what his actions would of cause.

Monotheism first appeared in Jewish religion. Christian and Muslim religions are also constructed on monotheistic foundations and recognize some Jewish prophets. Islam recognizes both Moses and Jesus as prophets, but they are of lesser importance for the Muslim religion. They refer to them as Musa and Isa (just like Abraham is called Ibrahim, Ishmael – Ismail, David – Daud, Solomon – Suleyman). Jews, for example, do not recognize Jesus, but do not explicitly deny him anywhere. So Jesus, as a Jewish king and messiah, is not recognized by Jews and their religion but instead by far greater population from the whole world – some 14 million Jews do not recognize Jesus, while over a billion Christians and Protestants do. Jews have the Holy Saturday, Christians Holy Sunday, while Muslims have the Holy Friday. Thora, Quran and the Bible claim Arabs and Jews are literally brothers and that they both are descends from Abraham. Once one has rationally put this into perspective, he or she cannot but wonder whether it is possible so much blood was spilt because of differences in beliefs which, in the end, are not so big concerning principle fact that all religions fundamentally share the common love to God and one’s fellow beings.

In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christ’s tomb is placed, there are representatives of six different confessions: Catholic, Orthodox, Armenian, Copt, Ethipian and Syrian. It is especially interesting, and a little bit funny too, the fact that the key to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (for they could not agree on who should keep it) was finally entrusted to an Arab (Muslim) family. Since my guide knoew some of the member of this family, he managed to get me through the line waiting for entry to Christ’s tomb in return for the tip of 15 USD (I managed to haggle down from 30). So even in such a holly place, I rather chose to take the most time efficient way rather then to wait for two to three hours in line. Ehat can I say – obviously I can not fight it. A sultan that ruled during the 19th century, and who was fed up with comlaints between different religious orders within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, ordered not a single stone could be moved inside. Since then, all works have been stopped. To move anything would cause a conflict of great proportions and this is probably the wisest decision for such a spot. This is Jerusalem – history and holiness in every stone. In comparison with such complications, our Balkan issues seem to be a child’s play.

All that is built in Jerusalem is constructed of local stone (ever since the decree of Emperor David). Therefore, the architecture is fairly uniform. I found the story on Frankie’s tower, told to me by my guide, especially interesting. It was built in Jerusalem during the 1970s. When Frank Sinatra was visiting Jerusalem, he heard one could not see neither the Mediterranean nor the Dead Sea from any place in Jerusalem. He next donated money to the Jerusalem University to construct a tower high enough so both seas could be seen from it. Consequently tower was named after him and so his name remained in Jerusalem for ever. What a guy! He definitely did it “his way”.

Israel is full of holy places that remind of the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. The place of Jesus’ birth, Betlehem, really means the house of bread (beit – house, lechem – bread). This is where Jesus was born, but also the place where Emperor David was born, after whome the famous tower was named – the one that dominates over the walls of Jerusalem. Mount Tabor in Galilee is known for apostles Peter, John and Jacob climbed it together with Jesus, and after a while Moses and the prophet Elias appeared to them in the cloud and told them, with a voice of God, that Jesus is the son of God. The Church of Christ’s First Miracle in Cana of Galilee is the place where Jesus first performed a miracle, by turning water into wine. Tabgha (Heptapegon Church or the Church of Seven Springs) is dedicated to the miracle of multiplication of bread and fish. This gathering occurred in front of a stone which is today the central altar piece of the church, in front of which is a Byzantine mosaic from 4th century (the second phase of the church dates back to 6th century), with frescos portraying fish and bread (Luke, 9, 10 – 17). The Church of the Primacy of Peter was founded at the place where Jesus gave Peter the primacy to found the Church (John, 21, New Testament). In it, there is the altar entitiled Mensa Christi (table of Chirst). This was the third appearance of Christ following crucifiction and he then showed to Peter (John and the others) where to throw their net in order to catch fish and after that prepared them breakfast at the place where the stone is in church’s altar now. This is why this altar is called table of Christ. He then gave Peter primacy in founding the Church, which determined the future institution of the Pope and the future of Christianity.beit – kuća, lechem – kruh). Tu se rodio Isus, ali također i car David čija poznata kula krasi zidine u Jeruzalemu. Gora preobraženja u Galileji poznata je po tome što su se apostoli Petar, Ivan i Jakov popeli skupa s Isusom na nju gdje su im se nakon nekog vremena ukazali Mojsije i prorok Ilija te je Božji glas iz oblaka rekao da je Isus sin Božji. Crkva prvoga Kristova čuda u Kani Galilejskoj mjesto je gdje je Isus prvi put napravio čudo pretvorivši na svadbi vodu u vino. Tabha, Heptapegon crkva ili Crkva sedam izvora, posvećena je Kristovu čudesnom umnažanju kruha i riba. Okupljanje se dogodilo ispred kamena koji je danas središnji dio na kojemu se nalazi oltar crkve, ispred koje je bizantski mozaik iz 4. stoljeća (druga faza crkve potječe iz 6. stoljeća) s freskama koje prikazuju ribu i kruh (Luka, 9, 10 – 17). Crkva Petrova prvenstva podignuta je na mjestu gdje je Krist dao Petru prvenstvo pri osnivanju Crkve (Ivan, 21, Novi zavjet). U njoj se nalazi oltar pod nazivom Mensa Christi (Kristova menza). To je bilo treće ukazanje Krista nakon raspeća te je tada Petru (Ivanu i ostalima) pokazao gdje da bace mrežu da bi ulovili ribu, a potom im je spremio doručak na mjestu gdje je sada kamen pri oltaru crkve. Zato se oltar u crkvi i zove Kristova menza. Potom je Petru dao prvenstvo pri osnivanju Crkve, što je odredilo buduću instituciju pape i budućnost kršćanstva.

Jardenit is the place where the river Jordan flows out of the Lake of Galilee and where commercial baptisms in the river take place today. This whole commercial center is held by the oldest kibuc in Israel (Degania), who developed a business targeted primarily at Americans. The first institutions of the kibuc in the area of today’s Israel developed around the Lake of Galilee, under the influence of socialist ideas (the first in 1909, therefore, even befor the Soviet kolhoses). In the gift shop of the Jardenit commercial center, one can purchase a sheet for USD 25, in which he or she can wrap himself or herself into, and go into the Jordan to get baptized. This is mostly targeted at Protestants who can thus brag they were baptized in the Jordan - even though the venue this could be done, probably isn’t the original place where John the Baptist baptized Christ. There are as many as five such places, even on the east bank of the river, in the Kingdom of Jordan. In the mentioned commercial center I visited, there are plaques with inscriptions from the Gospel according to Mark everywhere (which speaks of the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan) – in a great number of world languages. I stumbled upon a plaque in Croatian even and heard an interesting tale on how it was created. A bunch of people from Posušje, who had been there the year before, had seen the inscriptions in numerous languages, but the plaque in Croatian was nowhere to be seen. As they are entrepreneurs, our guys from Herzegovina demanded to see the “boss” right away to arrange and pay for setting a plaque in Croatian – which I was able to see now during my visit.

Modern state of Israel and constant conflicts following it’s creation

Settlement of Jews in Israel was happening constantly throught the history, but the first mass settlement occurred at the beginning of 19th century. One of the initiators who helped the most first wave of the return of Jews into Jerusalem was the rich British Jew Moses Montefiore (born in Italy), who lived to be over a hundred years old (1784 – 1885). During this long life, he devoted the first forty years to gain riches, and devoted the rest mostly to philantrophy and helping the return of Jews into Jerusalem. The next wave of settlement occurred after the appearance of the Zionist movement, during which there was additional intensifying of the return of Jews into Jerusalem and its surroundings. Theodor Hertzl, the founder of the modern Zionism, and, according to some, the father of the Israeli nation, was born in Vienna, and his ancestors were from Zemun (Serbia). He was a publicist and a journalist and followed the affair of the convicted French Jew Dreyfus – a soldier convicted because of Antisemitism. He wrote the book entitled Juden Stadt (the Jewish State), where he, for the first time, expressed ideas that founded the Zionist movement. As a consequence of these events, after a while, the First Zionist Congress was organized in Basel in 1897. Juden Stadt (Židovska država) gdje je prvi put iznio ideje koje su udarile temelje cionističkome pokretu. Kao posljedica tih kretanja, nakon nekoga se vremena, 1897. godine u Baselu organizirao i Prvi cionistički kongres.

Rich Parisian Jew Baron Edmund de Rothschild certainly also gets great credit for initiating and supporting mass settling of Jews in Israel. He sponsored settlement of Jews into Israel by mass purchasing land in Israel in 1860s through 1880s, in order to help Jews to return, but, also, to make some money on this. The process was later continued by the Zionist movement but was prolonged during the entire 20th century. For example, statistics points some eighty thousand Jews settling in Israel at the beginning of 19th century, two hundred thousand people at the close of 19th, while, as many as six hundred thousand by 1939. It is interesting for instance Jews, in as early as 19th century, made up the majority of the population of Jerusalem (so even before the birth of Zionist movement).

The territory around Jerusalem and today’s state of Israel was the reason for numerous bloody wars for over a thousand years. The bloodiest (at least so far) were 12th, 13th and 20th centuries. 12th and 13th centuries were the times of the crusade wars which took place in nine crusades between 1095 to 1291. Christians conquered Jerusalem in 1099 and held it until 1187, when Saladin united Muslim forces and conquered them with taking over Jerusalem. This is when the famous Richard the Lion Heart comes onto stage. He managed to defeat Saladin’s army in 1192, in the town called Akri. Estimating he could take on Jerusalem, conquer it, but not keep it as well, Richard enters a truce with Saladin, which results in the agreement under which Christians receive Galilee and the coastal strip, while Muslims get Jerusalem. Next, there were six sdditional crusades in the area (all the way to 1272), which are less famous than the mentioned Third Crusade in which historical figures of Saladin and Richard the Lion Heart were involved. Following crusades produced nothing worth mentioning, except the fact Jerusalem still remained in Muslim hands and the agreement was achieved under which pilgrims of any side had guaranteed passage to holy places. Jerusalem thus remained Muslim all the way to 1917, when General Alenby reenters Jerusalem, starting an era of British patronage over Israeli and Plestine territories, lasting until 1948. From what I’ve heard from Israelis, Muslims sometimes refer to the entire state of Israel as a modern crusade and say if they managed to get crusaders out after 200 years, they will also manage to do the same with Israeli Jaws.

The state of Israel was recognized in 1948, after a war between Israeli and Palestinians which took place immediately after WWII, and at the close of the British patronage. The first Prime Minister (and, according to many, the father of modern Israel) was David Ben Gurion, born in Poland in 1886, which he left in 1906 to spend the rest of his life in the territory of today’s Israel. Founding the Zionist Workers’ Party in 1930, he became leader of the political option that participated in the creation of the Israeli state, managing to reconcile divided Israeli armed groups, unifying them into a single Israeli army. During the war of 1948, the Israeli army managed to get hold of over half of today’s Israeli territory. One of principal reasons for the international recognition of Israel was precisely the fact the Jewish people went through a holocaust during WWII, which is why the internatioinal community felt the formation of the Israeli state is something that will prevent for something similar to happen in the future. Further more, it is important to note the American influence after WWII was exceptionally strong and USA is a country with a lots of rich and influential Jews.

What followed after the state was proclaimed was a series of wars and truces between Israel and different neighboring Arab countries which felt solidarity with Palestinians (sometimes wars would be started by Israel, and sometimes by Arabs). Up to this very day, the situation is far from stable. It is interesting Arabs and Jews, until the creation of the Israeli state, had had, generally, far better relations than, for example, Christians and Jews. This is witnessed best by the fact the Spanish Jews (the so called Sefards) were exiled by the close of 15th century, finding exile mostly in the Ottoman Empire (Arab countries of North Africa and the Middle East), where they faced nowhere close that much Antisemitism as Jews who lived in Europe and Russia (the so called Ashkenazs).

1967. the famous Six Day War occurred, during which the Israeli army convincingly won over Arab forces in record time, and during which Jordan lost the West Bank. A large number of Palestinians from the West Bank fled to Jordan after this war, from where many of them moved to Lebanon and Tunis afterwards. Yitzhak Rabin subsequently enabled their return to the occupied territories of the West Bank. One of key persons on the Palestinian side was of course contraversial PLO leader Yasser Arafat. Arafat founded the PLO in 1956. From 1956 to 1967, PLO constantly organized guerilla atacks to the Israeli territory, to which Israel always responded by many more measures and attacks on the Palestinian areas. In 1971, Arafat moved from Jordan to east Beirut and started shelling Israel by guns provided from Russians.

Usto se u Bejrutu rasplamsao i građanski rat (budući da su kršćani iz Bejruta stali na stranu Izraelaca, a izbjegli Palestinci na stranu lokalnoga muslimanskog stanovništva) i „Pariz Bliskog istoka“, kako je do tada bio nazivan Bejrut, preko noći se pretvara u „pakao Bliskog istoka“ jer će stravični građanski rat na tome prostoru potrajati gotovo 17 godina. Fascinantna je činjenica da je do tada područje današnjega Libanona uživalo preko 1000 godina mira te je predstavljalo primjer uspješna suživota i tolerancije među različitim religijama. Sve se to preko noći promijenilo i nestalo pojavom „crnog labuda“ rata (kako ga Nassim Nicholas Taleb naziva u svojoj istoimenoj knjizi koja se bavi nepredvidivim pojavama), iniciranog nestabilnošću prouzročenom izraelsko-palestinskim sukobom u susjedstvu.

At the same time, a civil war started raging in Beirut, since Christians from Beirut took side of Israelis, and exiled Palestinians who fled to the side of local Muslim population. And therefore “the Paris of the Middle East,” as Beirut had been called until then, turned overnight into “Hell of the Middle East.” The horrifying civil war will last in the region for almost seventeen years. It is striking that area of today’s Lebanon had enjoyed over 1,000 years of peace and represented an example of successful cohabitation and tolerance between different religions. All of this changed overnight and disappeared with the “black swan” of war (as Nassim Nicholas Taleb calls it in his excellent book with the same title, dealing with unpredictable occurrences), initiated by the instability caused by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict next door.

Arabs’ revenge to Israelis for the Six Day War came in 1973, on most holy Israeli date (Yom Kippur), when Jews pray and none should do anything. Arab forces used this fact and struck back vigorously that year, caming in from two routes (from Egypt and from Syria), with strong forces. Israel barely saved its neck from the initial strike, but the Israeli forces quickly reorganized and, in a few days already, threw back the Syrian army to one and Egyptian army to the other side of the Suez, coming just off Cairo. Finally, under mediation by the international community and the UN, truce was agreed. Two years later, American diplomacy led by Henryj Kissinger, intiated peace talks at Camp David, where Egypt and Israel finally signed a peace treaty.

After continuous shelling of Israeli territory from Lebanon, Israel attacked and occupied Lebanon in 1982. The years between 1982 and 1987 were the years of constant fights and attacks from both sides. A major tragedy happened in 1987, when Christian phanatics got into a Palestinian refugee camp and murdered a few hundred Palestinians. Thanks to negative publicity and the pressure from the international community, Israel finally withdrew from Beirut in 1987 (but still until 2000 there were still about 30 – 40 kilometers of south Lebanon left under Israeli occupation, so they could prevent Israel being shelled from there). On the other side, at the same time, Palestinians, during the period between 1987 and 1993, proclaimed the so called First Intifada or rebellion against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. Intifada represents a combination of boycotting and other peaceful means at Palestinians’ disposal, combined with also murders and violence that appeared frequently on both sides during the time Intifada lasted.

Great efforts for achieving peace in Israel and the whole Middle East region, were invested by Yitzhak Rabin, who was the Israeli Prime Minister between 1974 – 1977 and 1992 – 1995. He is, according to many people, one of the greatest Israelis of all time. During his first mandate, he became the fifth Israeli PM and the first PM born in Israel. It is interesting he became a peace maker after exceptional military career, during which he realized great military success as general (starting from 1964, he was also general in command of Israeli armed forces), during the wars of 1948 and 1967. During the first mandate, he initiated the peace talks with Egypt which first resulted in the Sinnai interim agreement in 1975 and later it lead to the already mentioned peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, signed at Camp David in 1979. During his second mandate, Yitzak Rabin initiated peace talks again, which were finalized with the famous peace agreement with Palestinians in Oslo in 1993, followed by the peace agreement with Jordan in 1994. With this agreement, Israel recognized the Palestinian national authority and partial control over the areas of Gaza and the West Bank. This peace agreement resulted in great protests and opposition from extreme and militant Jewish population. Two years later (at the end of 1995), Rabin was murdered by a radical rightwing orthodox Jew who did not approve his politics. Rabin, together with Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat, received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

Since the execution of the Oslo agreement did not proceed as both sides expected it to, there were new tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, so the need for new peace talks arose again. The truce between Israelis and Palestinians was close at hand in 2000, when the Israeli president Ehud Barak ordered the retreat of Israelis from south Lebanon and led serious talks on a peaceful solution with Arafat. Arafat eventually, displeased with the options offered, left the talks in August 2000, which was followed by four years of conflict (the Second Intifada, 2000 – 2004). Barak had to resign eighteen months after coming to power (obviously seen as too “soft” and not strong enough to confront Arafat), to be succeeded by the hardest possible opponent to Arafat - Ariel Sharon became president of Israel. Sharon was a member of Special Forces and often clashed with the PLO during some thirty years of his military career, and there were also rumours he could be held accountable for some war crimes. Sharon and Arafat, in a way represent the personification of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Many interpret the period between 2001 and 2005 as the personal conflict between Arafat and Sharon, during which there was no possibility for peace talks or processes. Arafat died in 2005, and Sharon got in to coma in 2006. A few weeks before Arafat’s death in 2005, Sharon ordered the withdrawal of Israelis from Gaza. The West Bank was still under the control of Israeli military. A few years ago, the construction of a wall between the West Bank and the Israeli territory was started (so far, eight hundred kilometers were constructed), where it is known (assumed) the future Palestinian state will have a border. The very act of construction is horrible, but local Israelis claim terrorism in Israel dropped significantly as a consequience. All presidents of Israel so far were soldiers and generals, which nevertheless speaks of the militant culture of this country, which is not strange given the surroundings and circumstances. The left and the right political options in Israel are also much more connected along military than economic viewpoints and perspectives (regardless of whether they champion a military or a peaceful solution to the Palestinian issue and the Arab issue in general). Palestinians, of course, do not accept the current state of affairs and are announcing the “Kosovo recipe” i.e. proclaiming the Palestinian state that includes Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem as capital. There is one small difference here though, and that is that Israel is not Serbia, and can, due to its strong connections to USA, count on American veto in this case quite likely.

Israelis and the Jewish people in general

Let us now address Israelis and the Jewish people in general – their behavior, customs and viewpoints. Jews are subdivided into two main groups in terms of their origin i.e. in terms of their ancestors. These are Askenaz who come from Germanic lands, north and central Europe, and Sefards, who come from south Europe (Spain and Portugal). The official language in Israel is Hebrew, which is really an ancient tongue and is used by secular Jews. Those extremely orthodox Jews do not want to speak Hebrew, but use Yiddish, and utilize Hebrew for prayer only (not all of them, but some).

Jews practice gatherings and discussions on religion – once more than ten of them gather up, they require no church, but can engage in this anywhere. For many Jews, religion represents constant and eternal questioning of every minor detail and a certain discipline and approach to life in general. Their tradition of being well read and eloquent surely comes from the Tora, which they all have to study, and which is full of different everyday situations they all know by heart. Jews are also known by constant polemics and disagreements which are obviously rooted in constant religious discussions, but, also, by unity in difficult situations. Israel has no constitution – Tora is really the constitution (this was requested by the Religious Party when the country was founded in 1948). Further, there is no secular marriage in Israel but rabbinic only (but if marriage is registered in another country, the state recognizes it).

There are several categories of religious Jews, which one can tell apart by clothing as well. Zionist Jews hold the state of Israel is the Holy Temple – they work and earn in a normal fashion. Hassidic Jews are easily spotted by their black hats and capthans (that they generally wear). Extremely orthodox Jews do not recognize the state of Israel but are waiting for the Messiah – and care not who is in power. They do not watch television, do not read press, nobody among them is employed, they do not pay taxes – but they do receive welfare. Their quarters/areas in Jerusalem appear as if one has returned to 18th or 19th century. During the wars with Arabs, believe it or not, they favoured Arabs to Israelis, because the Israeli state is more modern than religious (in contrast to Muslim countries where religion has far more important role). There are approximately 60 per cent secular and 40 per cent religious Jews in Israel (15 per cent Hassidic, 25 per cent Zionist). Religious Jews have much higher natality rate so this imposes the question of the economic sustainability of the system in future, because it is the secular Jews that economy rests upon.

Circumsizing male children is something the Jewish faith universally proscribes on the eighth day following birth. As far as religious rules in terms of diet are concerned, kosher represents a set of rules proscribed by Tora ever since Moses. Some of the rules are as follows: when meat is prepared, blood is to be fully let out to get rid of uncleansiness. Pork, certain game and seafood are not to be consumed, there should not be mixing between meat and dairy products and there must be at least six hours between the intake of milk and meat. Therefoe dairy products are usually taken for breakfast, while meat over lunch and dinner etc. Numerous products have the kosher label and their price thereby increases in terms of the products that do not have this label. For example, kosher wines are those for which the treading process is being done by a religious Jew. This was thus turned into a business of a sort too.

The level of solidarity of Israelis with Jews from around the world is staggering. There is the so called Israeli Agency in charge of getting Jews out of dangerous areas throughout the world (e.g. Russian Jews following the implosion of the USSR, Bosnian and Croatian Jews on the eve of 1991, Serbian Jews just before the NATO bombing in 1999). The agency applies the rules that follow the so called notorious Hitler law – Jewish ancestry is recognized until the 4th generation (according to mother’s side), and, in case of danger, these people are evacuated to safety to Israel. Their trip is paid for, they are given housing, found work and if it is needed – they get new qualifications.

Strolling down the streets of Tel Aviv, I noticed the people appear quite confident, they gaze at your eyes with no fear and one can spot a certain dose of calculated and controlled aggressiveness too – but all of this within the boundaries of social acceptance. I heard much the same account from acquaintances who had the opportunity of working with Israelis or had been to Israel. Later, I read this is something Jews refer to as chutzpah or positive sassiness i.e. defiance (which somebody might call “to have balls”). With this they openly, for our culture perhaps even too aggressively or confrontationally, assert themselves in their private and business settings, questioning and attacking directly all they hold to be inaccurate, wrong or inappropriate. This is, therefore, the total opposite of, for example, true Britishness, where one will never encounjter open verbal confrontation. This is probably the reason for increased concentration of adrenaline in air and the fact Israel is after all a military state as a concequence of the hostile surrounding. I read afterwards it is perfectly natural in Israel for students to disprove their professors, employees their bosses – even soldiers their superiors – if they hold these are wrong. chutzpah ili pozitivna drskost, tj. prkos (što neki narodski mogu nazvati i „imati muda“), kojom se otvoreno, a za našu kulturu možda čak i preagresivno/konfrontacijski, postavljaju u privatnome i poslovnome okružju, preispitujući i napadajući izravno sve ono što misle da je netočno, krivo ili neprimjereno. Dakle, potpuna suprotnost od primjerice iskonskih Britanaca od kojih gotovo nikad nećete doživjeti otvorenu verbalnu konfrontaciju. Vjerojatno je razlog te povećane koncentracije adrenalina u zraku i činjenica da je Izrael bez obzira na sve ipak u znatnoj mjeri militaristička država. Čitao sam poslije da je u Izraelu potpuno prirodno da studenti osporavaju svoje profesore, zaposlenici svoje šefove, pa čak i vojnici svoje zapovjednike – ako smatraju da nisu u pravu.

What I found out during this trip was the fact Jerusalem is actualy the capital of Israel internally, while for the world – this is Tel Aviv (since Jerusalem is not politically acceptable for this role). Some foreign dignitaries still come to Jerusalem for official meetings (Bush, Merkel, Sarkozy, even Mesić and Josipović), and the Israeli government and parliament are, for example, located in Jerusalem. The largest city in Israel is Jerusalem, with about 750,000 inhabitants. Tel Aviv comes next, which includes 350,000 people in inner city, and as many as two million with town satellites. The difference between these two cities is huge. Mostly religious inhabitants reside in Jerusalem and there are really not that much jobs there – these are mostly concentrated in Tel Aviv. Birth rate is fairly high both for Jews and Arabs, and the poorest citizens of Israel live there.

Signs of militant culture can be clearly seen in the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where it is perfectly natural to constantly run into boys and girls twenty years of age, walking the city with machine guns – so casually, as if they had been born with the weapons – just as we walk the streets carrying a briefcase or an umbrella. It is also interesting Israeli border patrol can often be seen in civilian clothes (T-shirts and pants; there are absolutely no signs they are soldiers), but carrying automatic rifles and wearing bullet proof vests. Crossing the border into Israel and from it can be quite traumatic and can last a very long time. I was just thinking, after three to four hours of waiting, that Israelis probably think if they were able to wait forty years to come to the promised land – so we can wait at the border for a few hours . An acquaintance of mine who resides in Israel was very metaphorical when it comes to the mode of operation of the Israeli administration: he said it represents a mix of Russian sluggishness and disorganization and Austro-Hungarian thoroughness and attention to detail. Perhaps Croatian administration is not the worst, after all.

The Israeli army counts about 177,000 professional soldiers and additional 450,000 reservists that are combat ready at all times. The military service lasts three years for men and two years for women (who, in contrast to men, need not to be reservists). Having done the military service, men are under the obligation to serve 28 days annually in the army until they are 55 (even though, after 40 years of age, they are not part of combat forces). The Israeli man thus, from the age of 18 until he is 45, spends more than seven years in the army: three years in the military service and a month annually afterwards. Israeli women, partly because of the two years of service, and partly on account of the strong role of women in their families, are very tough and perhaps not so emotional as women in our region. Thus, going out to clubs at night, they do not hold back their initiative and the role of the hunter instead of the one of prey (at least I was told so ). Israelis go to army after high school (18 – 21), and then usually take a gap year or two to take a break and regain their senses (traveling etc.). Only then do they go to college (usually aged 23 – 28). Israeli military bases are mostly located in the Negev desert, which takes up as much as sixty per cent of the area of Israel.

The development of the Israeli economy (lately based mostly on hi-tech industries) has surely created a vast number of wealthy Israelis. But, it is interesting I did not notice luxury cars in the streets of Israel during the whole week of my stay – it is a very rare moment one can see a Mercedes, Porche or BMW (by far a rarer occurrence than in Croatia). In Israel, rich men do not show off that much, but are hard workers themselves primarily – this is a matter of their religion and culture. The work ethics is fairly vigorous and work and creation represent a meaning in life (not holidaying until the rest of life once a hefty sum has been earned). It is very customary that rich people donate ten per cent of their profits to charity.

Showing off is perhaps not widespread characteristic of Israelis, but on the other hand culture in Israel is quite appreciated (just like religion and history). Interestingly, Israel is probably the only country in the world with more subscribers to philharmonics than football – as many as 33,000. I learnt this from my guide Dušan Mihalek during the time of my visit to Israel – very knowledgable person for music and a former radio editor at the Novi Sad Radio who emigrated to Israel escaping from the regime of Milošević (refusing his editorial policies to be directed and utilizing the fact his wife has Jewish roots). This is an exceptional man, connected through the music with our brilliant pianist Ivo Pogorelić and President Ivo Josipović, who, made my stay in Israel very pleasant and friendly and helped me try to understand this exceptionally complex country and people in it better.

The Dead Sea, water and agriculture

The Dead Sea is located in Israel at 424 meters below the sea level and this sea represents the lowest depression point on Earth. During the past 50 years, about 30 meters have evaporated, while the depth of the sea at the deepest location is about 400 meters. The sea area spreads over 75 x 35 kilometers. The scientific explanation for its nature is the Dead Sea is located between the Asian and African continental plates (area between the plates goes from Turkey to Kenya). This is exactly why Israel is hit by strong quakes: statistically, every eighty years. The last major earthquake occurred in 1927, so Israelis are getting ready for the next big quake which could potentially happen soon. Along the Dead Sea shoreline, there is a mountain of salt and minerals – Sodom, known by the Biblical tale according to which it was made on account of God’s rage for unmoral behavour that was taking place in the city existing until then on the very location. This event can simultaneously represent a religious explanation of the creation of the Dead Sea. It is interesting and useful to know that, during rain season, and due to high differences in altitude, powerful flods come to the Dead Sea valley when it rains elsewhere. The flods can be so strong to make buses turn over.

1830. German travel writers understood first the dissolved minerals from the Dead Sea are not “classic water.” The Dead Sea (more accurately, this is a lake, if we are to take official definitions) thus is not water, but dissolved minerals (33 per cent are salt and healing minerals, while regular seas include 3 – 4 per cent of salt only). The Dead Sea is even denser than our body which is why it is impossible to sink in it. One cannot even get sunburnt there, because the sea is so low below sea level, and it also positively impacts skin conditions such as psoriasis. There is a lot of bromium and chlorine in are – which positively impacts the mood. This is why the Dead Sea shores feature lots of spas, where people come to treat their skin and other conditions. Further, numerous cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies were created on the shores of the Dead Sea, utilizing its unique composites for their products. Worldwide famous pharmaceutical company Teva (which also bought Croatian Pliva) and a number of cosmetic companies in Israel were thus created in this area and produce products based on Dead Sea minerals.

Perhaps the best known cosmetic brand based on minerals from the Dead Sea is Ahava, which means love in Hebrew. This is a product of the largest cosmetic company in Israel that produces and markets products from Dead Sea throughout the world. The Israeli government, in order to break its monopoly, supported the development of other cosmetic companies by the Dead Sea, which also do business successfully. The Dead Sea thus represents a source of new industries (cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, healing spas) and represents source of prosperity for the area around it. Israelis sometimes joke they are unclear as to why Moses dragged them through the desert for forty years and finally brought them over to a place without a drop of oil (given the fact neighboring countries have plenty of it).

The second lake located below sea level is the already mentioned Lake of Galilee, which is located at –215 meters below the sea level and represents the sole reservoir of potable water in the Middle East. This is why Israel constructed a dam on the Lake of Galilee. This resulted with Jordan River no longer coming in to Dead Sea (only rainfall does it), so consequently its level keeps decreasing. This is therefore a potential ecological disaster. One option would be digging a canal from the Red Sea towards the Dead Sea, but if this would be done the mix would create rust and this would ruin the healing potential of the minerals. Currently 40 per cent of water in Israel is obtained through the process of desalinization (by far, the greatest share in world standards). It is estimated once it reaches 60 per cent of total water suply in Israel (and this could happen soon), Israel will most likely once again open the water dam in order for the Jordan to flow into the Dead Sea again.

Amazingly, despite 60 per cent of its territory being a desert, Israel grew into a respectable agricultural country by world wide standards. Agriculture under plastic greenhouses in the Arava desert (part of the Negev desert) achieve incredible 30 times larger yields than classic agricultural methods. Israel is in general leading country in the world in terms of utilizing desert for agriculture. The country is also a famous and large exporter of agricultural goods and flowers. Israel used to grow famous jaffa oranges, but later oriented itself to more profitable agricultural areas. The best pepper in the world (which took over primacy from the famous Ceylon pepper) is produced in Israel. Lately Israelis started purchasing land in Kenya and some other African countries and invest there into plastic greenhouses and agriculture, using their superior methods for agricultural growth in desert conditions. President of Israel and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize - Shimon Peres, stated a few years ago: “During the past 25 years, Israel increased its agricultural yields as much as 17 times. What people often fail to understand is agriculture is 95 per cent science and 5 per cent work.” Perhaps somebody should say this to the representatives of Croatian peasants involved in agriculture who block the roads with their tractors seeking greater subsidies, or to the government who do nothing to raise the level of technological accomplishment in agriculture and is instead just deciding how much money to direct from the budget for subsidising non profitable agriculture. The excellence of Israel is not limited solely to agriculture but to the results in cattle raising as well. For example, cows in Israel produce the largest yield of milk per cow in the world.

Israel is leading the world as well in the percentage of water being recycled – as much as 74 per cent of water in Israel is recycled. They are leading country in the world for this matter (the second comes Spain with 14 per cent). Recycled water is used afterwards in industry and irrigation. Further more, as stated previously, Israel leads the world in the percentage of water obtained through the process of desalinization – as much as 40 per cent currently, which is by far the greatest percentage figure in the world (that keeps increasing). One could surely say Israeli utilize the maximum from desert soil and limited water resources for the development of agriculture, cattle and economy in general. By utilizing contemporary technological accomplishments, they achieve truly impressive, world wide leading results. But this merely starts the impressive list of Israeli technological and economic achievements.

Start Up Nation: The Story of Isreal’s Economic Miracle

Israel used to earn 40 per cent of foreign income twenty years ago from brilliants, while today 60 per cent come from hi-tech industries. Israel is a country with the largest number of start-up companies per capita in the world – the total is 3,850 or one on each 1,844 inhabitants of Israel. Further, for example, in 2008, venture capital investment per capita in Israel amounted to about USD 250, which is 2.5 times more than in USA, 30 times more than in Europe, 80 times more than in China, and 350 times more than in India. In absolute figures, Israel, as a country with 7.1 million inhabitants, attracted USD 2 billion of venture capital funds which is, for instance, equal to the absolute amount Great Britain attracted (with 61 million people), or the amount Germany and France attracted combined (totaling together 145 million inhabitants). Israel is a country outside USA that has most companies registered at NASDAQ – 63 of them in 2009 (followed by Canada with 48, Japan with six and all other countries far behind). Israel also invests the greatest percentage of GDP into research and development in the world – as much as 4.5 per cent, followed by Japan with 3.2, USA with 2.7, Korea with 2.6 and Germany with 2.5 per cent (according to the data from 2000 – 2005). start-up kompanija po glavi stanovnika na svijetu – ukupno ih je 3850 ili jedna na svaka 1844 stanovnika Izraela. Također, primjerice u 2008. godini, venture capital investicije po glavi stanovnika u Izraelu iznosile su oko 250 USD, što je oko 2,5 puta više nego u SAD-u, 30 puta više nego u Europi, 80 puta više nego u Kini i 350 puta više nego u Indiji. U apsolutnim brojkama, Izrael je kao zemlja od samo 7,1 mil. stanovnika privukla 2 mlrd. USD venture capital sredstava što je, primjerice, jednako apsolutnome iznosu koji je privukla Velika Britanija (61 mil. stanovnika) ili onom koji su privukli Njemačka i Francuska zajedno (145 mil. stanovnika). Izrael je zemlja izvan SAD-a koja ima najviše prijavljenih kompanija na NASDAQ-u – njih 63 u 2009. godini (iza njega slijedi Kanada s 48, Japan sa 6 te sve druge s manjim brojem od toga). Izrael ulaže i najviši postotak BDP-a u istraživanje i razvoj na svijetu – čak 4,5 %, a slijede ga Japan s 3,2 %, SAD s 2,7 %, Koreja s 2,6 % i Njemačka s 2,5 % (podatci 2000. – 2005. godine).

While the Holy Land attracts for centuries great number of pilgrims from all over the world, lately this has been the case with the leading world companies too - especially high tech ones. Google CEO Eric Schmidt stated Israel, after USA, is the next best place in the world for entrepreneurs. Steve Ballmer even said Microsoft is as much an Israeli company as it is American, because of the size and importance of Israeli teams within the company. If you are thinking investments into Israel are limited to hi-tech industries or to those with Jewish background, you are mistaken. Warren Buffett, famous for avoiding risky and/or hi-tech investments, after decades of avoidance, in 2005 finally purchased a company outside of USA. He bought 80 per cent of shares in the Israeli production company Iscar (which produces precise, semi hi-tech equipment for industrial production) for the amount of USD 4 billion. This happened precisely in the year Israel started fighting in the Lebanon war again.

All of this did not happen by chance. I had the opportunity to read the Israeli development strategy written in 2008, which covered the period of twenty years – all the way up to 2028. The document is entitled: “Israel 2028: Vision and Strategy for Economy and Society in a Global World.” In it, in over 300 pages, it is explaining what Israel must do to capitalize on trends in development of high technology and education, in order to achieve high growth rates and development of economy in order to further transform the structure of its industries according to what will be relevant and required in the world in twenty years. The Nobel Prize winner Robert Solow proved in his work technological innovation is the best source of productivity and growth for any economy. Israel took this literally and vigorously started applying this ever since the beginning of 90s when world high tech revolution progressed, with the development of internet and the possibilities it offers.

What characterizes Israelis further, apart from strong orientation to new technology, is great tolerance towards uncertainty and risk and the entrepreneurial culture in general, that is far greater in relation to other countries. Some may atribute tolerance to uncertainty and readiness for risk, to the fact that all Israelis go through three years of military service during which they are often exposed to real combat situations in which they, as quite young, found themselves in life or death situations. After having such expiriences, it is logical that business risks seem far more trivial and acceptable to tako, especially if they are managed properly. Successful leaders of elite military units in Israel are very respected and often become very successful business men and entrepreneurs. Special elite military unit called Talpiot, combines training in leading world military technology with exposure to special military operations. One out of a thousand Israelis that apply manages to get in it. The Talpiot program was initially started as a one year experiment during which 2 per cent of Israeli high school students (about 2,000 of them) passed the testing, primarily focused on math and physics. Out of these, only ten per cent, or 200 of them, succeeded in further tests of personality, physical ability, adjustment etc. Those who manage to pass all possible tests agree to additional six years of military service (or nine years in total), and enter the intensive and accelerated training program in mathematics, physics, technology and all possible technical knowledge that can be useful for an elite technological unit within the military. Passing such a program and gaining the Talpiot title brings enormous respect, both in military and civilian life. The program thus produced only 650 graduates during 30 years, and some of these people became leading Israeli scientists and initiators of most successful Israeli companies. This program thus represents some sort of “Israeli Harvard,” and it is an incubator and a training center for top technological talent and leadership in Israel.

Dominant engine for creation of highly educated individuals responsible for development of national economy is naturally educational system. Data show that as many as 45 per cent of Israelis graduate at universities/colleges, which is one of the highest percentages in the world. Israel has 8 universities and 27 colleges today. Their quality is best testified by the fact their four universities belong to 150 of best universities in the world and seven of them enter the top 100 best universities in the Asia-Pacific zone. For the sake of comparison, not a single one Croatian university ranks between top 500 world universities. Leading universities were founded in Israel much earlier than the state of Israel was established. For example, in first board of the Hebrew University, there used to sit iconic scientists such as Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud. The Technion, a world wide famous university for technical science, was established in 1912. Interestingly Israeli universities by and large finance themselves by their research work. For example, the Hebrew university founded a company for the transfer of technology entitled Yissum, which generated over USD 1 billion annually of revenue in the area of biotechnology, agrotechnology, computer science and engineering. The company registered over 5,500 patents and more than 1,600 inventions, selling their researches to companies such as Johnson & Johnson, IBM, Intel, Nestle and Lucent Technologies. The mix of quality education and vigorous orientation to their practical application is exactly what is exceptionally important for the above average success of Jews, as well as for high growth rates that Israeli economy has registered for a number of years now.

Israel is a leading country in the world as well by the number of patents per capita. During the period between 1980 and 2000, Israel had as many as 7,652 patents on its 6–7 million inhabitants, while Arab countries during the same period, with the population of over 250 million people, had fewer than 500 registered patents together (all countries combined). If Israel had as much oil as the Arab countries, perhaps its citizens would not be force to orient themselves towards inventiveness and creativity, and therefore create value and start economy. High degree of innovation and development based on it simultaneously represents the greatest Israeli weapon in the fight against Arab countries that rely with their economies mostly on hefty oil reserves (that are big but nevertheless are not infinite).

Israeli economy has not always been this technologically developed. The first major economic start of Israel occurred during the period between 1948 and 1970. At the time, the Israeli GDP per capita almost multiplied four times, the number of inhabitants tripled, and at the same time Israel participated in three great wars (not to count the smaller ones). The foundation for growth during this period was great agricultural revolution mostly based on the organization into so called kibutz system, which can for instance be compared to Soviet kolhoz during the time of communism. Kibutz actually represents a community of people who live together, leading approximately equal lives. Even though some of them are perhaps distinguished professors or businessmen, they still lived modestly, wash the dishes when it was their turn etc. Kibutz system was at the time led by the necessity due to harsh semi-desert environment in which it operated and it made tremendous advances in the area of utilizing desert technology for the development of agriculture. Their creativity and perseverance can best be seen in examples such as the one that, after hard and extensive digging in the Negeve desert in search of irrigation water (having dug out tens of football fields in search of water), a kibutz found warm and salty water that was unusable for irrigation. Upon recommendation by a university professor who was a member of the kibutz himself, they simply used the water for raising fish (professor himself commented it was not easy convincing people to grow fish in the middle of desert, but that his idea was finally accepted). After use for growing fishes, the water became suitable for fertilization of land and was therefore later used for the irrigation of olives and dates. So everything is used to the maximum. Over a hundred years ago, Mark Twain described this land as limitless wasteland. It is estimated today 240 million trees were planted in Israel: the most impressive example of the large numbers of forests is perhaps the Yatir forest that rose out of nothing on the fringes of the Negeve desert. It represents proof that forest can be cultivated even under such harsh desert conditions and with quite limited rainfall.

The organization of agricultural communities into productive kibitzes thus represented a generator of the Israeli economy until the 1970s. Growth of economy from 1950s to 1960s was over 10 per cent annually and therefore during the period from 1950 to 1970, Israeli economy increased its GDP per capita, relatively to USA, from mere 25% to as much as 60% by 1970. During this period, the government did not support private entrepreneurship and rhetoric was directed against private gain of profit. This was some sort of social capitalism based on mentioned communities of the kibutz. Economy at the time was fairly primitive and started from a fairly low end, so the manner of organization was appropriate and could produce good results until 1970. From 1970 to 1980, Israeli economy experienced crisis and they often refer to this period as the “lost decade.”

At the start of 1980s, when high tech revolution caused by IT and personal computing just started, Israeli economy began to recover. This was particularly accelerated in 1990s, with the arival of Internet and modern technologies connected with it. Excelent education of Israelis gained at some of the best technical universities in the world, surely helped hi-tech companies to recognize the attractiveness of Israel for their investments. In adtion, arrival of about 1 million Russian Jews at the beginning of 1990s when the USSR desintegrated, who were mostly with college degrees and were very literate in math, helped Israel head even more in the direction of technologically demanding industries – having the workforce that can make this development happen. It is shocking that even though Jews comprised as little as two per cent of Soviet population – at the same time, according to some data sources they made up thirty per cent of doctors and twenty per cent of engineers. A large part of the intellectual capital moved to Israel after the fall of USSR and helped the new momentum of Israeli economy. The fact they had the curridge to immigrate, which also speaks of readiness to accept risk, aditionaly makes immigrants good “material” for entrepreneurship (on top of excellent education base).

One of key catalysts for the growth of Israeli hi-tech industry was government’s program of active supports for investments into entrepreneurship and high technology known as Yozma, which was established during 1990s, when a clear need was identified for a program of such kind. Ten Yozma funds created between 1992 and 1997 ensured USD 200 million, using as well the aid of state financing. These funds were sold and privatized within five years and today run almost USD 3 billion of capital, providing support to hundreds of Israeli companies. The results are clear. During the program beginnings, Israel through Yozma offered to support each investment into high technology companies with an equal amount of matching investment. When it was proven that investments bring very good results for investors, there was no longer any need for state subsidies and investments, because Israel already became generally accepted as a destination for investors into hi-tech companies. Therefore, we can claim one of important reasons for the success of the Israeli hi-tech wonder was the fact the development of high technologies was part of the long term national strategy and that systematic institutional support was provided for the development to take place.

Already mentioned Israeli president and Nobel Prize winner Shimon Peres, stated in an interview that success in 21st century will depend on the ability of the country to implement innovations that will support the generation and efficient exection of new ideas in the private sector. This should produce new value and economic growth. He also said: “Let us leave old industries aside. There are five industries that will determine the future: exceptional new forms of energy, water, biotechnology, learning devices and national security.” Nanotechnology research, initiated often in Israel by Peres himself, will according to him be important for all of these five industries. Independently of whether Peres is right about his predictions, his vision, vitality, orientation to development and future and readiness to accept new and unknown are trully fascinating. He was, at the moment of the interview – an 85 year old politician. Such vitality and freshness of ideas is difficult to find in politicians half his age, not to mention older ones.

Final thoughts

One can definitely claim doubt and argumentation represent a synonym for the Jewish civilization and today’s Israel. The roots of this can be found in Jewish religion which trains them to think and disprove authority from young age and not accept anything for granted. It is in this element exactly that one can perhaps find roots to above average success of Jews in numerous areas of life – from science and art to economy and generation of wealth. The fact that they could not own land in certain European countries during history directed them towards financial and intellectual pursuits – which additionally helped the fact they eventualy became successful and rich above average (especially in modern times). The fact they represented the rich layer of society placed them throughout history at the aim of numerous antisemits who were only looking for a good excuse to redistribute wealth and take from those who had more than themselves (and one could have take away from Jews because they were unprotected because of non-existence of domestic territory and on top had a different faith). When Jewish people finally formed the state of Israel, this initiated fights with local Palestinian population which of course, did not accepted change in which they had to play the subordinate role in relation to Jews on the Israel theritories. Having in mind connection of Palestinians with Arab and Muslim countries from the wider region (based on religious and/or cultural similarities), Israel thus became the source of hate and hostilities of the Muslim world and found itself in an exceptionally hostile and enemy surrounding. All of this had impact on increased aggressiveness, militancy, even ruthlessness of Israelis when it comes to approach to survival and life in general.

Who is right in the end?

Israelis who were driven from their land over 2,000 years ago, almost wiped out during WWII because of Antisemitism and who then finally established their state in 1948 after so long time?

Or Palestinians who, in the territory of today’s Israel represented the majority until mass settlement of Jews to the area of the newly established state of Israel, and who were then occupied, frequently molested and systematically humiliated by Israelis?

Whose places in Jerusalem are holier?

Jewish temple whiech was the foundation of the Jewish religion for over 1,000 years, until its second and final destruction in 70 AD? Tomb of Jesus and all places connected with crucifixion which occurred amost 2,000 years ago? Or the Dome of the Rock from 695 AD, which is after Meccha and Medina, the holiest religious place for Muslims?

Whose prophets were greater and more authentic and whose beliefs are the right one?

Should the whole world accept the preaching of Christ, Mohammed or the prophets of the Jewish faith?

These are all questions around which tremendeously lot of human blood has been spilled for thousands of years. The answer to the question who is right could be – none and everynone at the same time.

Let us remember all that happened in the region of ex-Yugoslavia twenty years ago and let us see how absurd and unreasonable it all seams from today’s perspective (when some countries stered EU and others are striving to do so as soon as they can).

Religion and sanctity is something that often gives people inner strength and reason for existence. But, at no time should one forget humanity, coexistence and tolerance, because they should represent the foundation of any religion. Christ, Mohammed and Moses and other great prophets of all world religions preched of this. If we act based of these virtues, instead of stubbornly insisting that solely our perspective is the right one and that everybody else must accept it, I am convinced the world would have less conflicts and wars and compromise solutions would be easier to achieve – even in case of such complex issues as the Israeli-Palestinian.

The future of the region will probably depend on the amount of mentioned humanity, coexistence and tolerance found in Israelis and Palestinians. This will determine whether the region will at least somewhat stabilize or remain a source of world instability and a potential theater of even bloodier wars. I left Israel and neighboring countries (apart from Israel, I also visited the Palestinian territory and Jordan) with this hope exactly - that this gorgeous and complex region full of history and sanctity will finally find peace, so people can live as good neighbors and brothers – just like their religions preach. The future will show whether this is utopia and naïve pacifism or potential reality. From today’s perspective, this seems almost impossible. But as we have seen in the case of great prophets who walked through this land thousands of years ago – even miracles are possible. So let us not lose our faith.

Josip Muller,
15. 8. 2012.

 

Note: In the text, I tried to express my views on different aspects of history, religion, politics, economy and life in general in the area of Israel and surrounding region. I apologize in advance for any potential wrong understanding or interpretations or facts, especially those connected to individual religions – for which I am surely not an expert. I therefore merely shared my impressions based on the information available to me.