Israel, a light to the nations

Jewish people’s contributions to humanity

Throughout world history, the Jewish people─even though small in number─have contributed much to humanity. The values of the Torah, especially the Ten Commandments, still represent the moral foundation of most Western societies. The revelation of the God of Israel as the Creator of the universe has transformed entire nations, even in the most remote parts of the earth.
Through the centuries, great Jewish thinkers, artists and scientists have contributed much to mankind. While the Jews make up only 0.25 percent of the world population, one-quarter of all Nobel laureates in medicine, chemistry, physics and the coveted peace prize over the past 100 years have been awarded to Jews.
This great tradition is continued in the modern State of Israel. Only recently, Prof. Dan Shechtman, from the Technion Institute in Haifa, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his ground-breaking research on crystals.
As stated in the book Israel in the World, Israel is probably the only country that already had a world-class university, scientific, medical and agricultural research institutes, and an internationally acclaimed symphony orchestra all before the state was even founded, in 1948.
The agricultural development of the Land of Israel is historic. Israel is the only nation whose desert region is constantly receding. Israel is also the only nation that has more trees on its territory today than 100 years ago.
As a result, Israel’s agricultural know-how is being exported to many African and Asian countries, including China. The Israeli patented “drip irrigation system” is used all over the world. The scientific and technical achievements of the young nation are incredible. Today, Israel’s technological products and advanced systems have become an integral part of the global high-tech revolution If you are among the 100 million users of ICQ who chat online with your friends around the world, you might not know that the software code for this ground-breaking utility was written by three young Israelis. If your computer uses a Pentium, Centrino or Quad Core Processor, they also have been designated and developed in Israel. Did you know that the very first anti-virus software package was developed in Israel? And if your computer is protected from hackers, then you are most likely shielded through a software code developed by the Israeli company Check Point.
Today, many civilian airliners are protected from ground-launched terror attacks through cutting-edge Israeli surveillance software.
It is, therefore, no wonder that all prominent high-tech companies─Microsoft, Motorola, Visco, Intel, IBM and many others─have major research facilities in Israel. Kurt Hellstrom, President and CEO of Ericsson, a world leader in mobile systems, recently said: “We must be in Israel today! It is an innovative and competent country. We are here to stay!”
Today, Israel’s medical research has saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Approximately one medical drug out of 15 being sold in the U.S. comes from an Israeli pharmaceutical company. Continue reading →