Israel: A Global Hub for Technological Innovation

Over the past two decades, social media posts and email chains have circulated touting Israeli ingenuity—highlighting companies like Waze, Mobileye, and the Israeli engineers behind the iPhone and Intel chips. While these headlines tell part of the story, they only scratch the surface of Israel’s impact on the global tech industry. The truth is, Israel has become one of the world’s most dynamic and influential technology hubs—home to innovations that are transforming nearly every area of modern life.

Those of us who care deeply about Israel—and understand how much this tiny nation contributes to humanity—should take enormous pride in the creativity, problem-solving, and game-changing advances coming out of the Jewish state.

From Start-Up Nation to Tech Powerhouse

Israel’s evolution into a high-tech powerhouse didn’t happen by chance. It’s the result of a uniquely fertile environment: a startup culture that rewards risk-taking, world-class academic institutions, robust government investment in R&D, and a defense industry that often births technologies later adapted for civilian use. In this innovation ecosystem, success is often built on earlier failures—and that’s not only accepted but encouraged.

Let’s take a closer look at just a few of the groundbreaking companies putting Israeli innovation on the map:

Mobileye: The Brains Behind Autonomous Driving

Based in Jerusalem, Mobileye is a global leader in autonomous vehicle technology. Their computer vision and AI-based driver assistance systems are found in millions of cars on the road today. The company has partnered with auto giants like BMW, Ford, and General Motors to help prevent collisions and make driving safer. When Intel acquired Mobileye in 2017 for $15 billion, it signaled just how essential this Israeli technology had become to the future of mobility. What started as an ambitious research project is now shaping the future of transportation worldwide.

Waze: Your Road Companion

Anyone who’s ever avoided a traffic jam or a speed trap thanks to a real-time alert knows the power of Waze. Developed in Israel and acquired by Google in 2013 for over $1 billion, Waze revolutionized navigation with its community-powered updates and intuitive routing. Integrated with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Waze has become a household name—showing how user collaboration and smart design can change the way we drive.

Israel's Yom Hazikaron Contrasted to America's Memorial Day

Today is Yom Hazikaron, Israel's memorial day, and it has me looking back to December 2002 when I had the opportunity to meet some new friends at the Dead Sea, where my wife and I spent a couple of days relaxing at the end of our vacation in London and Israel. There were hundreds of men at our hotel who became severely disabled while fighting for Israel’s continued existence. They risked their lives in protecting our Jewish homeland.

They are known as N’chei Tzahal – the disabled veterans of the IDF. Some could barely walk anymore, even with the aid of a cane or a walker. Others are amputees, missing an arm or a leg, and bound to a wheelchair for the rest of their lives. Others still, were not injured while on active duty, but rather suffered life-long disabilities from a terrorist explosion while waiting at a bus stop just trying to get back to the base after a weekend off. They were at the Dead Sea to find some temporary relief from their disabling pain through the therapeutic powers of the Dead Sea.

The N’chei Tzahal come each year for two or three weeks, and most of the hotels are very accommodating to their needs, displaying a level of handicapped accessibility that is unmatched anywhere in the world. The Israeli Government pays for their much-deserved vacation, but if it is not taken by the end of the year, the opportunity is lost. Thus, many of them make their vacation to the Dead Sea at the end of every December; making the Dead Sea, in essence, the unofficial convention and reunion of Israel’s disabled veterans.

The Double Tragedy of Lone Soldier David Menachem Gordon

Yesterday, I kept checking Google for any news about the missing lone soldier in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). A "lone soldier" (or Hayal Bodad in Hebrew) is a serviceman or servicewoman serving in the IDF without parents in Israel. David Menachem Gordon had been reported missing since Sunday, and like everyone else I presumed he had been kidnapped by terrorists. In fact, most news agencies were already counting him among the few lone soldiers who have been killed thus far in Israel's on-again-off-again war with Hamas in Gaza.

A statement from the IDF, however, read that the 21-year-old Givati Brigade soldier was found dead in central Israel with his rifle by his side. It now appears that Gordon allegedly committed suicide. Magen, a child protection agency based in Beit Shemesh, Israel, has publicly stated that Gordon was a survivor of sexual abuse as a child in the Orthodox Jewish community of Detroit, Michigan. After making aliyah to Israel, Gordon contacted the organization, which said that he was determined to use his experience to help others.

IDF Lone Soldier David Menachem Gordon, who grew up in Metro Detroit

Last June, under the name David M. Gordon, he wrote a Huffington Post piece about the childhood abuse he endured in Metro Detroit. The post, titled "Secrets Don't Get Better With Age: Why I'm Choosing Leadership over Privacy,” was a detailed account of Gordon's experience without mentioning the names of those who violated him.

The Kidnapping of Hadar Goldin

As Israel's war with Gaza continues, peace-loving people around the world become more agitated that a peaceful conclusion seems so far away, if attainable at all. Operation Protective Edge turned into a ground war over a week ago and that has meant more deaths on both sides. It is now the 25th day of the conflict and the death toll in the Israeli military has reached 56 with an additional three civilians.

The most disturbing news out of Gaza is that an Israeli soldier, Hadar Goldin, has been kidnapped. Goldin is a member of the Givati Brigade. The Times of Israel reported earlier today that "The father of captured soldier 2nd-Lt. Hadar Goldin, Simha Goldin, says he's 'sure the army will not let up for a moment and will turn over every stone in Gaza to bring back Hadar safe and sound.'"

At a press conference earlier today President Obama condemned the kidnapping of IDF soldier Hadar Goldin, saying, "We have unequivocally condemned Hamas and the Palestinian factions that were responsible for killing two soldiers, and abducting a third, almost minutes after a ceasefire was announced.  That soldier needs to be unconditionally released, as soon as possible."

As Shabbat approaches here in the United States, I've written the following prayer for these difficult times in which a young man who was protecting the Jewish homeland is now missing:

"May the Lord our God protect captured Israeli soldier 2nd Lt. Hadar Goldin (Hadar ben Chedva Leah) and safeguard him from all harm. May God's canopy of peace spread out among all of God's children to bring an end to this conflict. May we soon see peace in the land and security throughout the region."

Shabbat Shalom!

UPDATE: The IDF confirmed that Hadar Goldin was killed by Hamas on Saturday night Israel time.

Israel's Gaza Situation Becomes Cyber War

Social media changes the zeitgeist in ways we couldn't have imagined. As we saw with the recent presidential election, opinions and attacks now travel at the speed of light. And so it should be no surprise that the ongoing Middle East conflict in Gaza between the Palestinians and Israelis has escalated into a Cyber war.

While the conflict may seem like history repeating itself, social media is actually changing the way the public sees the violence. As several news agencies have reported,Israel is now using social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube to its advantage in its war with Hamas in Gaza. In the past Israel has had to rely upon mainstream news agencies to report on the back-and-forth actions in Gaza, but now the Israeli military and government can take its message straight to the people using its social networks.

As the LA Times reported today:

While Israel launched its surprise attack Wednesday on Gaza, it declared it to the world on Twitter, arguing its case for the new campaign against Hamas in less than 140 characters.

Minute by minute, the Israel Defense Forces fed followers information and arguments on the strike. At their computers, Internet users could click through aerial photos, check updates on the offensive and watch a YouTube video of the strike killing the Hamas military chief.

At one point, the Israeli military traded Twitter barbs with Hamas. “We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead,” the @IDFSpokesperson account tweeted Wednesday.

The Hamas military wing tweeted back, “Our blessed hands will reach your leaders and soldiers wherever they are (You Opened Hell Gates on Yourselves).”