Dateline Jerusalem — Statistics fascinate me. Facts about Israel and my town of Rehovot intrigue me, especially when they are described by superlatives like “best,” “most,” greatest,” “highest,” “largest,” and words like “first” and “only.” This essay is dedicated to the uniqueness of Israel.
Israel is the only Jewish country in the world, yet it is the largest immigrant absorbing nation in the world. It still has the highest average standard of living in the Middle East, and the only country in the world to have revived an unspoken language, Hebrew, as its native tongue. It is the single country that entered the 21st century with a gain in trees, the first country to adopt the Kimberly Process, which certifies that diamonds are “conflict free” and not “blood diamonds.”
The Weizmann Institute of Science, in my town of Rehovot, was voted the best university in the world for life scientists to conduct research. Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees relative to its population. No wonder it has the highest number of biotech start-up companies on a per capita basis. Other than the Silicon Valley, Israel has the highest concentration of high-tech companies in the world. Rehovot often is called the Silicon Valley of Israel.
Israel has the highest percentage of scientists and technicians in the workforce, more than twice that of Japan and Germany. It places first in the world with 25 percent of its workforce employed in technical professions.
The first fully computerized, no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer was developed by Israeli scientists. As for computer technology, an Israeli company was the first to patent and introduce the disk on key, and Israel developed the first PC anti-virus software. The first instant messaging system was invented in Israel. No wonder Israel has the highest percentage of home computers per capita, and my city of Rehovot leads Israel in home computer ownership. Rehovot leads Israel with the highest percentage of car and cell phone ownership per capita. But, the cost of a computer in Israel is a twice that in the States.
Israel has the largest raptor migration in the world since African birds of prey cross over Israel on their way to Asia. Speaking of flight, Israel designed the first flight system that protects aircraft against missile attack. The world's first flying car was built in Israel. It will be sold to the public within the next year.
Health is of utmost importance in Israel. Perhaps that is why Israelis consume the most vegetables and fruits per capita in the world. The largest green pepper was grown in Israel. Because most models are so thin that it affects their health, Israel was the first country to put a ban on having underweight models on catwalks.
Israel comes in first in many categories. Beersheva, in southern Israel, has the largest number of chess grandmasters per capita of any city in the world. Not all superlatives describing Israel are good. The city of Eilat set the record for rubbish generated, over seven pounds per person, per day. Thank G-d that Israeli technology is innovative so that it can deal with the good as well as the bad statistics.
L'hitraot. Shachar