It’s a well-known blessing, one of the traditional simanim (symbols) of the Jewish New Year—“May God bless us to be the head and not the tail”. There is no doubt that modern-day Israel consistently lives up to its Biblical blessing to strive to always come out on top. Israel is a haven for innovators, offering a unique backdrop and plenty of opportunities for small organizations with new ideas who want to make it big. “Being at the head and not the tail” means something different to every person, but the common thread of innovation and ambition acts as the incentive of every Israeli leader in every field.
The Moral High Ground
The phrase, “being at the head and not the tail” takes on a poignant significance for the soldiers of the IDF, especially in light of the events of the past couple of months. The IDF struggles on a daily basis with the question of how to efficiently battle terrorist cells that conceal themselves among their own innocent civilians. The Israeli army was the first modern-day military to target terrorists by going house to house, instead of attacking from the air. This method is extremely dangerous for the IDF soldiers, who often find themselves lured into booby-trapped civilian homes, but it is a method which saves thousands of innocent Palestinian lives. When the IDF does decide to attack from the air, they send text messages, make phone calls and drop fliers to warn civilians that there will be an air attack in a certain place at a certain time, and that they should clear the area.
B’, a combat soldier in a special ops unit, describes his time in Gaza as “a constant battle between being an efficient soldier and hanging onto every bit of humanity you have… Every time we walked into a house, we knew there was a chance a suicide bomber was inside waiting to blow us all up…Every single thing you do requires you to think twice… ‘If I knock over this bookshelf, then the family won’t have a bookshelf, but if I don’t check behind the bookshelf then there might be a terrorist hiding behind it and we could all die’”. This level of sensitivity not only to the lives of the civilians on the enemy’s side but even to their property is unprecedented in any modern military, but comes as second nature to the soldiers of the IDF.
In a press conference earlier this month, the Minister of Defense, Moshe (Bogi) Ayalon praised the soldiers of the IDF for their courage and determination to achieve their military goals while maintaining their sense of moral responsibility. A reserve officer in the Foreign Relations unit commented, “The IDF gets a lot of criticism for being aggressive militarily. But people don’t understand that these soldiers are on the front lines of a war that the entire world is fighting, and the enemy doesn’t play by the rules. They are in a constant state of moral conflict, and they come out on the side of humanitarianism 99% of the time. It’s an impossible situation, but these kids are succeeding at it every day.” The world may have their criticisms, but there is no doubt that the Israeli Defense Force is innovating every day how to run a morally-aware military in a world where the norm is a polarized view in which the only two options are guerrilla warfare or utter destruction.
The Height of Sophistication
While the IDF excels in humanitarian warfare, elsewhere in the country, Israeli companies strive to show the world that the tiny country’s innovation doesn’t stop at military tactics. One such success has been in the wine industry where Israel’s wineries have been bringing in the gold medals and ensuring that they remain at the ‘head’ of the International Wine World. Leading the field is the Golan Heights Winery which has recently celebrated its 31st birthday.
In 5774, Israel’s Golan Heights Winery appeared at the largest and most respected international wine competitions and scooped a wealth of awards. In keeping with their first win in 1987, their famed Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon yet again took the gold at the 2014 VinItaly awards whereas newer offerings such as the Yarden 2T and the Gamla Brut triumphed in Germany and France. As the winery continued to push boundaries in the Israeli wine making world, their latest offering of Yarden Malbec was noted for its exquisite taste and joined the Yarden Merlot, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in winning prizes at the UK Decanter Wine Awards.
“We continue to keep upping our game and maintain our standard of excellence. To that end we have invested millions in utilizing the latest scientific processes and working together with international experts to study the land and advance both vineyard and wine production techniques” said Victor Schoenfeld, Chief Winemaker at the Golan Heights Winery
This past year was the first harvest which used a high-tech optical sorting machine to increase both the efficiency and accuracy of the grape sorting process. The winery has introduced novel wine analysis equipment in their on-site laboratory and they are experimenting with new fermentation agents in their experimental winery. Hi-tech innovations are a major component in streamlining the wine production process and tracking every little change in the status of each wine. Thus, everywhere from the largest vineyard to the smallest barrel is fitted with computerized sensors.
Staying at the ‘head’ of a fast paced industry is not easy. It requires utilizing the latest technology to create the finest quality wine possible. “If wine is akin to an 80-year-old grandfather, the modern Golan Heights wine region could be considered as a four-month-old baby. But to our pleasant surprise, our baby is playing on even terms with the big kids!” exclaimed Schoenfeld. After two decades in Israel, Schoenfeld added; “Working in Israel’s wine industry is more interesting and exhilarating than ever before and this upcoming year promises to bring even more successes.”
Start-Up Nation
Israel is a 66-year old country with a population of 8 million that has produced 68 companies currently traded on Nasdaq, and boasts another 4 to 5 thousand start-ups. In the past year, the Israeli GPS application Waze was sold to Google for $1.1 billion and Wix had an IPO starting at $119 million.
This coming year looks forward to another rapid upsurge of innovation in the world of technology emerging from Israel. One company to watch is Consumer Physics, which integrates the world of physics with technology to create a device that seems like it came directly from a futuristic sci-fi movie. The device, called Scio, is a pocket molecular sensor—it can scan a variety of objects and send information about them directly to your phone. Scio is about the same shape and size as a flash drive and scans the molecular fingerprint of an object and provides relevant information about its chemical makeup. So, for instance, you could use Scio at the supermarket to see which watermelon is sweeter or which avocados are ripe. Scan your morning shake to get a break-down of how many calories, carbs and proteins you are consuming, or take it out to the garden to see how your plants are thriving.
Scio uses a tiny optical sensor called a spectrometer, which catches the light given off by an object and breaks it down into a spectrum which is then sent to the Cloud for analysis and the information sent to your phone in real time. Spectrometers have been used in physics labs for decades, but Consumer Physics found a way to reproduce the weighty and expensive scientific equipment on a much smaller scale and at low cost to consumers.
Scio fits in your pocket, and once the device hits the markets, it could drastically change the way consumers relate to their own environment and the materials around them. On a more global level, Scio could certainly have wide-reaching ramifications for medical research, environmental solutions and food systems.
This tiny device is just one example of how Israeli innovation is changing the world, and bringing us closer and closer to a technological future we once only dreamed of.