Israel has a high quality of life that is the outcome of a strong healthcare system, a robust social support network, beautiful weather all year, delicious food and it feels like a safe place to live in.
As recently published in the Israeli press, Israel is ranked in fourth place in global happiness, up from nine last year. Tel Aviv was recently ranked as the happiest city in the world by thetravel.com.
So, why are Israelis so hopeful and optimistic despite the cost of living, political instability, tension in Jewish-Arab relations and conflict with neighboring countries? Here are some things that might help clarify the reasons:
Israel has a high quality of life that is the outcome of a strong healthcare system, a robust social support network (due to the fact that Israel is very much driven by family and community connections), beautiful weather all year, delicious food and it feels like a safe place to live in. In addition, Israel is considered the “innovation nation,” which helps drive its stable economy.
Health — Israel has the highest long-life expectancies in the world. The Israeli health ecosystem is leading revolutionary solutions in all the HealthTech fields and is known to be an innovation hub in the HealthTech sector. Israeli innovation help to fill the gaps in the health system and save and improve many lives every day.
In 2022, Israel was ranked in the sixth place in the world Index of Healthcare Innovation — not surprising since Israeli hospitals and health funds are considered among the best in the world. Some of the recent achievements in the Israeli healthcare systems include a groundbreaking cancer treatment that was developed in Hadassah-University Medical Center and has 90% success rate on the treatment of multiple myeloma cancer.
Another Israeli success story comes from an Israeli scientist at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev that proposed a new approach to Alzheimer’s disease treatment, a therapy that showed significant success in improving the treatment results.
Mobility — Israel has a very vibrant automotive industry that is on the cutting edge of trends like electrification, autonomous systems and smart mobility.
Currently, Israel aspires to reduce air pollution and carbon emissions, and the main goal is that all new vehicles on its roads will be electric by 2030. Israel is also working on a plan for electrification of public buses and bus terminals. The target of the Israeli government is that more than half of urban buses will be electric by 2035.
Another exciting development for Israeli transportation is self-driving buses, where the Transportation Ministry, the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) and Ayalon Highways are collaborating to promote an autonomous bus pilot, another milestone to the revolutionary vision of fully automated public transport. Israel is definitely aiming high and recently even began conducting tests of a flying taxi, a futuristic solution that will help ease traffic issues.
Defense — Israel is considered safe and has a strong military presence. In Israel, both men and women have mandatory military service in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
Military service is not only necessary for citizens’ protection and sense of security but also becomes the source for building character and innovation development as the IDF becomes a fertile ground for entrepreneurship. If you are accepted to an elite unit, you are exposed to life-changing experiences, gain leadership skills, and practice profound decision-making and problem-solving-skills that can provide endless knowledge and huge advantages in real life.
In the words of Israel’s first prime minister David Ben-Gurion: “It’s not enough to be up to date; you have to be up to tomorrow.”
One recent example of Israeli military innovation that is “up to tomorrow” is the “Ofek-13,” a new spy satellite launched in March that is the most advanced of its kind, delivering the highest quality images to the Israel Defense Forces and is crucial for military intelligence gathering.
Food and AgTech — If you ever visited Israel, you must have enjoyed the exceptional culinary experience. Israeli food reflects the national culture and is very developed, with a high emphasis on social gatherings and family.
Israel’s strong and innovative AgriFood sector is mainly a combination of governmental support and learning from the situation of local resources shortage.
Just recently, the Israel Innovation Authority announced it would invest up to $13 million in FoodTech Fermentation, a technology that can assist in creating plant-based meat and dairy substitutes.
Israeli food startups are constantly emerging and offering revolutionary solutions. One of them is Redefine Meat, a company that uses a 3D printer to create animal-free meat with the same texture and flavor using natural ingredients.
There is, of course, many more reasons for Israelis to be happy about. Hopefully, you will get the chance to come to Israel soon to take a closer look.
Liza Yedwab is the manager of Israel Operations for the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator. This essay first appeared in its newsletter.
