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• The Middle East has been growing date palms for centuries. The average tree is about 18-20 feet tall and yields about 38 pounds of dates a year. Israeli trees are now yielding 400 pounds/year and are short enough to be harvested from the ground or a short ladder
• Israel, the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world's population, can lay claim to the following:
• The cell phone was developed in Israel by - Israelis working in the Israeli branch of Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel.
• Most of! the Windows NT and XP operating systems were developed by Microsoft-Israel. The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel. Both the Pentium-4 microprocessor and the Centrino processor were entirely desig! ned, developed and produced in Israel. The Pentium microprocessor in your computer was most likely made in Israel.
• Voice mail technology was developed in Israel. Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the US in Israel. The technology for the AOL Instant Messenger ICQ was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis.
• Israel has the fourth largest air force in the world (after the U. S, Russia and China). In addition to a large variety of other aircraft, Israel's air force has an aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16's. This is the largest fleet of F-16 aircraft outside of the U. S. According to industry officials,
• Israel designed the airline industry's most impenetrable
  flight security.
• U. S. officials now look to Israel for advice on how to handle airborne security threats.
• Israel's $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined.
• Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita.
• Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.
• Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin - 109 per 10,000 people --as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.
• In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world. In absolute terms, Israel has the largest number of startup companies than any ot! her country in the world, except the U. S. (3,500 companies mostly in hi-tech). With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and startups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world -- apart from the Silicon Valley, U. S.
• Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds right behind the U. S.
• Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies.
• Israel has the highest average living standards in the Middle East. The per capita income in 2000 was over $17,500, exceeding that of the UK.
• On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number of biotech startups.
• Twenty-four per cent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees -- ranking third in the industrialized world, after the United States and Holland - and 12 per cent hold advanced degrees
• Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.
• In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000 Ethiopian Jews at risk in Ethiopia, to safety in Israel.
• When Golda Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, she became the world's second elected female leader in modern times.
• When the U. S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya was bombed in 1998, Israeli rescue teams were on the scene within a day and saved three victims from the rubble.
• Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship -- and the highest rate among women and among people over 55 - in the world.
• Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth. Immigrants come in search of democracy, religious freedom, and economic opportunity.
• Israel was the first nation in the world to adop! t the Kimberly process, an international standard that certifies diamonds as "conflict free."
• Israel has the world's second highest per capita of new books.
• Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees, made more remarkable because this was achieved in an area considered mainly desert.
• Israel has more museums per capita than any other country.
• Medicine... Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized, no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer.
• An Israeli company developed a computerized system for ensuring proper administration of medications, thus removing human error from medical treatment.
• Every year in U. S. hospitals 7,000 patients die from treatment mistakes.
• Israel's Givun Imaging developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits insi! de a pill. Used to view the small intestine from the inside, the camera helps doctors diagnose cancer and digestive disorders.
• Researchers in Israel developed a new device that directly helps the heart pump blood, an innovation with the potential to save lives among those with heart failure. The new device is synchronized with the heart's mechanical operations through a sophisticated system of sensors.
• Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U. S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. With over 25% of its work force employed in technical professions. Israel places first in this category as well. A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the ClearLight device, produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct -- all without damag! ing surrounding skin or tissue.
• An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered and fully functional electricity generating plant, in southern California's Mojave desert. All the above while engaged in regular wars with an implacable enemy that seeks its destruction, and an economy continuously under strain by having to spend more per capita on its own protection than any other country on earth.
• Information collected by: Prof. D. Koller, Institute of Life Sciences The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel RKNEWS <http://www.kadmiel.com>

What Israel Means to Me

by Darcy Silvers
Israel is much more than a tiny piece of land in the Middle East. She is living proof that the Jewish people have survived, against all odds, and will continue to survive -- and thrive.
Israel's citizens live in a constant state of the unknown. They don't know when or where the next terrorist attack will occur. They don't know which countries, Arab and other, will turn against them in the court of world opinion. They don't know how their economy will fare, thanks to the intifada. But they do know that they will continue to live their lives with some semblance of normalcy. They do know that, unlike many of their Palestinian counterparts, they will continue to cherish life. They are an inspiration to me.
Many of the world's most advanced technological and health care innovations originated in Israel. For a country the size of New Jersey, this is nothing short of remarkable. I kvell every time I hear of another Israeli breakthrough.
As a Hadassah volunteer, I also am particularly proud of the fact that Hadassah hospitals treat everyone alike - would-be suicide bombers, terrorist victims, innocent bystanders and heroes. Walk down the hospital hallways and you'll see kippot alongside keffiyahs and crosses.
I do know that, regardless of politics, I support Israel. I am a Zionist, and that transcends party lines. Likud, Labor, right, left, religious, secular... it's of no consequence to me. The only thing that matters is Israel's existence.
To me, Israel is a gem in the midst of a turbulent region. She's perhaps a little rough around the edges, but it's nothing a little polishing can't fix.
Israel feeds my spirit and my soul. She is an intoxicating mélange of sights, smells, tastes, sounds. From the rosy Jerusalem stone to the buoyant Dead Sea to the mouth-watering falafel stands, Israel awakens my senses. She is filled with irony, as a Shabbat melody is pierced by the wails of sirens... followed by the wails of the terrorists' latest targets and then, a deafening silence.
I may live in the Diaspora, but Israel is in my heart. I think of Israel constantly. I think of her when I check my emails daily for updates on the intifada. I think of Israel at bedtime, when my youngest son prays for peace. I think of Israel when I hold look at the walls of my home, covered with the creations of Israeli artists. Or when I put on a piece of jewelry crafted by Israeli artisans. I think of Israel every time I glance at my hand, which bears a ring carved with my Hebrew name - a ring I never remove.
Just as I dare not remove the ring from my finger, I cannot remove Israel from my being. I am Israel. She is me. We are one. When all else in the world seems dark and hopeless, Israel is my beacon of hope. Am Yisrael Chai.

What Israel Means to Me

by Moshe Teutsch, age 8
Israel means going to the Kotel and praying for the sick people of Israel.
Israel means going to Mt. Hermon and skiing.
Israel means going to the zoo in Jerusalem and riding on the train.
Israel means going to a pidyon petter chamor (redemption of first-born donkey -- see Exodus 13:13), and afterwards eating lamb at the barbeque. (I really did that!)
Israel means seeing the almond trees blossoming on Tu B'Shvat.
Israel means growing the special seven species (wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates) in our garden. (But we don't have them all yet...)
Israel means living in the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

What Israel Means to Me

by Sarah Rosenblum
"Where did Abraham almost sacrifice his son Isaac? Where did David fight Goliath? Where did Jacob dream of the angels going up and down the ladder? Where did Lot turn to a pillar of salt? Where was Moses leading the children of Israel to, the place they called the land of milk and honey?" my mother used to say. "It is in the land of Israel."
I loved hearing these bedtime stories as I fell asleep. Wow! What a place that must be. I will go there one day!
I was born in Scandinavia one year after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Ten years later we were on the ship heading south as new immigrants to live in Australia. Sailing through the Suez Canal one could see Egypt on the right side with its funny-looking trees (palm trees!) and the strange mud brick buildings we had never seen before.
But I stayed on the left side of the ship staring toward the dry, sandy desert, asking my mother, "How far from here is Israel? Why do we have to go to Australia? Why can't we live in Israel?"
"Because we're not Jewish!" my mother answered.
Living in Queensland, Australia, when the 1967 war broke out, I was glued to the radio. If only I had enough money I would go to Israel and fight for the Jewish people! But those young years were full of other distractions and it wasn't till many years later, in 1982, that I set foot for the first time on the Israeli soil. By then I had traveled all around the world and I thought this was to be just another mark on the map for me. But I was wrong. It wasn't a mark on the map, but a mark on my soul. All I knew was that I would be back one day. Israel is where I felt I belonged, with these people, all strangers, but I felt a part of them.
In October 2003, I again stepped onto the holy soil, this time as a Jew, with my husband and son. We had made aliyah!
Compared to where we came from, life here is hard. But we feel at peace here, and truly feel that we have come home, after a very loooooong trip. Australia seems so far away and such a long time ago. Life has purpose here in Israel. My very soul and spirit comes alive. Life has meaning. We have no relatives living here, but we do not feel alone, for we are amongst our people, the family of Israel... in the Land of Israel... my home.

What Israel Means to Me

by Carolyn Dow
Wilkeson, Washington, USA
Israel is the home of my heart.
The song of my spirit
Eden's garden
A wandering place, Abraham's dream of delight
Soft air
Hiddenness
The Wall at night
Yeshiva boys playing in the narrow, ancient streets
Old Russian women begging for mercy and alms
The blessing of rabbis and soldiers and airport workers on the tourists who come anyway
Handsome soldiers with weapons slung the way I carry my handbag.
The slightly rundown hotels, scrimping on everything but hospitality and food, waiting for tourism to pick up.
Camels and donkeys, Gecko lizards and rocks, the Jordan River, the Galilee, and peppers growing on trees.
The best mango I've ever tasted, treading on dates, so much beauty and variety crammed into so small a space.
Ice cream on the Golan.
The blazing sunset, cracking thunder in the night, and blessed rain.
The waves breaking below, unconcerned at my tears of farewell, buckled in my seat alone,
When may I come back to you, home of my heart, delight of my eyes, song of my spirit?

What Israel Means to Me

by Chaya B. Halle
Israel. Its magnetic pull tugs at the Jew's soul in an inexplicable appeal. >From all corners of the world, Jews come, like migrant birds returning to the place of their birth, guided only by some God-given internal instinct. An instinct to see, to touch, to live the place that bridges past, present and future in a mysterious, unbreakable chain.
What is it here that cries to the soul, so loudly and strongly that its echo remains even far beyond Israel's boundaries? We no longer have the pride of our nation, the Holy Temple. We are left with but remains of a glorious past, in truth, reminders that we are a nation that has fallen from the greatest heights. We do have pain here. Pain that has been given so many terms and analyses as if to dismiss the suffering as a mere political shuffle. But obstinate labels and expressions cannot change the reality of terror.
So why do we come? A dazzling selection of Jews from across the spectrum of culture and religious affiliation form the great rubik's cube which is the Jews of Israel. From the chassid to the Ethiopian, from those deeply involved in Torah study and those who barely know what Torah is, they all come. They come, they love, and they stay. From whence comes the yearning that settles in the soul and does not let a Jew forget Israel?
I ponder the question, standing on my rooftop that overlooks the winding roads of Jerusalem. There is something here, something that cannot be heard or touched, but is somehow absorbed. It seeps in through the pores of the skin and spreads throughout the body. For thousands of generations Jews have known that our destiny lies in the Holy Land. Israel's pull is one toward the future. It's a hope in the air that great things lie ahead for the Jewish nation, and it's going to happen here. I can picture in my mind's eye these very streets, thronging with Jews singing and dancing, rejoicing in the redemption of our nation.
Jerusalem is waiting longingly for her glory to return. God, we're here and we're waiting.

"HOW FAR REMOVED HAVE SOME GONE FROM THE CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS FROM G-D?"

"And you shall guard all my decrees and all my judgements, and you shall
do them, and the land to which I am bringing you to dwell in will not spit
you out." (20:22)
Political analysts like to talk about the proverbial "third rail," a
reference to the third, high-voltage rail in subway systems. Certain
issues, they say, are so dangerous and contentious that anyone attempting
to address them will electrocute his or her political career, as surely as
treading on the third rail.
The following is a "third-rail" issue, and I'll probably get it from both
sides: from the liberals, because I'm obviously an intolerant bigot, and
from the frummies (a nickname for the fervently Orthodox), because I dare
to discuss this issue in a supposedly family-friendly e-mail publication.
But with all of the nonsense going on recently about "same-sex marriage,"
I think there's a point worth adding to the public discussion.
This issue, unlike most, is inspiring incredible rewrites of the Torah.
Those who don't keep kosher don't juggle the verses prohibiting pork, and
those who cook on the Sabbath don't bring Torah verses to prove that a
strong "no" is actually "yes." They simply acknowledge that they don't
observe. Get onto the present subject, however, and exactly the opposite
happens.
The most recent example was an op-ed in the New York Jewish Week, provided
by Rabbi David Ellenson, president of the Reform movement's Hebrew Union
College-Jewish Institute of Religion. It came in response to a column by
Editor and Publisher Gary Rosenblatt, who wrote that "much as we'd like to
imagine that being an observing Jew and a liberal American poses no
contradictions, the truth is that there are times when we have to place
one noun above the other."
Ellenson begged to differ. "A tradition that demands 'You shall do that
which is upright and good' can surely be construed in such a way that the
ethos of Jewish tradition can be said to trump a single statement in
Leviticus 18:22." While it's unimaginable that doing the opposite of G-d's
will should be considered "upright and good," that's almost besides the
point.
Why here, in this debate in particular, do we find such imaginative
intellectual acrobatics? Perhaps the proponents realize that this isn't a
"ritual law" that some discard with ease, but something that touches the
moral fabric of society itself. In the Talmud, Chulin 92a-b, it lists
three merits that even the most corrupt societies have in their favor; the
first of these is that they do not write marriage documents for men.
But in addition, it makes it easier to then delegitimize the opposition.
By attempting to demonstrate that approval of this behavior is actually
consonant with Judaism, the proponents assert that there is, in reality,
no legitimate religious basis for opposition.
As we already know, those who favor traditional definitions of marriage
are routinely called "bigots" or "homophobes," or (by the more
considerate) simply "uncomfortable" with those who are "different." As an
editorial in the New York Sun put it, "with a few exceptions, this cause
is being advanced through the denigration of Jews and Christians who
adhere to the fundamentals of religious law" rather than through a serious
and sober discussion of the issues.
Our Sages have particularly harsh words for the pig. Kosher land animals
have two attributes: they have cloven hooves and chew their cud. Among the
non-kosher species with one of these attributes, the majority only chew
their cud, so one can tell immediately that they are not acceptable. The
pig, on the other hand, holds out its hooves and says "look, I'm kosher!"
To take verses here, phrases there, and put them together so as to turn
Torah on its head, is like putting hooves on the pig. Rebbe Meir said in
the Talmud that he could provide 50 proofs that an impure animal is pure
-- but he never actually meant that it was.
To follow the Torah is not to adopt a position and then see how many
verses you can take out of context to support it. That is not Judaism.
Judaism says that the Torah should guide our thinking, rather than the
latest wave to sway society. Sincere religious conviction is not bigotry,
and in this situation, the least we should expect and demand is a bit of
the very tolerance they say is required.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Yaakov Menken