Israelis as Innovators
Few people know that many of the modern technological devices they use every day, and take for granted, were developed here in Israel. The cell phone, instant messaging, voice mail technology, the first DNA computers, drip system irrigation; these and many more modern inventions were first developed in Israel. When anti-Israel elements speak of boycotting Israeli products, they do not realize the toll it would take on their daily lives. They would no longer be able to conduct business or enjoy the lives to which they have become accustomed.
Israel also has one of the highest percentages of hi-tech startup companies in the world—basically, Israelis are great innovators. How did they come to be this way? Part of the answer
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Young Israeli employees are constantly asking their superiors: “Why are you my manager; why am I not your manager” (Ibid.).
No is Not an Answer
Israelis have learned, through hard and bitter experience, that giving up is not an option. Long ago an Israeli professor explained this point to me. “You must understand how to work with Israelis, understand their way of thinking. In America the word ‘no’ is the end of a conversation, it is the end of negotiations, in Israel it is only the beginning.”
In 1948 Israel faced “unbeatable” odds. The American president warned the Israeli leader that there was no way to win; it simply could not be done. Israel declared statehood and, against all odds, won.
(repeat on page 59) An Israeli position might be down to just a few men, the enemy might possess overwhelming force, yet time after time the Israeli unit would hold out, defying the odds. In the 1973 Yom Kippur War there were stories told by Egyptian commanders that when they finally overcame an Israeli position (in the early stages of the war) they were amazed to find only a handful of badly injured men. They could not believe this was the “force” that held them back for so long and inflicted so much damage upon them. They had assumed it was a much larger force. It was innovative thinking, and a refusal to accept “no” as an answer, that kept the Israeli forces