Developed by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, the world’s first Nano-Bible is the size of a grain of sugar, and will be legible to the naked eye when enlarged 10,000 times

n a land where danger and unrest can surface as soon as the next sunrise, Israelis have developed a distinct blend of resilience and inventiveness that is directed by a sense of common purpose.

So while conventional wisdom might suggest that Israel’s constant security concerns might leave both established and upstart high-tech firms vulnerable and disadvantaged in the world’s rapidly changing and remarkably cutthroat high tech industry, the reality is that Israel’s fight to not only survive, but also thrive, in wartime has spilled into the country’s corporate offices and research laboratories.

Regardless of political stability, it is a fight that is largely being won on the economic front, creating a unique atmosphere that has created some astonishing innovations in a number of fields, from medical breakthroughs, like the tiny, yet extremely advanced cardiac stents manufactured by InStent – an Israeli company that merged with the American firm Medtronic – to hold open previously blocked arteries, to the surge in fortunes experienced by computer giant Intel after its decision to set up research and development as well as manufacturing facilities in Israel, where the Pentium 3 and Pentium 4 processing chips were created.

In other fields, the Israeli defence firm Plasan Salsa signed a $200 million contract to supply the United States Marines with 1,200 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles by this year, and at Israel’s foremost university, professor Carlos Dosoretz is one of many Israeli researchers addressing the world’s emerging water crisis by perfecting a method of purifying sewage water so that it may be consumed by humans.

These examples offer only a pinhole view of the how, as a still young state that has managed to edify a vibrant democracy and economy over the past 60 years, Israel’s willingness to face its challenges head on has transformed the nation into a virtual laboratory dedicated to solving many problems that are only now being acknowledged in much of the world.

In the desert-like terrain on which Israel’s thriving agriculture sector blossomed against all odds, water isn't treated, or wasted, as a limitless commodity, which, of course, it isn’t.

The push toward a more efficient use of water in farming has led to the invention of state-of-the-art water technologies that the world is now turning to as clean water becomes increasingly valuable and scarce.

Indeed, it is estimated that it will cost $1 trillion to upgrade aging water infrastructure in the United States in the coming decades, and the lack of potable water is even more severe in the rest of the world where about half of all hospital beds are filled with people who are suffering from water-borne illnesses.

In a nation that was still building the physical, social and economic foundations of its future prosperity, Israelis chose to turn to each other in a spirit of fraternity
In these ways and many others, Israelis have been living ahead of their time for many decades, grappling with issues of sovereignty and sustainability that other nations may only now be grasping.

This leaves the Hebrew state in a very profitable position as a swift and flexible economic machine that can rely on itself while partnering with governments, universities, and industries around the world that recognize Israel’s high-tech exports.

As financial markets increasingly mesh with the market of ideas, where fortunes are made and where smart solutions translate into big opportunities for forward-thinking investors, leaders of Israeli industry and research and development have catapulted the young state from a natural-resource poor, agriculture-reliant economy into a powerful economic dynamo that is fuelled by brain power and courted by wealthy investors.

In fact, in 2004 and 2005, venture investors injected more money into Israel than any European nation. Israel, and its population of 7 million, attracted $1.3 billion in venture in 2005, which represents more than double the $637 million invested in Germany, which is home to 82.4 million people.

Microsoft mogul Bill Gates is just one leading mind that has taken a keen interest in the volumes of innovative products and services coming out of Israel. “There is a greater concentration of talented high-tech manpower here in comparison to other countries, almost to the extent of Silicon Valley,” said Gates during a 2005 visit to Israel.

While 20 per cent of Israelis are university graduates, a majority of young people receive a highly-specialized training when they serve in Tsahal (the Israeli army). Imagine that as American young people are easing into college life, their Israeli counterparts are flying jets and dealing with wartime deadlines. Not only do they become more familiar with state-of-the-art technology, young Israelis experience the life and death applications of the research they may someday conduct when they join the 100,000 Israelis who work in the country’s 2,000 high-tech firms and 3,000 start-ups. All these factors lead to a highly skilled workforce that is tailor-made for the ultra-competitive technology sector. The military has also spawned many cutting-edge products, particularly in the medical field. For example, missile engineer Gadi Iddan invented Given Imaging’s “pill cam,” a revolutionary product that can take photos inside the intestines of a patient who simply needs to swallow the pill. Civilian companies are also thriving as the future takes shape, like Global Environmental Systems, which has geared itself toward water technologies, and Solel, which is becoming a world leader in solar energy. So although it can be useful to look at the ripples emanating from the wave of innovation that has poured over the desert state over the past decades, what is most important for investors today is that the greatest breakthroughs still lay ahead in Israel, where the tide of invention is still rising.