Israel's place in "Education at a Glance" ? Doing very well.

Sarah Honig..
Another Tack..
19 February '13..

How many in Israel realize that this country was recently declared the second-best educated in the world (after Canada)? How many know that a recent survey declared Israel the first in the world in hi-tech Research and Development intensity?

Odds are that very few do. In our society, bad news is given resonance and the good is relegated to the margins. When Israeli fifth-graders do badly in international math evaluations, the entire country seethes. This feeds political recriminations that generate more headlines for days to follow. Our successes rarely, if ever, receive notice.

Israelis are without a doubt more self-scrutinizing than the citizens of most other nations. Clearly, self-criticism is not readily quantifiable, but we are probably second to none in that characteristic. It often works to our detriment, but it does also almost certainly reinforce our democracy. It constitutes an inestimable source of intellectual ferment and strength. In that sense, we are unique in our region.

And yet elsewhere, contrary to our own proven penchant for griping, our strength does not go unrecognized – even if we fail to crow about it. Thus two enlightening news items went almost ignored by local media.

A new OECD study – its Education at a Glance report for 2012 – ranks Israel second (among all 34 OECD members as well as eight other major economies) in the proportion of adults with higher-education degrees.

Canada came in first with 51 percent. Israel followed with 46%, ahead of Japan (45%), the US (42%) and New Zealand (41%). Next, from the sixth to 10th slots, respectively, came South Korea, Norway, the UK, Australia and Finland.

Israel through a dark lens

Leo Rennert
American Thinker
22 June '10

In its June 22 edition, the Washington Post runs an article by Jerusalem correspondent Janine Zacharia that depicts Israelis mired in malaise about their country's "deepening isolation" -- with only an Elton John concert as a brief morale-booster. To say the least, this is a jeremiad out of sync with reality. It totally ignores Israel's many successes as a thriving player on the world stage ("In Israel, a deepening isolation -- Nation fears it may be in danger of losing its most improtant ally: The United States" page A8)

Zacharia sets the funereal tone right from the start when she writes in her lead paragraph that "in Israel, where many feel more shunned than they have in decades, the legendary pop icon's decision to perform in Tel Aviv was cause for celebration."

And she goes on in the same vein that "after weeks of dreary reports about artists caving to calls to boycott Israel, Israeli diplomats being expelled by friendly allies, and even pressure from the United States to change course in Gaza, John allowed Israel an opportunity 'for three hours,' as one music reviewer put it, 'to be a normal country.'''

Well, we get the picture: In Israel these days it's Oy Veh all the way, according to Zacharia.

However, her article is deeply flawed. By selectively assembling a few international minuses, it presents only half the picture, at most. And it turns into a caricature by carefully omitting and ignoring Israel's many international strengths and accomplishments.

(Read full article)

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Is the Palestinian Authority in Violation of American Law?

The PA’s attempt to block Israel’s economic achievement could theoretically backfire and endanger American military assistance to the would-be state of Palestine.


Lenny Ben-David
pajamasmedia.com
26 May '10

On Thursday, May 27, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Paris to formally accept the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s invitation to Israel to join the ranks of the world’s leading economies.

But Israel’s accession to the OECD would not have happened if the Palestinian Authority had its way, and the PA’s attempt to block Israel’s economic achievement could theoretically backfire and endanger American military assistance to the would-be state of Palestine. What’s at stake? Approximately $100 million that was appropriated for 2010 to train and equip the PA’s elite presidential guard and security forces.

During the deliberations of the 31 OECD members earlier this year, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki lobbied all the foreign ministers of the OECD countries, calling for the vote to be delayed because, he charged, Israel infringed on Palestinians’ human rights and violated OECD values, Ha’aretz reported.

Israel complained that Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad also called many of the leaders of OECD countries to argue against Israel’s acceptance, the Ha’aretz report continued. “Fayyad’s efforts to thwart Israel’s participation in the organization,” said Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor Party), “are extremely grave, and even more so during a time when Israel wants to begin proximity talks in order to reach an agreement and a reconciliation between the nations.”

The formal Palestinian leadership, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), was also mobilized to block Israel’s joining the OECD, according to the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC). “In the run-up to the OECD decision,” a press release stated, “the BNC coordinated with the PLO, unions and other civil society actors in all thirty OECD member states as part of an intensive campaign to oppose Israel’s membership for its persistent and systematic violations of the rights of the Palestinians.”

On a basic level, the Palestinian attack on the Israel-OECD deal just doesn’t jive with the peace negotiations U.S. mediator George Mitchell is attempting to kickstart.

(Read full article)

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PM Netanyahu reveals: PA action forced US to call favors to get Israel in OECD

Dr. Aaron Lerner
IMRA
14 May '10

Consider this revelation:

Netanyahu slammed the PA, especially its Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, for lobbying the OECD member states against admitting Israel into the organization. The PA’s efforts, Netanyahu said, were “a form of economic warfare not compatible with peace, and we view it very gravely. It is a very provocative action, but not something we used to stop the peace talks. We disapprove of it greatly, but it has not been a reason to curtail the talks.”

Netanyahu also said that this form of Palestinian “economic warfare” was incompatible with Israel’s attempts to build economic peace with the PA.

“This is not the idea of peace we have,” he said, “and should not be the idea of peace they have.”

Netanyahu, who was effusive in his praise of OECD secretary-general Jose Angel Gurria for ensuring that the decision to accept Israel would be made on the basis of economic, not political considerations, said he discussed the PA efforts with the Americans. He said the US also used its influence to help ensure Israel’s acceptance into the organization.

Simply put, the United States of America had to call favors with the OECD members to convince them to ignore the Palestinian request to blackball Israel.

Now here are the obvious questions that follow:

#1. Why hasn't the U.S. openly criticized the PA for their action? This when Washington is ready at the drop of a hat to slam Israel?

#2. When will American friends of Israel complain that the Obama Administration is remaining silent about this and other PA activity that undermines confidence in their sincerity to make progress in the "peace process" with Israel?

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OECD entry shows Israel's prominence
By SHARON WROBEL AND HERB KEINON The Jerusalem Post 11/05/2010 02:57
www.jpost.com/Business/BusinessNews/Article.aspx?id=175208

PM: We are on path to become one of the most advanced economies.

Beyond the considerable economic significance of Israel’s acceptance on Monday into the OECD, the move is diplomatically important because it shows that regardless of the political process, Israel has a “place among the nations due to its economic and technological prowess,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told The Jerusalem Post.

(Read full article)

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The Dangers of the Peace-Prosperity Fallacy

Evelyn Gordon
Contentions/Commentary
12 May '10

Israel’s left-wing daily Haaretz isn’t one to cry uncle. “There will be no economic prosperity without peace,” it defiantly titled today’s editorial — published two days after Israel was admitted, by unanimous vote, to the club of the world’s wealthiest nations: the OECD.

“The link between the economic and political is clear,” the editorial asserted, serenely untroubled by the facts. “There can be no sustained economic growth without a substantive compromise with the Palestinians and Syria.”

The facts, of course, are that if sustained economic growth required peace, Israel could never have earned OECD entree: the country has been at war since its establishment in 1948, when it was attacked by five Arab armies. It fought conventional wars again in 1956, 1967, 1973, and 1982. It was bombarded by Iraqi missiles during the 1991 Gulf War. It fought asymmetric wars against terrorist organizations in the West Bank in 2002, Lebanon in 2006, and Gaza in 2009. And in between all the wars, it suffered nonstop terror attacks.

Some of these wars indeed produced temporary recessions. Yet the overall pattern has been one of, yes, sustained growth. Had it not, Israel would not today be the only one, out of dozens of countries established in the post-colonial upheavals that followed World War II, invited to join the OECD. It certainly wasn’t because its fellow OECD members love it so much: many routinely vote against it in other international forums.

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[No mention of PA opposition] PM Netanyahu’s Statement at Press Conference in Honor of Israel’s Accession to the OECD

Dr. Aaron Lerner
IMRA
11 May '10

[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: Prime Minister Netanyahu opted to decline to mention the very heavy activity of the Palestinian Authority to block Israel's membership in the OECD. PA officials lobbied to the very last minute to convince the OECD member states to veto the move - and it would have taken just one to keep Israel out.

Yes, this was a moment that Netanyahu wanted to celebrate with a positive message, and mentioning disappointment in the PA - and citing their activity as "undermining trust" (the term used by the U.S. State Department in their warning to the parties) would hardly be upbeat.

Today, in honor of Yom Yerushalayim, a very special video - Jerusalem Day: Reflections by Rabbi Yisrael Ariel

But on the other hand, we have to recognize that the Obama team is setting us up for a fall. And we have to do everything in our power to make it clear that PA activity "undermines trust" considerably more than Israeli activity.

If we tie both of our hands behind our back, leaving only one finger to point out "incitement" while the PA goes full throttle against us then we are looking for trouble.

Let's make this clear: no one will give us credit for being soft on the PA.

So with all the respect and admiration for PMW and others documenting Palestinian incitement, it is my fervent hope that the Netanyahu team takes off their gloves and goes beyond incitement.]
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5/10/2010
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Statement at the Press Conference in Honor of Israel’s Accession to the OECD

Translation

This is a momentous occasion and good news for Israel’s economy.

Israel has joined the elite club of world economies, the OECD. I would like to thank Minister of Finance, Yuval Steinitz, Governor of the Bank of Israel, Stanley Fischer, Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, Fouad Ben-Eliezer and my colleagues here: Eyal Gabbay, Eugene Kendall and Uri Yogev, as well as many others who worked to make this happen – past Ministers of Finance, Prime Ministers and other ministers, past and present, who advanced this goal.

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Israel joins the OECD as anti-Zionist protests are ignored

Robin Shepherd
Robinshepherdonline.com
10 May '10

The breaking news today is that Israel has finally been invited to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Israel was brought into the OECD (and will formally join at a ceremony in Paris on May 27) along with Estonia and Slovenia. The number of OECD countries will thus rise to 34.

Predictably, activists sought to prevent the Jewish state (and only the Jewish state) from joining. According to Reuters, “Some critics and human rights activists — including Nobel peace laureate Mairead Maguire of Northern Ireland, Italian vice-President of the European Parliament Luisa Morgantini, Israeli historian Ilan Pappe and filmmaker Ken Loach — made a last-minute bid urging OECD member states to delay the process.”

Interestingly enough, the most senior Palestinians did not mount significant, vocal objections*, offering another illustration that in some respects the group hysteria that defines the anti-Israeli agenda in much of Europe takes its participants in a more anti-Israeli direction than the Palestinians themselves.

This is a major achievement for Israel and it is indicative of the enormous contribution in technological innovation and other areas that Israel is making to the global economy. It also suggests that by simply knuckling down and behaving like the normal market democracy that Israel is, the Jewish state can integrate with the wider world in spite of the bigotry that is so frequently visited against it.

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