Israel, a start-up nation

The trip, organised by the charity Kinetis, takes groups of bloggers to Israel who are politically disinterested in the nation and shows them aspects of the economy that are not related to the conflict. As I walked about Jerusalem and Tel Aviv it did feel neglectful to not be looking at the conflict, but I met with many highly innovative social ventures working in a country with a developed philanthropic and start-up culture. However the legal social enterprise structures are still pretty new and a few outliers described their frustration at needing to explain what a social business might look like to both consumers and investors.

 

Most Israeli citizens go to the army after they leave school, a well known fact, but one that has a huge influence on social outcomes once young people leave. Most people I talked to felt that not having served in the army (in some capacity) was a marker of having failed to pass a crucial step. Like failing exams or not being able to maintain a relationship. There is a sense that the person is outside of a society and locked out of opportunities. Many of the groups we met worked with disaffected young people to place them back on the track towards the army. Certainly it creates a culture of young people who are capable, think logistically and thoroughly and are problem solvers. Think what you will about conscription, but Israeli young people have expereinced a great deal by the time they are 22.

 

One scheme  - 8200 is an entrepreneur and innovation programe which leverage's the support and network of all those who have served in an intelligence corp of that name. It operates virtually without budget, but acts as a ready made investment circle, a network of potential mentors and supporters reaching back sixty years, for any bright spark coming out of the army with a great idea.

 

Israel is also famous for its high tech industries and there was plenty of activity going on here – A nice scheme called Fix IT sees kids learning how to fix and refit computers and charge small amounts to the community for the service. In return young people get the training they need and access to coding and further computer skills. A neat little project that opened employment opportunities in tech for kids who wouldn't have considered it before.

 

One thing that surprised me was how many Ethiopian immigrants had gone to Israel. We met several programmes that supported Ethiopian communities, where there are big social issues as many Israeli's feel that the gulf between diaspora Jews from say Russia or South Africa are small compared to the gulf between them and the new Ethiopian community.

 

I particularly enjoyed the trip to Yvel where world famous jewelly is made and sold.  (Yvel is a luxury brand big in Arab countries, but the name Levy was deemed too Jewish, so the founder swapped the letters round). An academy sits within the complex employing Ethiopians with sufficient Hebrew to make a career out of the art of jewellery making. They are guaranteed work if they stay to pass exams and it was a strange mixture between the glitzy and the grassroots.

 

I met too many social ventures to mention each one individually, much as I'd like to, but from social enterprise resturants, bakeries, to social model replicators and exporters, and from those working in the arts, to those working in education, altogether I had an impression of a vibrant country where innovation is taken as a given and everyone is expected to contribute their ideas and efforts regardless of their level of orthodoxy or whether they are first of second generation Israeli. 

 

With such a melting pot of accents and cultures, religions and traditions within a small space there is bound to be an energy worth the notice of the rest of the world. As somone who is half Jewish I really saw a new side to Israel during my visit. It may indeed be a start up nation, but there's still a way to go to repair the world and all us can work at that.