How Israel Really Works

Synergy between Jews and Arabs is what makes Israel work.

When I used to find myself in New York, I enjoyed walking the streets of Manhattan early in the morning. There was no real foot traffic, and most of the vehicular activity involved delivery trucks and their workers trying to get goods to stores before they opened. If you go to the Jerusalem open market “shuk” during the very early hours, you will see similar things. I used to marvel at the massive slabs of beef brought to the local butchers to be prepared as various meat cuts. One will notice pretty quickly that many — but not all — of the drivers, workers, and cleaners at those early hours are Arabs. This is no surprise. Arabs comprise a large part of Israel’s workforce, from doctors and pharmacists to truck drivers and city workers. The reality of Jerusalem and Israel is that Jews and Arabs working together make for a successful place.

What is the size of economies of Israel and her immediate neighbors?

Israel $720 billion

Egypt $430 billion

Jordan $65 billion

Lebanon $34.5 billion

Syria $21.4 billion

If one were to realize a state of Palestine bereft of Jews, would he expect the economy to be closer to that of today’s Israel or Jordan? It is by far the Jews who are the driving force behind the companies that make Israel an economically successful country. High tech, AI, weapons, medicine, and more — virtually all of the multibillion dollar companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) were founded by Jews and are run by Jews. But just as Elon Musk has 150,000 workers in his various companies, Arabs working for Jewish owners also do well financially. The highest standard of living for Arabs can be found in Israel and not in any of the “Arab countries” surrounding her. The only growing Arab Christian population can be found in Israel and not in any of the Muslim states listed above or further away from Israel proper.

Like everyone else, my wife has her favorite sellers at the shuk. Though there may be 40 different stalls with tomatoes and peppers, she has her place where she’ll go shopping every week. And that stall is actually owned by an Israeli Arab who apparently has cornered the market on cucumbers. According to another Arab fellow who works for a Jewish green grocer, the first fellow has endless fields of cucumbers and is quite wealthy. This success and his popularity with the denizens of Jerusalem are reflective of the real lack of apartheid and racism in Israeli society. Yes, Jews and Arabs for the most part live in different spaces. That is not surprising as each has different needs and feels most comfortable among others who also need kosher or halal food. But I know of nobody who avoids this guy’s fresh vegetables because he is an Arab. Rather, he is one of the most popular sellers in the market as he has great produce and good prices. With Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, approaching, he wished me a happy new year, which I reciprocated to him. The lunatics at Columbia and Harvard would drop dead to see Jews and Arabs getting along and doing business together.

And while there is much synergy, not everything is perfect. It’s a funny thing when you leave the gates of the Old City. Each gate is named after the final destination you will reach if you just keep walking on the road that leaves the ancient walls. There is the main Jaffa Gate that will lead you to the old port city of Jaffa. Damascus Gate takes you north to the present capital of Syria. And then there is the Nablus Gate, known in Hebrew as “Sha’ar Schem”. A friend of one of our boys was walking through that gate when a young Arab pulled a knife on him. Instead of freezing, the young man ran for his life and warned three women heading towards him to turn around and flee. When he came across several Border Patrol officers, he related his experience and returned with them to the gate. The fellow once again whipped out his knife and tried to stab a policeman. He was shot dead on sight. Those on the left and the Muslim Brotherhood folks in the West would have justified the actions of the failed terrorist: Occupation! Apartheid! Ethnic Cleansing! One can always justify the actions of the bad guys when you are on their side. One of the most insane quotes I heard from a female juror who wanted to release mass murderer Lindsay Clancy: “He had the hardest time getting off the fact that Lindsay viciously killed her children.” Well, I would actually say that the one holdout juror was normal. Those who were in favor of Girl Power could never see her in the honest light of a deranged killer.

The reality is that Jews need Arab labor. Much of the Palestinian workforce has been replaced by Thai, Chinese and other workers. An older fellow I know brought some pomegranates — a traditional food for Rosh Hashanah. He proudly said that he and his family picked the fruit “without any Thai workers!” Maybe Jews could be found to work the fields and do other jobs, but the reality of modern Israel is that Jews create and make businesses, and many Arabs make decent livings working with or for Jews. Another stall at the market is owned by a Jew but an Arab worker is generally there every day. He always makes sure that my wife gets the freshest produce he has. He also wished me a happy new year.

I wrote recently about an Israeli company, Decart, that stood before a $6 billion buyout from Anthropic. The latest news has it that they have declined the offer due to Anthropic demanding that they move their offices from Israel to the United States. That’s quite a decision, as most inventors would set up on the moon for the right price. I don’t know if its a case of strong Zionism or other factors, but at least officially the deal being put on hold is attributed to Decart’s braintrust not wanting to move to the U.S.. The deal would have put billions of shekels into the Israeli treasury and all Israeli citizens would have benefited from the added tax revenues.

I don’t believe that the sanctions by the UK and other eleven elves will have much economic impact on Israel. Nimble companies will find new markets from the UAE to South America. But let’s imagine that some company is devastated by not being able to sell its anti-constipation medication to the British. Who will get fired, lose their jobs and incomes? There will be Jews and there will also be Arabs. This was the fate of SodaStream, when boycotts led to it relocating its factory and firing its Palestinian (before 2023) workers. This has nothing to do with justice, peace, two states, fairness, or other highfalutin nonsense. U.K. Labor needs Muslim votes to stay in power and sticking it to the Jews in Israel is one way to get their votes. Apparently they ran out of young white British girls to give them for their personal use.

Israel is a complex place where Arabs live better and more successful lives due to Jewish inventions, business ownership and entrepreneurial spirit. Jews and Arabs live in the same space and while Israel is Startup Nation, the Palestinian territories are Terrorist Dumping Ground. Arabs in Israel have a higher standard of living than any of their neighboring brethren, and that is due to the Jewish nature of Israeli business. Without the Jews, local Arabs would be as poor as they are in Jordan.

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