Israel must pursue new space technologies to strengthen strategic defense and increase economic growth—they cannot have people leaving
Ben-Israel, Chair Israel Space Agency and Kaplan, Director Israel Space Agency, 8
(Professor M.K. Isaac and Dr. Zvi, “Out of This World: Israel’s Space Program”, p. 99, http://www.mfa.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/A7C494F2-62C2-44BC-8FA1-148D776A67DA/0/ch76.pdf, accessed 7/7/11 BLG)
The debut of “Ofek-1” the first Israeli satellite on September 19, 1988, is a landmark for the beginning of the Israeli “Space Age.” This happened approximately 30 years after the beginning of the world’s Space Age – the launch of Sputnik 1. Nevertheless, a posteriori, the Israeli Space Program was viewed as a tremendous success. A small country joined the exclusive club of seven space “superpowers.” Israel was skilled enough to achieve a status of a world leader in the important niche of small but highly sophisticated space platforms, exhibiting outstanding performances. At present, the State of Israel is standing at a watershed. In order to leverage the already acquired achievements, it should be pursuing space technologies and space systems to further improve its position in three important dimensions: Strengthening its strategic defense status, elevating the level of excellence of its society and increasing its economical growth. Historical Notes: Israel’s space program began with university-based research in the early 1960s. The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities formally established the National Committee for Space Research in 1963. The growth, in scope and depth, of related research activities led to the creation of a strong academic community that fostered a new generation of scientists and engineers.
Israel - Space Program Key to Military
Israel’s space program is key to their military technology
Globes Online 2000
English version of Israeli business daily "Globes", Aug 15, “How Israel high-tech happened”, http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=258771&fid=954, accessed 7/7/11 BLG)
The military imperative has not disappeared. Even in the era of the peace process, Israel must keep up her guard. In response to the Iraqi Scuds that hit Tel Aviv in the 1991 Gulf War Israel began development of the Arrow anti-missile missile. The Arrow program began as part of the US SDI (Star Wars) program, requiring considerable advances in electronics, computers and ballistics. The Arrow will soon be ready for operational deployment. In general, the search for better systems in the areas of weapons, intelligence gathering, and command and control, goes on apace. In the 1990s, Israel became only the eighth country in the world to develop and launch satellites, beginning with the Amos civilian communications satellite, followed by the Ofek military satellites and the Eros civilian photo-reconnaissance satellite. Israel now partners with NASA, the ESA and the Russian space program, building component and complete satellites for scientific and civilian uses. In 2002, two of Israel’s six largest industrial companies by turnover were high-tech companies: Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), Intel Electronics, as well as pharmaceutical company Teva (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE:TEVA). The largest exporters in terms of sales included high-tech companies Teva, IAI, Intel Electronics, and Vishay Intertechnology (Israel), with over $1 billion in exports each.
Israel’s hi-tech industry is key to its military edge
Globes Online 2000
English version of Israeli business daily "Globes", Aug 15, “How Israel high-tech happened”, http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=258771&fid=954, accessed 7/7/11 BLG)
David among Goliaths As a small country in a hostile neighborhood, Israel must strive to maintain a qualitative military edge over her potential enemies. Experience in a series of wars has taught Israel that she needs to develop that edge independently as far as she can. In large part, Israel’s high-tech industries are a spin-off from that process. Israel fought the 1967 Six Day War largely with French weaponry. When President de Gaulle imposed an arms embargo after that war, Israel turned to the United States, and to herself. The commercial consequences can be seen today. Blades Technology, for example, a company originally set up to manufacture engine parts for the Israel Air Force's Mirage aircraft, now has annual sales of $90 million, and joint ventures with Pratt & Whitney and Rolls Royce. In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel was surprised by the technological capabilities of her enemies, and also experienced difficulty in obtaining vital materiel from her foreign suppliers, spurring efforts for technological supremacy and self-sufficiency. The Kfir jet fighter, based on the French mirage, was one of the first large-scale projects in this effort.
Israel – Economy
Hi-Tech industries and innovations are key to Israel’s economy
Shemer Software Engineer at Compass EOS 11
(Nadav, Jerusalem Post, “'Israel's economic success lies in start-ups, innovation'”, 6/22/11, http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?ID=226133&R=R1, accessed 7/7/11 BLG)
Rather than worry about establishing big companies, the key to the future of Israel’s economic success lies in safeguarding its comparative advantage in start-ups and innovation, Start-Up Nation coauthor Saul Singer said at the Israeli Presidential Conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday. “Israelis sometimes underestimate or misunderstand their own comparative advantage in the world,” he said. “And they have a tendency to ask, ‘Where’s our Nokia, where are our big companies?’” After finding that business people in Finland looked to Israel for examples on how to innovate, Singer said he quickly realized “that while Israelis have Nokia envy, in Finland they have start-up envy. And it turns out that in Korea, in Singapore and all around the world, people are trying to figure out how to do start-ups, and they have been traveling here to find out.” Singer, whose 2009 book is seen as the leading guide on Israel’s hi-tech miracle, was speaking on a panel entitled “The Israeli economy – a small leading market?” He said the Israeli economy would benefit by focusing on what it does best – innovation and start-ups – while synergizing those talents with the management and long-term planning skills of companies from abroad. “Our competitive advantage is this start-up phase… the premium on innovation is going up and the need for big companies to innovate is going up,” Singer said. “And big companies have their separate problem: They know how to scale things up but don’t know how to innovate,” he said, noting that Apple was the one exception. “The who’s who of technology – IBM, Cisco, Motorola, you name it – they’re here in a very big way, and what they’re doing here is effectively injecting themselves with innovation by buying up,” he said. But in Israel “there tends to be not enough emphasis on what the potential is, which is huge and multifaceted. “I think we have to very careful about not losing our cutting edge…we can’t take for granted start-ups, because if we lose them, we have a problem.” Finance Ministry director general Haim Shani said government policy was formed upon similar beliefs, with a focus on two major areas: “strengthening the hi-tech and advanced industry sectors.” “We have launched a program we have branded under the name of competitive advantage, which understands there is no silver bullet for the single success of the hi-tech industry,” he said. “But there are major areas in which the government cannot plan the market but can lay down the tracks for success.” Shani said as hi-tech constitutes 12 percent of GDP, it is extremely important for Israel’s future, which was one of the reasons the government had invested $500 million in four “excellence centers” that are currently in the works.
The economy facilitates Israeli military power
Globes Online 2000
English version of Israeli business daily "Globes", Aug 15, “How Israel high-tech happened”, http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=258771&fid=954, accessed 7/7/11 BLG)
Economic imperative In part, the economic necessity derives from the military one. Israel's defense budget is inadequate for her to maintain her military advantage. One solution is export. Israel is both a highly successful defense and civilian high-tech exporter. However, the global defense market is shrinking. Civilian applications of the skills in software, communications, imaging, process control, etc., derived from military industries, have therefore become increasingly important. For example, the need for better night-vision equipment led to local engineers becoming trained in the field of image processing, and to the establishment of two trailblazing Israeli high-tech companies: Scitex (Nasdaq: SCIX; TASE:SCIX), and Elscint. Because Israel is such a small market, export is essential for civilian products too, providing a further incentive to maintain technological excellence, particularly in certain niche markets - network security, for example, where Check Point (Nasdaq: CHKP) is a world leader; Mercury Interactive Corporation (Nasdaq: MERQ) is a leader in enterprise testing and performance management solutions; and Amdocs (NYSE: DOX) is a leader in customer relations management, billing and order management solutions.
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