Doc's Talk: Brain Drain Rains on Israel's Plain

Friday, October 11, 2013

Brain Drain Rains on Israel's Plain

Nurit Greenger | Assisting editor, Eva Rosenstein | October 10, 2013

The article's title is based on the rhyme taken from the lyrics of the song "The Rain in Spain" from the musical 'My Fair Lady': The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain…

Today's headlines' subject, repeated itself on radio, the small screen and in print: Three Jewish professors, two of them Israelis, share the 2013 Nobel Prize in chemistry, a prestigious prize awarded ‘for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems’. One winner is Arieh Warshel who was born in Kibbutz Sde Nahum and fought in the ’67 and ’73 wars; the other two winners are the Pretoria, South Africa born, Michael Levitt who taught at the Weizmann Institute in Rechovot, Israel for most of the 1980s and took Israeli citizenship, and Martin Karplus who fled as a child to the US from Nazi-occupied Austria.

Then there is Francois Englert, a Tel Aviv University Professor Belgian Jew and Holocaust survivor who is married to an Israeli woman, who won the 2013 Nobel Prize for physics with his research partner Peter Higgs for predicting the existence of the Higgs boson – the particle that explains how elementary matter attained the mass to form stars and planets. Englert is a professor emeritus at the Free University of Brussels and has had strong research ties with TAU for the past 30 years. (http://www.jpost.com/International/Tel-Aviv-U-affiliated-prof-and-Holocaust-survivor-shares-Nobel-for-physics-328171).

British physicist Peter Higgs (R) and Belgium physicist Francois Englert at a press conference on at European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) offices in Meyrin near Geneva.

Video: Higgs boson scientists win Nobel prize in physics - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24436781

How ironic the fact that Peter Higgs, a British mathematician, is an anti-Zionist and a supporter of the shameful Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. Now he has to take photo ops with his Jewish-Israeli partner whose homeland he worked to harm. (http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/07/06/god-and-man-at-the-higgs-boson-level/ AND http://www.kadaitcha.com/2012/07/06/professor-peter-higgs-supports-academic-boycott-of-israel/)

These are good news stories every Jew and Israeli should be proud of and I am sure many are.

Yet, only a day ago the disappointing news was that Israel has the highest rate of brain drain in the West. For every 100 faculty members at Israeli universities living in Israel in 2008, 29 are now working at American universities. http://www.haaretz.com/business/.premium-1.551116.

So much money Israel invest in these smart people and then they migrate elsewhere and make contributions to other countries on account of the education they received in Israel. Brain drain brings about a failing society; it means that Israel is in danger of losing its title of the most innovative country in the West. To be blunt, Israel could end up as a stupider society.

Another aspect we need to look at is that Israel ranks as the second most educated country in the world. According to OECD report, 78% of money invested in education is taken directly from public funds, while 45% of Israel’s population has completed post-secondary education. http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-ranked-second-most-educated-country-in-the-world-study-shows-1.410415.

Yet, Israel has an alarming and unparalleled brain drain phenomenon as Israeli universities' standard deteriorate; despite becoming wealthier, the nation is not investing in higher education, not hiring enough staff, losing top minds to the US, says the Taub Center study, http://www.timesofisrael.com/study-shows-further-deterioration-of-israeli-universities/

How many Israelis have won Nobel Prizes since the establishment of the modern state of Israel?

So far, prior to 2013, there have been nine or ten Israeli Nobel Prize laureates. There are other, non Israeli Jews who were awarded the Nobel Prize who are directly, or indirectly, connected to Israel's education in the sciences.

Of the 23 chemistry Nobel Prize awardees in the past decade, 11 of the winners were Jewish and six of them were Israelis. Sadly, both Warshel and Levitt left Israel for the US because they felt they could not progress there. Yet, they have received their education and worked in Israel before they threw in the towel and left. This underlines the concerns about the ongoing brain drain of Israeli academics.

All the above simply does not sum up and does not make any sense.

There are many organizations in the United States that are part of a huge industry that support the state of Israel and its issues and needs. While these organizations are collecting and donating millions, even billions, of dollars to help Israel in every aspect possible, they have neglected supporting Jewish education programs in Israel as well as in the Diaspora. They have shamefully neglected educating the Jewish community about being Jewish. They have abandoned the idea of teaching the younger generation the deeper meaning of being a Jew and why it matters. Judaism is not only about rituals of faith or being a supporter of Israel by merely using the check book.

Let me suggest a change of direction. Let us stop sending money to Israel based on the old formula and adopt a new approach.

The Diaspora Jews should continue raising money but the money raised should be funneled only into education in Israel - from grade one to higher education - to teach the youth why they are Jewish Israelis and why Judaism and Israel matter. Why a strong Israel – body and mind – matters. These donations will also allow the Universities in Israel to compete with Yale, Harvard, USC and other top USA universities so outstanding minds like Arieh Warshel and Michael Levitt will not see any reason to go find career opportunities abroad. Furthermore, why not make the Israeli universities a prime destination for bright minds – Jews and non-Jews alike - from abroad. If Yale and Harvard can do it why not Hebrew University, Bar Ilan and Ariel universities?

This is a call to embark on a new path for the entire Jewish nation. To teach the younger generations what it means to be a Jew and about the contributions of the Jewish people to the world, beginning with the Bible and the Ten Commandments. How to carry, with pride, the Jewish badge of honor, against all obstacles and odds. The results of the brains drained from Israel is that they end up remaining to live in the Diaspora and their offspring become part of the younger generation of Jews who do not know Joseph.

Being Jewish is a privilege. Being an Israeli is a privilege as well. If the right measures are not taken soonest, the Jewish nation is facing a grim reality of losing its members, not to another Holocaust but to its own negligence of planning the future. The reality is that somewhat six million Jews living in the United State will end up being members of the new phenomenon called the unJew nation.

So how about the members of the Israeli brain drain such as Arieh Warshel, Michael Levitt et al take the lead and follow the above suggested path to help better Israel's future?

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

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