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Source: http://washingtonjewishweek.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=16496&TM=27314.9
Former Chief Scientist: Israel to Continue as High-Tech Power
(Washington Jewish Week) Maayan Jaffe - Dr. Orna Berry, the former chief scientist of Israel, is today the vice president and manager of the Center of Excellence for Israel-EMC Corporation. Speaking to the Maryland/Israel Development Center on Jan. 12, she said Israel's high-tech arena will continue to thrive because the country is "sufficiently paranoid to always be transformational and to have a competitive edge." She said it's not the IDF training per se, but the spirit of team play, the spirit of commitment and the spirit of survival that results from mandatory service. "Israelis are never comfortable - look at our borders," she said. "We are always on our toes and that makes us globally competitive." She cited the recent investment by Apple Corporation in Israel, the first Apple investment outside the U.S., as an example of how U.S. companies are still turning to Israel as a strategic partner. Israel is seen as an R&D epicenter and Israeli innovation is what makes the country unique.