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A Technology Boom and Geopolitical Change Are Helping Israel Expand Its Horizons

(Financial Times-UK) Gideon Rachman - For decades, Israel's foes have predicted that the "Zionist entity" will be swept away. But during a recent visit, the mood of buoyant optimism among the country's political and business leaders was striking. Israel has enjoyed more than a decade of rising prosperity and relative peace. Its per capita income is now higher than that of Britain. The country's booming tech industry boasts more than 70 start-up companies valued at $1 billion or more, which is about 10% of the global total. Venture capital is pouring into the country. Most intoxicatingly of all, the Abraham Accords have normalized Israel's relations with the UAE and Bahrain and, more tepidly, Morocco and Sudan. Issawi Frej, an Arab-Israeli who is Israel's minister for regional co-operation, predicts that more countries will join the accords soon. It feels like every prominent Israeli has recently visited the UAE. They come back enthusing about the novelty of flying over Saudi airspace and the warmth of their reception in Dubai. One senior Western diplomat in Israel says that 15 years ago diplomacy was "80% Palestine, 20% other things. Now it is 20% Palestine, 80% other things." Israel's technological prowess is key to changing its relationship with the outside world. As the diplomat puts it: "The world wants what Israel is selling." Shifts in geopolitics are also working to Israel's benefit. The governments of China, India and Russia see Israel primarily as a tech partner and a geopolitical actor. In the Middle East, the shared fear of Iran, in Israel and the Gulf, underpinned the Abraham Accords.
2021-11-04 00:00:00
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