A new propaganda book on Israel states that the nation is home to an economic miracle because Israel is small and has so many innovative start-up IT companies. Good for them. But does this constitute a miracle?

A miracle is defined as: “an extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause. Such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God.”

Is that the case here? Is Israel such an ostenible economic engine of growth because it is God’s “Chosen Country”.

Israel is home to many start-ups, but a miracle-explanation is unfounded. A miracle implies that Israel’s successes just cannot be explained using normal analysis of economic growth. That there is just something special about the country that has somehow produced several interesting companies. But that is not the case. Israel’s growth is not due to some special reason, but to simple cause-and-effect.

Here is why Israel has so many start-ups:

Since 1948:

- 120 Billion in US aid
- 50 Billion in German aid
- Billions more in aid from Jewish communities around the world.

It is not surprising that this or that Israeli university produces this or that product since they get so much free aid from the world. It is as simple as that. If you hevaily fund and support a, say, R&D center then it will grow into a success. Why is this difficult to understand? And if Israel is so successful then why the constant begging of aid?

No miracle here. Impressed by Israel? Want to replicate the success? Just get the United States to give $120 billion to, say, Zimbabwe and then see what happens.

And, finally, all that Israel produces is in on top of and in the shadows of the ethnic cleansing, theft and continuing occupation of the Palestinian people. No “miracle” will hide that fact. And many of these ostensibly great start-up are defense companies dedicated to killing people instead of making the world a better place. So spare the propaganda!