With all the news coming out of Israel these days, it would’ve been easy to miss the recent prediction by Moody’s that the country’s historically low credit rating will persist throughout the entire year.

But supporters of Israel need to pay attention to that development. Here’s why.

Israel’s global standing is driven in no small part by its economic strength. Meanwhile, the Israeli economy depends on its high-tech sector much more than the average nation. According to the Israel Innovation Authority, high-tech contributes nearly 20% of Israel’s GDP. By comparison, high-tech constitutes only 9% of the GDP in the United States and 6% in European Union countries.

This is precisely why Bar-Ilan University (BIU) is undertaking an unprecedented initiative to recruit at least 100 Israeli researchers currently working overseas to full-time positions in our engineering, life sciences, medical, and exact-sciences faculties over the next seven years. It would be natural to ask: Why prioritize such an effort while Israel is still in the middle of fighting a war? The answer is clear. Without its status as a global powerhouse in science and technology, Israel falls behind in many ways — from the economy, to the capability to produce the technologies needed to defend the nation, to one of the key value propositions that the........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)