Shimon Peres: The prophet of Israeli Technology

29 September, 2016

With the passing of Shimon Peres, we mourn one of the most important prophets of Israeli industry and technology. A man who believed that Israeli industry and technology are national assets which could benefit not only Israel, but the whole world

With the passing of Shimon Peres, we mourn one of the most important prophets of Israeli industry and technology. A man who believed that Israeli industry and technology are national assets which could benefit not only Israel, but the whole world

peresFormer Israeli Prime Minister and President Shimon Peres died at the age of 93 on September 27 2016. Just before he died, the elder statesman signed an organ donor card – wishing to contribute to the community even after his passing. His wish was respected, as reported by his family. Peres’s signing of a donor card was consistent with his tireless care for the wellbeing of the community and his love of the state of Israel, and its people. Peres’s belief in the importance, and the future of Israeli technology was an important part of his world view.

Shimon Peres was consistent in his belief that Israel has no other resources but the brain. This led him to believe that technology and science have to be the foundations of Israel’s future. Peres did not only talk – in his long career, Peres was the driving force behind the establishment of Israel’s thriving aerospace industry, as early as the fifties, when the country was still struggling to feed and house its citizens.

Peres was one of the architects of Israel’s nuclear program. As the young secretary of Israel’s Ministry of Defense, Peres succeeded in persuading France to build a nuclear reactor in Israel. Peres was deeply involved in the program, and managed to establish an industrial and technological environment to support the program. Many see the infrastructure created for this purpose as one of the early conditions for the evolution of Israeli technology.

In the 70’s, Peres initiated technologic cooperation’s with the US, and in the 90’s he skillfully used Israel’s rising popularity after the signing of the Oslo accords in order to ensure Israel’s inclusion into the European R&D program, which until today is a driving force for Israeli high tech industry.

Peres did not fail to catch on with the advance of technology. The elder statesman was an early apostle of nanotechnology, which is today a major Israeli industry Branch. Peres believed that industry and technology are not only the basis for Israel’s economic growth, but a possible harbinger of peace. Peres made efforts to open the gates of Israeli high tech to Israeli-Palestinian citizens, supporting many initiatives in this field.

Peres was indeed a prophet of Israeli industry and technology. A man who believed that technology could make the world a better place.

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