editorials
Celebrate Israel’s Economic Juggernaut
A s we brace for the frustration and uncertainly
of Israel’s fifth national election in four years to
be held next Tuesday, and bemoan the frustration
of an Israeli electorate so deeply divided on a host
of political and social issues, it is worth taking a step
back to marvel at the remarkable success of the
Jewish state’s bursting economy.

While virtually every country in the world is
suffering from rampant inflation, slow economic
growth and challenges to maintenance of cur-
rency values, Israel is an exception. Israel’s econ-
omy is growing at one of the fastest paces in the
world; it boasts a very low rate of inflation and
a high level of employment. Israel’s shekel is
reported to be the world’s best performing cur-
rency among the more than 30 that trade actively,
and the only one that strengthened against the
dollar in the past decade.

Israel’s projected domestic product growth in
2022 will reach 5.2%. Unemployment is at an
impressive 3.5%, and Israel’s inflation rate of 4.3%
is less than half the annualized rate in the U.S. and
Europe. Israel’s economy is strong and is poised to
continue to grow. Analysts attribute that strength
to a culture of innovation that dominates Israel’s
business sector and a broad, diverse and growing
base of companies that make up corporate Israel.

As highlighted in a recent Bloomberg analy-
sis of Israel’s economic success, it is innovation
and technology that drive Israel’s remarkable
impact on some of the world’s largest industries.

The range of impacted industries includes busi-
ness sectors as diverse as auto parts, medical
equipment and food, water and climate-change
solutions. Companies like Mobileye Global Inc.,
the creator of vision-based driver assistance pro-
grams, and Innoviz Technologies Ltd., the maker of
light detection ranging (Lidar) sensor and percep-
tion software for autonomous driving are making
a significant impact on the worldwide automobile
industry. And Nanox Imaging Ltd. — a company
devoted to moving from predictive medicine to
preventive medicine — brings new approaches
and promise to governments, hospitals and clinics
with cloud-based image analysis, online diagnosis
and billing services while continuing its work in
the development of a 3D medical imaging device.

And then there is Redefine Meat, the Israeli
startup in its fourth year that seeks to address
meat’s significant impact on the challenges of cli-
mate change and sustainability by creating the first
3D printed plant-based steak, which now boasts
distribution in more than 500 restaurants and
butcher shops in Israel, Berlin, Amsterdam and
London. There are, of course, many more such compa-
nies, each with an impressive story and many with
eye-popping success. There are some 630 compa-
nies domiciled in Israel. Not all of them will succeed.

But not one of them accounts for more than 10% of
Israel’s market value. That diversity — coupled with
an innovative, single-minded dedication to under-
standing new challenges and working through
them without fear of failure — bodes well for con-
tinued growth and expansion of Israel’s economy.

We can only hope that the new government
Israel will elect on Nov. 1 will bring a similar sta-
bility, reliability, innovation and a drive to solve
problems creatively. JE
T he upcoming midterm elections on
Nov. 8 are important. The outcome will
determine control of the U.S. Senate, the
House of Representatives and leadership
and control of state government. In our
deeply divided and hyper-partisan political
environment, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

So, if you care about who is going to rep-
resent your interests in the next Congress
and in the state Capitol, and you care
about any of the issues being debated on
the campaign trail, you need to make your
voice heard by voting. Candidates you
elect will be in a position to make a differ-
ence going forward.

We urge you to vote no matter what com-
peting polls are predicting. That’s because
we have seen repeatedly that many polls
are not reliable predictors of election out-
comes. Analysts have differing views on why pollsters
keep getting things wrong. Some complain that
the polling questions themselves are biased and
tend to pre-ordain a result. Other argue that some
pollsters improperly focus on registered voters
rather than likely voters and assert that likely vot-
ers will more accurately predict election results
than registered voters who may not actually show
up to vote. And then there is the claimed under-
counting of Republicans because of “shy Trump
14 OCTOBER 27, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
supporters” or others seeking to avoid vilification
or worse for support of more conservative can-
didates or positions. This sometimes leads to no
answer or misleading answers to polling surveys
and skews poll results.

Further complicating things are the hot political
issues that initially grab voter attention, and then
cool down after some period of time. In this elec-
tion cycle, the abortion issue, the flailing economy
and the Jan. 6 hearings may be good examples of
hot topic concerns with differing voter impact with
the passage of time.

Earlier this year, most analysts expected
Republicans to make big gains in
November, as usually happens for the
party that doesn’t hold the White House.

But the Supreme Court’s decision to over-
turn Roe v. Wade, the rollout of the Jan.

6 hearings and the investigation of for-
mer President Donald Trump’s handling of
classified documents and the rise, fall and
threatened further rise of gas prices have
all captured voter attention and served as
a rallying point for advocates to push for
voter turnout to elect candidates sympa-
thetic to a particular view. That was then.

But now, some reports suggest that
uneasiness about the economy and immi-
gration may have overtaken abortion con-
cerns or continued focus on the expanding
saga of Donald Trump’s legal problems, raising
new concerns and predictions about control of
the House, Senate and state capitols.

But who knows? And that’s precisely the point.

No matter what you hear from the pollsters, not
a single poll result actually votes for a candidate.

Only registered voters can do that. Voting is an
enormous privilege and empowers each of us to
be a part of a communal decision on issues that
matter to us. We encourage you to vote on Nov. 8.

Your future depends on it. JE
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Ignore the Polls. Go Vote!