June 13 • 2019 5
jn

T

hose in the news biz are required 
to have a “nose for news.” They 
must be alert to goings on so as 
to bring to the fore that which the public 
must know. As they nose around, we are 
brought up to snuff (oy!) 
and begin to sense that the 
facial protuberance has 
nosed its way into our talk.
Some of us are so limited 
in our awareness that we 
can’
t see beyond the ends 
of our noses. Even then, 
we can be accused of not 
finding something that is 
right in front of our noses or of not under-
standing something that is as plain as the 
nose on a face.
At one time, people could be so 
engrossed that they seemed to always 
have their noses in a book. E-readers 
and advanced phones have all but 
replaced tomes. If you should try to 
interrupt a user of one of those devices, 
you may get your nose out of joint by 
being ignored. Well, keep in mind that 
some folks have probably paid through 

the nose to be able to be so unaware.
It is not usually a good idea to stick 
your nose into someone’
s business. It is 
best that you keep your nose clean; keep 
your nose to the grindstone. It is also not 
a good idea to look down your nose at 
anyone or to keep your nose in the air 
since none of us can afford to thumb our 
noses at anyone. That might lead to cut-
ting off our noses to spite our faces.
Ever been to a horse race? 
Maybe you ended up in the 
nosebleed section but you were 
still able to see your favorite 
win by a nose.
To make sure that party 
invitees are all in atten-
dance, you could count 
noses (or count legs and 
divide by two; math was 
never my forte).
If you did not care for 
this set of observations, I 
will not rub your nose in 
the fact that you are in a 
minority; your lack of enthu-
siasm is no skin off my nose. 
 ■

continued on page 8

views

for openers
The Nose Knows

Sy Manello
Editorial Assistant

publisher’
s notebook

Beyond Startup Nation,
Most Israelis Struggling
H

ardly a week passes without 
proud references to Israel’
s 
“startup nation” credentials. 
With a potent brew of smarts, capital, 
chutzpah, IDF active and reserve con-
nections and daily-ex-
istence urgency, the 
Jewish state improves 
our health and nutri-
tion, helps us navigate 
our roads, protects our 
physical and digital 
assets and, with the 
smallest of budgets, 
comes oh-so-close to 
joining the U.S., Russia and China as 
soft-landers on the moon.
There is much to admire. Yet, scratch 
the surface of Israel’
s high-tech sector 
and you’
ll find a country confronting a 
complex socioeconomic brew of haves 

and have nots; English speakers and 
non-English speakers; Jewish men and 
boys pursuing their dreams through the 
study of science, math and engineering 
and others through the full-time pur-
suit of Torah; beachfront high-rises and 
dirt-poor neighborhoods.
Data compiled in 2018 and recently 
shared in Detroit by the independent, 
nonpartisan Taub Center for Social 
Policy Studies in Israel show that 
despite its global impact, Israel’
s high-
tech sector employs just more than 
8 percent of the country’
s workforce. 
Not surprisingly, people in this sector 
are high-wage earners who are over-
whelmingly Caucasian, male, and most 
likely to have math/science educational 
backgrounds and very good English-
language skills.
Utilizing comparative data from 

the 30 countries that collectively com-
prise the Organization for Economic 
Cooperation and Development 
(OECD), the Taub Center identifies 
trends that are eye-opening for Israel. 
With a population of 9 million (74 
percent Jewish) and a current fertility 
rate of 3.11, Israel’
s rate is the highest 
among all OECD countries — almost 
twice the average. Of note, the high fer-
tility rate already takes into account the 
dramatic decline — from nine children 
in 1965 to three children today — in 
Israel’
s Muslim birth rate. 
Part of the shift in Israeli-Muslim 
household size may be explained by 
data showing the growing number of 
its women studying math and science, 
learning English and entering the 
workforce. Today, according to the 
Taub data, the Israeli-Arab population 

Arthur Horwitz

