DECEMBER 9 • 2021 | 9

vation in science and technology 
could help subdue the underly-
ing motivations for conflict itself. 
With approximately 60% of 
the Middle East’s population 
aged under 30, Peres believed 
that a vastly more innovative 
landscape in the region would 
ensure a prosperous future for 
all. If we can help our neighbors 
create an ecosystem of innova-
tion similar to what we have in 
Israel, they will be less attracted 
by the influence of extremists 
and jihadists, and instead harness 
the energy of future generations 
and channel it toward positive 
and constructive causes. Peres 
strongly believed that both mor-
ally and strategically, it is not 
good for Israel to be an island of 
prosperity in a sea of poverty. 
By expanding the mission 
of the center, Peres was able to 
realize his vision of an educa-
tional hub for innovation. The 
Innovation Center also filled a 
gap felt during Peres’ presidency. 
When hosting world leaders, 
Peres had many places to exhib-
it Israel’s past, but nowhere 
to showcase the modern, 
future-oriented Israel. 
The Peres Center had an 
amazing facility in Jaffa that 
was underutilized then, due 
to the bulk of programming 
being implemented in hospi-
tals, schools, businesses and on 
sports fields across the country 
and not in the building. There 
was an opportunity to transform 
its headquarters on the shores of 
Jaffa into the Israeli Innovation 
Center, which today stands 
as a unique “one-stop shop,” 
showcasing the role of Israeli 
innovation in making the world 
a better place and in shaping a 
peaceful future. 

EXPANSION OF IDEAS
Peres strongly believed that the 
world is transitioning away from 
an understanding of growth 
based on expanding physical 
territory to a new reality based 
on the expansion of the human 

mind, science, technology and 
innovation. He believed that the 
new world could be more peace-
ful if it abandoned the zero-sum 
rationale of old paradigms in 
which countries needed to con-
quer new territory and exploit 
natural resources from others in 
order to grow themselves. In this 
new “win-win” world of science, 
one does not become great at the 
expense of others; everyone can 
grow simultaneously. Peres was 
adamant that Israel has all the 
tools to lead this paradigm shift 
and succeed in this new world. 
Israel is indeed considered the 
“Start-Up Nation” because it has 
more start-ups per capita than 
any other country in the world, 
more companies registered on 
NASDAQ outside the U.S., and 
more patents registered per cap-
ita, among many more amazing 
achievements. The three driving 
forces behind Israel’s creative and 
innovative spirit are necessity, 
diversity and audacity — or as 
we call it, chutzpah. 
The necessity to innovate can 
be traced back to our arrival 
in our ancient homeland. We 
made our way out of Egypt only 
to find that what was written in 
the Bible was not exactly true — 
Israel wasn’t the “Land of Milk 
and Honey,
” but more a land of 
swamps in the north and deserts 
in the south. If Moses had a GPS, 
he would probably have taken 
the Jewish people anywhere else, 
rather than bringing us to the 
only place in the Middle East 
without natural resources. While 
most of our neighbors are “oily” 
countries, we got stuck with 
being a “holy” country, which is 
not helpful economically. In the 
end, however, it was a blessing 
in disguise, because without nat-
ural resources, we were forced 
to be creative and focus on our 
human capital. 
Israel is a country of a mul-
titude of people of diverse 
backgrounds who must be 
entrepreneurial by nature. In 
order to address the many needs 

and challenges facing them, 
they must have been able to 
start from scratch and develop a 
can-do attitude against all odds. 
Because of our diversity, we have 
a remarkable fusion of people 
speaking different languages and 
offering new perspectives, which 
enriches and contributes to our 
creative energy. 

ISRAEL
’S AUDACITY
The final piece of the puzzle is 
Israelis’ audacity — our rebel-
lious spirit and our undisciplined 
character. Israelis don’t respect 
authority and don’t like to play 
by the rules. We don’t pay too 
much attention to titles and rank, 
and we challenge absolutely 
everything. All these character-
istics may make us quite obnox-
ious some of the time, but very 
innovative most of the time. 
 More than 360 multinational 
technology companies have 
established their R&D centers 
in Israel because they know 
that Israelis will challenge even 
the most basic assumptions of 
the company, which is exactly 
what you need to disrupt and 
innovate. 
In its inaugural year, the Israeli 
Innovation Center drew 100,000 
visitors — from Israelis and tour-
ists of all ages, genders and back-
grounds, to heads of state and 
esteemed business delegations 
— inviting them to explore the 
past, present and future of Israeli 
innovation through an immer-
sive state-of-the-art experience. 
Serving as a national and inter-
national hub for knowledge and 
innovation, we promote innova-
tion-collaboration agreements 
with international partners and 

serve as a bridge between the 
global community and the 
Israeli ecosystem, offering a 
direct channel to Israel’s leading 
experts and most innovative 
startups, and to opportunities 
for business development and 
mutual learning. 
A big emphasis is put on the 
values of diversity and inclusion, 
as well as an effort to promote 
entrepreneurship and innovation 
in younger generations through 
the development of educational 
tools for students, providing 
them with the skills they need to 
become agents of positive change 
in their communities. 
Peres believed that the correct 
formula for a more peaceful 
world is the combination of 
the values of peace and tikkun 
olam, alongside science and 
technological advancements. 
These are two sides of the same 
coin because technology with-
out values can be very danger-
ous and values without technol-
ogy don’t lead to progress. 
You are invited to visit the 
Center and witness firsthand 
how we are utilizing the Israeli 
innovative spirit to promote 
peace and the values of tikkun 
olam. We invite all our visitors 
to partner with us in our peace-
making projects. When you 
visit, I promise that you will find 
an inspiring experience and an 
energizing call for action. 

Nadav Tamir is the executive director 
of J Street Israel, a member of the 
board of the Mitvim think-tank, adviser 
for international affairs at the Peres 
Center for Peace and Innovation. He 
was an adviser of President Shimon 
Peres and served in the Israel embas-
sy in Washington and as consul gen-
eral to New England.

CORRECTION
The wrong art 
accompanied the name of 
Ava Federman, the second-
place winner of the JN 
Chanukah Art Contest in 
the ages 10-12 category. 
(Nov. 25, page 15). 

