Rambamites report back
ISRAEL’S start-up culture is a great model for Australia to follow, federal Labor MP Sharon Bird told an Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) lunch in Sydney recently.
ISRAEL’S start-up culture is a great model for Australia to follow, federal Labor MP Sharon Bird told an Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) lunch in Sydney recently.
Bird and five other politicians participated in an AIJAC Rambam study tour of Israel in July, visiting Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Sderot and Beersheva in Israel’s south, and Gush Etzion, Ramallah, Bethlehem and the border with Lebanon in Israel’s north.
The Cunningham MP and shadow minister for vocational education discussed in detail her encounters with everyday Israelis and her understanding of the challenges they face.
“The uplifting and encouraging part was that people were profoundly determined to get on with their personal lives … I think that’s a testament to a people who have unfortunately had to do that too many times,” she said.
Commenting on Israel’s start-up culture, Bird said: “The enormous creativity and innovation in Israel … the capacity to solve problems, the water issues, was astounding, to turn their ingenuity to supposedly insurmountable problems.
“We’re trying to build innovation in Australia and you’ve got such a great model in Israel … I think you can learn a lot from the culture.”
She said visiting Jerusalem was an extraordinary experience and noted its contrast with modern Tel Aviv: “It spoke to me about the richness of the Israeli experience, its depth and breadth.”
Fellow Labor MP Terri Butler said: “An assumed lack of natural resources has compelled Israel to seek to diversify its economy, both by encouraging innovation in agriculture, and in creating the conditions for a vibrant start-up ecosystem.
“These local challenges, grave as they are, form part of a much bigger picture. Israelis live with unrest in neighbouring and near states. We gained a greater understanding of the difficulty that Israel has trying to engage with the region while trying to protect Israelis.”
Liberal MP Russell Matheson said he left Australia as a friend of Israel and returned “a stronger friend”.
“I don’t understand why the world is leaving Israel hanging dry,” he said.
Matheson said his visit to Beersheva was a highlight of the trip, commenting that the majority of the horses in the famous light horse infantry were trained at Menangle in his electorate.
He also noted that the small size of Israel and the proximity of its neighbours could only be truly appreciated following a visit to the country.
Liberal MP Peter Hendy, Labor MP Rob Mitchell and Senator Chris Ketter also participated in the trip.
AJN STAFF
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