Let's be honest, the record shows that Jews are smart. Out of around 750 Nobel Prizes handed out between 1901 and 2008, 163 recipients were Jewish. Not too shabby for a tiny minority. However, only eight of these were from
There are simply no easy solutions to the problems the Israeli education system faces.
the Jewish homeland. Unless we accept that maybe American Jews are just smarter than Israeli Jews (which I don't think we accept), or that the Nobel Prize committee just hates Israel (which I doubt, even though the case of Yuval Neeman does provide some evidence for this assertion), then we have to conclude that Israeli education simply isn't up to scratch. 

Statehood wasn't fought for so that the homeland could become a desolate teaching district, it came to give prosperity (and security) to Jews appropriately; and to do so education must change. I personally don't want to imagine the future of the State of Israel when our human capital dries up from lack of investment, when all our greatest minds make reverse Aliyah to the US, where they actually get paid and have guaranteed jobs. 

In the 1960s, Israel performed comparatively well in international rankings for mathematics and science, but in a 2002 survey Israel ranked only 33rd out of 41 nations surveyed. We could argue forever about who is precisely to blame for this fall in the rankings, but the simple explanation is that Israel no longer competently invests in education, regardless of whether this is due to funds being misdirected, or not enough funds being available. 

In Israel's higher education system, the total funding for all Israeli universities equals less than the funding allotted to Harvard University (rather substantially), and Israel invests nearly half as much money per student than what is invested in England.

It is clear that the principle problem is not enough money invested in education. Teachers in Israel aren't well paid - it isn't a secret. Thus, talented, intelligent and innovative students don't aspire to be teachers, so the result is that teaching staff are sub-par, which leads to sub-par students, and a vicious cycle ensues; one which isn't easily remedied.

There are simply no easy solutions to the problems the Israeli education system faces, but investing more in education is essential. I realize that during a recession, when funds are less abundant, is hardly the time for increased public spending; however, simply put, every day we subject the Israeli youth to poor education is a waste, which will later come to haunt the Jewish State. 

We simply cannot rely on the Diaspora to pay the bill, and we cannot curtail essential spending for defence, which is needed for the state's very existence; yet, we must find space in the budget for a greater investment in the youth of the nation of Israel.

Yet, money cannot remedy everything. There will still remain a problem. Take, for
I dream of a State of Israel admired internationally for excellence in science and mathematics.
example, South Korea. It is a country that invests relatively little into its education system, but its results outshine Israel's. For this reason, a culture of competition must be encouraged, in which students strive for top results. This development will not only lead us to achieve our potential, but our ideal.

I dream of a State of Israel admired internationally (it really must be a dream) for excellence in science and mathematics; where American Jews come to study, rather than the other way round; and where the Nobel Prize winners of the next generation are born. I'm sure Gideon Sa'ar and Binyamin Netanyahu have the same dream, but to make this dream a reality we cannot continue to abandon the minds of the Israeli people. 

I am confident that the great minds which could make the ideal a reality are in Israel, and all that is needed is that we strive to allow their potential to be reached. We need better paid teachers and we need education reform, with a new and greater focus on mathematics and science. The late former president of Israel Ephraim Katzir called for what I am suggesting decades ago in the form of "sciencification". Perhaps it is time we took his advice.