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Israeli Kibbutzism Contain Startling Businesses – and Drive the ‘Start-Up Nation’
The Israeli economy was booming in 2023. According to International Monetary Fund figures, total GDP had reached $664 billion, and per capita GDP hit $58,270 — the 13th highest in the world.
Hamas’ vicious attack on Israel changed that, as Reuters reported that after months of war, the Israeli economy contracted significantly during the fourth quarter of 2023. However, even with fighting continuing, we can hope for a strong economic rebound, as thousands of reservists return to their normal lives.
The Israeli technology sector accounts for the majority of Israel’s exports, so it was reassuring to see that Teva Pharmaceuticals, the largest generic drug company in the world, reported that the war has not affected manufacturing.
The approximately 270 kibbutzim in Israel comprise only a tiny fraction of the population, but account for 10 percent of industrial production. Kibbutzim in the south bore the brunt of the genocidal Hamas attack, and those in the north are coping with rocket attacks from Hezbollah. So I wondered how another Israeli technology company, this one based on a kibbutz, was making out.
Kibbutz Shamir, founded by Romanian Holocaust survivors in 1944, is located in Upper Galilee at the western edge of the Golan Heights. Shamir Optical began to manufacture eyeglass lenses in 1972, as part of the effort by kibbutzim to diversify from agriculture
Shamir began to manufacture progressive lenses in addition to its existing line of lenses in 1984, and this led to the company’s remarkable innovative success. (Full disclosure, I am a retired professor of Optometry and Vision Science.)
Progressive lenses have been around since the late 1950s and early 1960s. They are used to correct presbyopia, a universal human condition associated with aging, in which the lens inside the eye becomes less flexible and is unable to change shape to enable light rays from near objects, such as reading material, to focus on the retina.
The first bifocals, attributed to Benjamin Franklin, consisted of a split lens, with an upper half for distance vision and the lower half for near. However, in 1959, a French engineer, Bernard Maitenaz, working with a French company, Essilor, produced the first progressive lens, in which the prescription varies continuously and there is no bifocal line.
Progressive lenses have to undergo a process of continual redesign and improvement as the visual demands of modern society change. The ability of Shamir Optical to produce valuable algorithms to optimize the manufacture of progressive lenses led, in 2005, to the company being the first kibbutz enterprise listed on the NASDAQ exchange.
In 2011, when Essilor, the world’s largest producer of ophthalmic lenses, bought a 50 percent share of Shamir for $130 million, the company was delisted. Essilor purchased the remaining 50 percent in 2022 for an amount said to be hundreds of millions of dollars. Shamir Optical remains a separate brand, and research and development continues at Kibbutz Shamir. Today, the company, with 2,500 employees in Israel and abroad, operates 18 laboratories worldwide.
In a 2022 interview in The Jerusalem Post, Shamir’s CEO, Yagen Moshe, described how the COVID pandemic forced everyone to become more dependent on computers for communicating. He mentioned two innovations: a lens with an anti-reflective coating called “Expression,” designed to remove unwanted reflections during video calls, as well as the “Autograph Intelligence” lens, a progressive lens tailored to each patient’s visual needs.
However, an even more exciting innovation, announced in the midst of war with Hamas, concerns a lens designed to prevent myopia in children. In myopia, there is a mismatch between eye size and eye focus ,and light rays that enter the eye focus in front of the retina. The prevalence of myopia is increasing rapidly. Today, more than 40 percent of Americans are myopic, and the numbers in Asian countries, such as China and South Korea can be as high as 90 percent.
Shamir Optical has developed a spectacle lens, the “Shamir Optimee,” where the optics of the outer zone of the lens differs from the center, resulting in myopic defocus at the outer (peripheral) retina. A study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology showed that this lens significantly reduces myopia progression in young children. Shamir is not the only company making multifocal lenses for myopia control, but the company’s experience in producing progressive lenses gives it an advantage. Given worldwide concern for the myopia epidemic, this lens may end up as Shamir’s most important innovation.
After the United States, Israel is home to the largest number of start-up companies in the world. In fact, the Israeli kibbutz — a blend of Zionism and socialism — can be thought of as Israel’s first start-up.
In recent decades, the kibbutzim have transitioned from being solely agricultural, to also providing industrial goods and services. A majority of kibbutzim, including Shamir, have also shifted to embrace private ownership and differential salaries, while still trying to protect the ideology of equality as much as possible.
Shamir Optical is not the only kibbutz start-up success. There are many others, such as the drip irrigation system developed by the firm Netafim on Kibbutz Hatzerim, and Plasan, a company on Kibbutz Sasa, that produces armor vehicle protection. Nor is Shamir Optical the only enterprise associated with Kibbutz Shamir. The kibbutz, which has a population of about 900, also generates income from the production of toiletries and honey, as well as from tourism.
Far from being a relic of the past, the idealism, and sense of purpose that characterizes the traditional kibbutz still exists, and enables the kibbutzim of today to compete successfully in the development of new and innovative technologies. The example of Kibbutz Shamir suggests that the current war will not reduce the level of Israeli innovation.
Jacob Sivak, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, is a retired professor, who taught at the University of Waterloo.
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Over 300 Social Media Influencers Unite to Strategize on Combating Antisemitism, Misinformation About Israel
Bravo TV host Andy Cohen (far right) hosting a discussion with (from left) Joseph Yomtoubian, Melinda Strauss, and Lynn Shabinsky. Photo: Ohad Kab
More than 300 leading social media influencers gathered in New York City for a two-day event that organizers described as the largest global influencer summit against antisemitism, misinformation, and hate.
The summit “Voices for Truth: Influencers United Against Antisemitism” took place on Sunday and Monday at The Glasshouse in New York City and was hosted by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) in collaboration with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Center for Jewish Impact, and The Jewish Agency for Israel. A diverse group of influencers — including chefs, cookbook authors, artists, musicians, and athletes — united to share their experiences with antisemitism and strategize on how to use their online presence to fight hatred.
Since the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, many Jewish influencers have faced an increase in antisemitic bullying across all social media platforms and have also lost brand partnerships and contracts for standing in solidarity with Israel and the Jewish community. Nevertheless, these influencers continue to use their platforms to raise awareness about antisemitism, to express solidarity with Israel, and to counter misinformation about Israel and the Jewish people.
At the two-day summit, attendees included US Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), rapper Kosha Dillz, professional basketball player Ryan Turrell, reality star and entrepreneur Julia Haart, Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman, dancer and activist Montana Tucker, and judoka Yael Arad, who was Israel’s first ever Olympic medalist.
Grammy-nominated reggae singer and songwriter Matisyahu, who released a song in March about antisemitism, joined a discussion on stage about antisemitism impacting his career before performing live for the audience. The “Jerusalem” singer talked about being dropped by his manager and having a number of his scheduled concerts cancelled after he expressed solidarity with Israel following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
During the summit there were other discussions on stage about debating misconceptions and misinformation regarding the ongoing Israel-Hamas war; building interfaith alliances; “navigating the science of social media to maximize impact”; being “united in diversity” with Jews of color; and “fighting antisemitism with comedy,” the latter of which featured comedians Yechiel Jacobs, LE Steiman, and Josh Zilberberg. Pro-Israel student activists participated in a panel discussion about fighting antisemitism on college and university campuses, and Zionist LGBTQ+ community members led a discussion titled “Proud in Pride: Breaking Down the Queers for Palestine Movement.”
At the event’s opening gala on Sunday night, New York City Mayor Eric Adams talked about the need to stop college campuses from “breeding hatred” against Jews and the dangerous dark corners of social media, where antisemitism and misinformation flourish and “truth no longer matters.” He also told the influencers in the audience they have the means to change history.
“You are now on the precipice to decide which direction we’re going in move in, not only as a country but as a globe. You only have to pick up your device to change the course of history,” said Adams. “This is your moment to use the tools you have — your platforms. Your platforms can actually change the course of what we are experiencing across the globe. There’s no room for hate in this city [or] on our globe and together we can turn it around.”
“Doesn’t matter where you go, where you come from,” he added. “If you wear a hijab or yamulke, kufi, turban … doesn’t matter where you go to worship or pray or not at all. It doesn’t matter. I know we are members of the greatest race alive, and that’s the human race. Let’s lift each other up.”
Bravo producer and television and radio host Andy Cohen spoke at the opening gala about being a “proud American Jew” and told the crowd: “For me, flying the flag of who I am culturally is the greatest thing I can do right now and and I think continuing to celebrate what we love about being Jewish is actually more of a political statement than people realize. Many of you have large social media platforms, and that just by representing Jewish culture with pride to your followers, you will have a far-reaching impact more than you may even realize.”
“Be proud of being Jewish and don’t shy away from showing it publicly,” the host of “Watch What Happens Live” added. “And sometimes the simplest displays or gestures are the strongest and most effective.”
Cohen also moderated a panel discussion at the summit about using social media to combat hate and foster understanding. When he asked one of the panelists, influencer Lynn Shabinsky, about losing thousands of social media followers after sharing content that called for the release of the Hamas hostages, Shabinsky replied, “We don’t need them. We’re here as people. We need to survive. The money will come later.”
The summit further drew attention to the hostages still being held captive by Hamas terrorists since Oct. 7 by welcoming rescued hostages to the stage as well as a survivor of the Nova music festival massacre, Natalie Sanandaji. She shared her first-hand account of surviving the Nova massacre and the importance of resilience in the face of hate. Sanandaji additionally presented Tucker with the CAM Impactful Activism Award.
“Jews today have a voice, we are strong, we are powerful, and we are resilient,” Tucker said in her acceptance speech. “We are fortunate to have social media to use our platforms to reach people all the around the world. We have experienced brand deals fall through, death threats, but we’ll continue to fight every single day, and we will not give up.”
The summit ended on Monday night with a call to action that encouraged attendees to continue using their social media platforms to educate, inspire, and combat antisemitism.
“We live in a world in which lies become truth, truth becomes a lie, victims become aggressors, and aggressors become victims,” said Israeli Consul General in New York Ofir Akunis. “But know this: Those who started this war will be defeated. We will not be victims of violence anymore. Enough. Enough.”
“This is our chance to make a difference. To stand up for Jewish people and our values and the protection of minorities,” said CAM CEO Sacha Roytman. “To stand by is not an option anymore. Bring back activism and community leadership as a way of life.”
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Students of Columbia University Affiliate School Petition Administration to Hire Pro-Hamas Professor
The “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” at Columbia University, located in the Manhattan borough of New York City, on April 25, 2024. Photo: Reuters Connect
Students of the Union Theological Seminary (UTS), an affiliate school of Columbia University, are pushing the institution to hire an academic who was just terminated for defending the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.
Dr. Mohamed Abdou, a visiting professor in modern Arab studies who defended Hamas after the terrorist group slaughtered over 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 others during its Oct. 7 onslaught, was reportedly relieved of his duties at Columbia University as of Sunday. Following Abdou’s firing, UTS students circulated a petition calling on the seminary to extend the anti-Israel academic an offer of employment.
“We condemn Columbia University’s efforts to stifle any mobilization around [the Palestinian] cause and its repressive, anti-Palestinian victimization of Dr. Abdou,” the petition reads.
“We ask the UTS administration to hire Dr. Abdou for the 2024-2025 academic year,” the petition continues.
During a US congressional hearing on campus antisemitism in April, Columbia President Minouche Shafik promised lawmakers that the university would terminate Abdou at the conclusion of the school year, citing his repeated public endorsements of violence against Israel and endorsement of terrorist groups.
During a Jan. 5 interview with Revolutionary Left Radio, Abdou heaped praise on Hamas, referring to the terrorist organization as a “resistance” and dismissed criticism of the terrorist organization as “white supremacy.” In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, many pro-Palestinian groups have similarly defended Hamas a a “resistance” group and referred to the Oct. 7 atrocities as “self-defense.”
On Jan. 16. the Columbia Middle East Institute tapped Abdou to serve as lead instructor for a course on “Decolonial-Queerness & Abolition.” According to the course description, students analyzed “Euro-American informed modernity animated by (neo)liberal-Enlightenment values (free will/humanity, secularism, racial capitalism)” and “contemporary conceptualizations of family, kinship, and friendship in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities within the context of settler-colonial societies (as the U.S./Canada) as well as in postcolonial nations and regions (as Southwest Asia, Africa, and the Middle East) that arguably never underwent adequate decolonization.”
Abdou faced intense criticism after a student recorded and circulated a course lecture in which he denounced Israel as a “settler colonial” entity that was inspired by American-style beliefs on private property, gender, and sexuality.
Following Shafik’s congressional testimony, Abdou claimed that the Columbia president “lied” about his firing and accused her of “misrepresenting” his opinions. He reiterated his support for Islamist terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which are backed by Iran.
Abdou’s public support for terrorism has caused a firestorm of controversy with Columbia students and alumni, calling into question the university’s commitment to fostering a tolerant and safe environment for Jewish and Israeli students.
Abdou indicated gratitude for the petition on X/Twitter, saying that he is “indebted for this generous initiative.” He called on his supporters to sign and spread the petition “as far [and] as wide as possible.”
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Australian War Memorials Vandalized With Pro-Hamas Graffiti
A war memorial in Canberra was vandalized by anti-Israel graffiti. Photo: Screenshot
Multiple memorials near the Australian War Memorial have been defaced with anti-Israel graffiti as Australian policymakers grapple with how to manage a rise in antisemitism that has continued unabated since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Located on Anzac Parade — named in honor of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) — near downtown Canberra, vandals spray-painted pro-Hamas messages onto sites dedicated to those who died fighting for Australia in war. The messages included “Free Palestine,” “Free Gaza,” “Blood on your hands,” and “From the river to the sea” — the last of which is a popular slogan among anti-Israel activists calling for the destruction of the Jewish state, which is located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
The Australian National Korean War Memorial, Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial, and the Australian Army National Memorial were all targeted over the weekend, as well as a wall between the memorials along Anzac Parade.
The incidents sparked outcry among Australian lawmakers and members of the Jewish community. In parliament, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the vandalism as “criminal” and called for the perpetrators to “get exposed publicly as well for who they are. We know what they are — they’re unworthy of having any respect and any leniency as a result of their own actions.”
The Australian Jewish Association wrote on X/Twitter in response to the desecration of the war memorials, “The anti-Israel movement is one of the ugliest Australia has ever seen.”
Condemnation of the vandalism by Australia’s politicians was not universal, however. On the far left, Green Party Senator Jordan Steele-John refused to support a motion from a fellow lawmaker condemning the memorials’ desecration. “War memorials are not politically neutral spaces,” Steele-John argued to the Senate.
Adam Brandt – the leader of the Green Party who days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel condemned “Israel’s occupation — declined to comment on whether vandalism is a legitimate form of protest.
Over 17,000 ANZAC soldiers fought in Korea and 60,000 in Vietnam. ANZAC forces also participated in the Gallipoli campaign of World War I.
Australia’s Senate has faced growing calls to recognize a Palestinian state. Recently, Fatima Payman — a newly elected senator and member of the majority Labour party — was suspended by Albanese after voting against the Labour Party’s official position when she supported a Green Party motion for Palestinian statehood.
Meanwhile, the city council of Sydney — one of Australia’s largest and wealthiest cities — last week passed a motion calling on lawmakers to review its investment portfolio to determine whether it is linked to companies which provide arms and other services to the state of Israel. Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, who is not formally affiliated with any political party, backed the idea to move toward adopting the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement.
Such political steps have come amid a surge in antisemitic incidents across Australia.
In just the first seven and a half weeks after the Oct. 7 atrocities, antisemitic activity in Australia increased by a staggering 591 percent, according to a tally of incidents by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
In one notorious episode in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas onslaught, hundreds of pro-Hamas protesters gathered outside the Sydney Opera House chanting “gas the Jews,” “f—k the Jews,” and other epithets.
The explosion of hate also included violence such as a brutal attack on a Jewish man in a park in Sydney in late October.
Pro-Hamas sentiment has also led to vandalism. Last month, the US consulate in Sydney was vandalized and defaced by an unidentified man carrying a sledgehammer who smashed the windows and graffitied inverted red triangles on the building. The inverted red triangle has become a common symbol at pro-Hamas rallies. The Palestinian terrorist group, which rules Gaza, has used inverted red triangles in its propaganda videos to indicate Israeli targets about to be attacked. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), “the red triangle is now used to represent Hamas itself and glorify its use of violence.”
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