Documentary seeks to ‘rebrand’ Israel

By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO–Israel Inside: How a Small Nation Makes a Big Difference, a documentary that will premiere Nov. 29 on a Florida public broadcasting station, is being submitted to various outlets, including KPBS here in San Diego, for possible airing in March. The concept behind it, according to producer Raphael Shore, is nothing short of the “rebranding” of Israel.

If you ask a non-Jewish American who has never traveled to Israel what the place is like, what kind of answers will you receive? From the religious Christians, perhaps, you will hear that it is God’s land–the place where Jesus walked. But secular Americans may have a far less lofty view of it. Many of them believe it is simply a place of conflict, where Arabs and Jews constantly battle one another.

The film introduces us to Prof. Tal Ben-Shahar, who taught classes in “positive psychology” at Harvard University that were so popular among students that they resulted in Ben-Shahar being interviewed on several network news shows, including Sixty Minutes. However, Ben-Shahar decided to return to Israel, after an absence of nearly a decade and a half, to be with his family.

The absence proved an intellectual stimulus: he was able to consider Israel in a new light. He decided that it was no accident that Israel, a small country, is third only to the United States and China in the number of companies with stocks that are traded on international exchanges. He decided there were reasons why Israel is such a leader in technology.

The documentary takes us through six factors that Ben-Shahar says define the Israeli character and which account for the country’s remarkable strides as a leader in technological innovation. In order, they are 1) the family feeling of the entire country; 2) the need to turn adversity to advantage; 3) chutzpah; 4) education; 5) a propensity for taking action, and 6) the concept of tikkun olam.

Producer Shore and director Wayne Kopping do a fine job integrating news footage and on-scene interviews into the documentary to buttress and to illustrate Ben-Shahar’s thesis.

In discussing Israel’s family feeling, Ben-Shahar notes that sometimes it can feel a little intrusive when perfect strangers feel at liberty to tell you that your child is too skinny or that you really should put sun screen on him or her. But the point is, children grow up knowing that they are loved and that people are concerned about them. They feel safe offering their hands to those strangers for help crossing a busy street. And that kind of love and trust builds confidence.

Many Israelis had their lives shaped in the crucibles of the Holocaust, being uprooted from their native countries, and in wars with neighboring Arab countries. The Israel that was reborn in 1948 needed to have swamps drained and deserts irrigated. Israel implemented solar heating long before other people in the world did. Israelis developed drip irrigation. This is what Ben-Shahar means by “turning adversity to advantage.”

Chutzpah? In Ben-Shahar’s view, it means not taking “no” for an answer. If others say it can’t be done, Israelis say it can be done. The documentary shows Israeli-developed mechanical devices that wheelchair-bound paraplegics can pull over their legs, and suddenly be able, with crutches, to walk again. It’s hard not to get a lump in one’s throat watching how overcome with joy these patients become experiencing their new mobility.

Education always has been a top priority for the Jewish people — whether it be in the study of Torah at a cheder, or in wanting to excel in secular subjects. Part of Israel’s advantage, suggests Ben-Shahar, is its openness to multiple answers. It also is developing computerized innovations to learning environments, that make obsolete the image of a teacher lecturing in front of a class filled with bored students.

Ben-Shahar suggests that Israelis are challenged to take action, even when others may discourage it. An example is the “Better Place” company based in Herzliya, which, with the encouragement of no less a figure than Israel’s President Shimon Peres, is attempting to wean Israel off the use of gasoline-powered cars and onto battery driven cars. Besides developing a battery able to last for long distances, the company is installing recharging stations throughout the country. If the technology catches on around the world, it could drastically change the nature of international politics.

The final factor, and it will make you proud, is the emphasis in Israel on the importance of helping others. The notion of tikkun olam (repairing the world) is manifested in the “Save a Child’s Heart” program which offers free, life-saving surgeries for children from around the world (including, in high proportion, the Palestinian territories). It also can be seen in Israel’s rapid response to such disasters as the earthquake that leveled much of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and the tsunami which flooded extensive areas of northern Japan.

This is a documentary in which we Jews certainly will take justifiable pride. Will it be as successful in “rebranding” Israel as the producers hope? Your answer may depend on whether you are optimistic or pessimistic about human nature. Sometimes when you do good things for people, they hate you even more for it. Other times, people genuinely appreciate those who caringly reach out to them.

*
Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com