Inside Israel’s Economy Israel Enters the Computer Age

A decade ago it would have seemed inconceivable for Israel to be hosting an international conference on information technology. Yet, due to developments of the past five years in this area, “Israel has now secured a place for itself in the midst of the advanced countries of the western world.”

This claim, by Uzia Galil, chairman of the board of Elbit Computers, Israel’s leading exporter in computer hardware, is indeed indisputable, as seen by the 50 percent increase in computer usage and 100 percent increase in computer manpower in Israel since 1974. With exports growing from $20 million in 1972 to $100 million in 1977, and the Israeli electronic industry expanding nearly threefold during the same time period (from $140 million to $400 million), the computer has reached a respected position in Israel.

Galil contends that this rapid growth is a result of both the defense establishment’s need for electronic and computer systems as well as Israel’s entry into the European Common Market and its emphasis on Israel’s developed computers.

REVEALING ASPECTS OF ISRAEL’S STATUS

This and other revealing aspects of Israel’s place in the world of technology were relayed at the Third Jerusalem Conference on Information Technology, held Aug. 7-9 at Binyanei Haooma. Conference participants numbered approximately 2,000 local individuals and hundreds of visitors from more than 30 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, Thailand, India and France.

Topics discussed included technology transfer (international sharing of scientific and technological advances and development), software and programming languages, computer description and their uses–all for the computer specialist and computer application in geographic mop processing, satellite image processing, medicine, education, environmental health and banking–for the less scientifically oriented layman.

One of the conference’s highlights was the description of a unique computer system developed in Israel which can monitor, control and facilitate the country’s foreign trade. Immediate data on imports and exports is fed into the computer system, on the basis of which it then refines and redefines its participation in international trade.

FOCUS ON SOFTWARE METHODOLOGY

Israel’s unique place in the computer age centers on its growing interest in software methodology. Conference chairman Anthony Ralston, of the U.S., feels that the Israeli computer industry is very capable of exporting software to the U.S. “It is my overall impression that Israel’s minicomputer and microcomputer segments of the industry are heading in the right direction,” Ralston said.

Galil agrees with the increasingly important place of software methodology in Israel’s technological development. As a step in that direction, he notes the need to strengthen the link between the scientific work achieved in the university framework and other technological, innovative efforts aimed at economic growth. This is a lengthy process, aimed at gaining acceptance for the idea that industrial creativeness means at least as much as scientific recognition.

Israel’s technology transfer program with less developed countries was also discussed at the conference. In practice, Israel is carrying out this program with Venezuela, Ecuador and other countries in Latin America and Asia, in the hope that they will benefit from Israel’s progress in such areas as medical diagnosis and the general role of computers in medicine.

Wider popular appeal was secured at the conference with a computerized chess tournament, with three programs from the U.S. and one each from Holland, Switzerland and Canada competing. An international youth competition in computer science, a dancing performance to computer-produced music and the screening of a partly computer produced film.

SUCCESSFUL COMPUTERIZED PROJECTS

The Israeli Ministry of Finance presently operates a government center which centralizes computerized information for the government and public administration. Called the Office Mechanization Center (OMC), it deals with integrative application of computer technology, such as civil service administration, foreign trade, population registers, and inventory control.

Given an ample budget for the upcoming year (IL 130 million), the office plans on expanding its till-now successful computerized projects. “By virtue of last year’s thirty million dollars worth of exports of computer hardware and peripherals, we achieved a balance of exports and imports,” claims Dov Chevion, director of the OMC and co-chairman of the Jerusalem Conference on Information Technology.

The boundaries open to a computerized world are endless, and conference participants agreed that progress in that direction should not be hindered. Galil observed: “Building up a computer in a new environment can be a fascinating experience. The pitfalls are formidable, the risks enormous. But it is feasible… in the post-industrial society of tomorrow, one of the main criteria in grading the quality of a society will be its computer expertise.”