Israel at 75: A Nation Blessing the Whole World75歲的以色列：一個祝福全世界的國家

As Israel marks 75 years since its modern rebirth in 1948, the whole world should be joining the celebrations. For centuries, the Jewish people were scattered among the nations. But the Lord promised that one day He would regather them to their ancient homeland and use them to bring great benefits to the entire world.
“And it shall come to pass that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you shall be a blessing.” (Zechariah 8:13)
That day has surely arrived! For over seven decades now, Israel has overcome many challenges to become the Start-Up Nation, leading the world in important advances in agriculture, the environment, science, technology and medicine.
Consider that the Jewish people came back to a barren land, but they have brought the desert back to life. In the 1950s, Israel first built the National Water Carrier to bring fresh water to the Negev, making the desert blossom like a rose, just as the prophet Isaiah foresaw.
“The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.” (Isaiah 35:1)
By the 1960s, Israel was a world leader in conserving and recycling water. Today, the nation re-uses 85% of its water supply.
Israelis also invented drip irrigation and water desalination methods that are now being used around the world.
In 1965, Israeli engineer Simcha Blass noticed that one of two adjacent trees was growing faster because of a leaking water pipe next to it. He launched Netafim, which today supplies drip irrigation systems in 112 countries worldwide.
In addition, they have planted over 300 million trees, which both beautify the land and filter out carbon emissions from the air.
“This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden…” (Ezekiel 36:35)
Did you know that Israel also invented the long-shelf cherry tomato? Indeed, Israeli fruit and produce, such Jaffa oranges and Medjool dates, are popular exports around the world.
“Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.” (Isaiah 27:6)
Later, Israel emerged as one of the most innovative nations on earth. Did you know that Israelis developed the first microprocessor for personal computers?
The first firewall to protect computers from data theft?
In 1993, the Israeli start-up Checkpoint developed the first information security software program, called Firewall-1, to protect computers from data theft.
And the world’s first USB memory stick?
In 1999, an Israeli techie introduced the Disk-on-Key, the world’s first portable USB memory storage device, later bought by SanDisk. These small, handy devices are known today as flash drives or data sticks.
In medicine, Israeli researchers invented the PillCam – a little camera that you swallow which allows doctors to detect diseases inside us without invasive surgery.
They also have come up with a phone that can diagnose diseases through smell. And then there is ReWalk – a battery-packed ‘exoskeleton’ which allows the disabled to walk again.
The list of Israeli innovations goes on and on.
They gave us WAZE, the first driver assistance phone program with real-time traffic information.
It was started as an open-source project called ‘FreeMap Israel’ in Tel Aviv back in 2006.
It has over 150 million users worldwide, being the second most downloaded driving app.
It was bought by Google in 2013 for $1.1 billion and its 100 employees then received an average of $1.2 million, the largest payout to Israeli hi-tech in history.
The new Watergen system produces clean drinking water out of thin air. This new Israeli company that has developed a portable generator which produces pure drinking water from humidity in the air.
Plus, let’s not forget Israel’s pioneering work in the field of solar energy.
And now we have MobileEye, a leader in the race for self-driving cars. The Israeli company Mobileye has partnered with leading car manufacturers to pioneer the safest, most reliable computer-assisted driving programs.
It was launched by a Hebrew University professor and is is the largest Israel IPO in US history, raising $890 million.
MobileEye cameras are already used in cars built by BMW, GM, Volvo, and other automakers. It was acquired by Intel in 2017 for $15.3 billion and is now valued at $17 billion.
And then there is the Iron Dome, the world’s most effective anti-missile system to defend civilian populations from rocket attacks.
The mobile Iron Dome missile battery, developed mostly in Israel with joint US funding, has quickly proven to be the world’s most effective short-range anti-rocket interceptor, with a shoot-down rate of 95%, and now being sold to other nations.
The mobile batteries were developed by Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries and first deployed in 2011.
So, Israel has truly been blessing the whole world over its first 75 years as a nation restored to life. And God remains “zealous” to perform all His good promises and plans for Israel.
“I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; With great fervour I am zealous for her.” (Zechariah 8:2)
So, we join with the Jewish people in celebrating seventy-five years of the restored nation of Israel – a great blessing in the midst of the earth!
75歲的以色列：一個祝福全世界的國家
以色列自1948年迎來現代復國以來75週年，全世界都應該加入慶祝活動。幾個世紀以來，猶太人分散在各國。但主應許，有一天祂會將他們重新聚集到他們古老的家園，並利用他們為整個世界帶來巨大的利益。
「猶大家和以色列家啊，你們從前在列國中怎樣成為可詛咒的；照樣，我要拯救你們，使你們得福。不要懼怕，你們的手要堅強。」（撒迦利亞書8章13節）
那一天肯定已經到來了！七十多年來，以色列克服了許多挑戰，成為「初創國家」，在農業、環境、科學、技術和醫學方面的重要進步引領世界。
想想看，猶太人回到了貧瘠的土地，但他們卻讓沙漠恢復了生機。20世紀50年代，以色列首次修建國家輸水船，將淡水輸送到內蓋夫，讓沙漠如玫瑰般綻放，正如先知以賽亞所預見的那樣。
「曠野和乾旱之地必然歡喜，沙漠也必快樂；又如玫瑰綻放，」（以賽亞書 35:1）
到 20 世紀 60 年代，以色列在節約用水和循環利用方面已處於世界領先地位。 如今，該國 85% 的供水被重複利用。
以色列人還發明了滴灌和海水淡化方法，目前已在世界各地使用。
1965年，以色列工程師西姆查·布拉斯(Simcha Blass)注意到，相鄰的兩棵樹中的一棵由於旁邊的水管漏水而生長得更快。他創立了耐特菲姆 (Netafim)，該公司如今為全球 112 個國家提供滴灌系統。
此外，他們還種植了超過3億棵樹，既美化了土地，又過濾了空氣中的碳排放。
「他們必說：『這荒蕪之地，現在成了像伊甸園一樣；這荒涼、荒廢、毀壞的城鎮，現今堅固，有人居住。』」（以西結書 36:35）
您知道以色列還發明了長保質櫻桃番茄嗎？事實上，以色列的水果和農產品，如雅法橙子和 Medjool 椰棗，是世界各地受歡迎的出口產品。
「將來雅各要扎根，以色列要發芽開花，果實遍滿地面。」 （以賽亞書 27:6）
後來，以色列成為地球上最具創新力的國家之一。 您知道以色列人開發了第一個用於個人計算機的微處理器嗎？
第一個保護計算機免遭數據盜竊的防火牆？
1993年，以色列初創公司Checkpoint開發了第一個信息安全軟件程序，名為Firewall-1，以保護計算機免遭數據盜竊。
那麼世界上第一個 USB 記憶棒呢？
1999 年，一位以色列技術人員推出了 Disk-on-Key，這是世界上第一款便攜式 USB 存儲設備，後來被 SanDisk 收購。 這些小型、方便的設備如今被稱為閃存驅動器或數據棒。
在醫學領域，以色列研究人員發明了 PillCam——一種可以吞下的小相機，可以讓醫生在不進行侵入性手術的情況下檢測我們體內的疾病。
他們還發明了一款可以通過氣味診斷疾病的手機。 還有 ReWalk——一種裝有電池的「外骨骼」，可以讓殘疾人再次行走。
以色列的創新清單不勝枚舉。
他們為我們提供了 WAZE，這是第一個提供實時交通信息的駕駛員輔助電話程序。
它於 2006 年在特拉維夫作為一個名為“FreeMap Israel”的開源項目啟動。
它在全球擁有超過 1.5 億用戶，是下載量第二大的駕駛應用程序。
它於 2013 年被谷歌以 11 億美元收購，其 100 名員工平均獲得 120 萬美元，這是以色列高科技歷史上最大的一筆支出。
新的 Watergen 系統憑空生產出清潔的飲用水。 這家新的以色列公司開發了一種便攜式發電機，可以利用空氣中的濕度生產純淨的飲用水。
另外，我們不要忘記以色列在太陽能領域的開創性工作。
現在我們有了 MobileEye，它是自動駕駛汽車競賽的領導者。 以色列公司 Mobileye 與領先的汽車製造商合作，開發最安全、最可靠的計算機輔助駕駛程序。
它由希伯來大學的一位教授發起，是美國歷史上最大的以色列首次公開募股，籌集了 8.9 億美元。
MobileEye 攝像頭已用於寶馬、通用汽車、沃爾沃和其他汽車製造商製造的汽車中。 它於2017年被英特爾以153億美元收購，目前估值為170億美元。
然後是鐵穹，這是世界上最有效的反導彈系統，可以保護平民免受火箭襲擊。
移動鐵穹導彈電池主要在以色列與美國聯合資助下開發，很快就被證明是世界上最有效的短程反火箭攔截器，擊落率高達 95%，目前正在出售給其他國家 。
該移動電池由 Rafael 和以色列航空航天工業公司開發，並於 2011 年首次部署。
所以，以色列確實一直在祝福世界在第一個 75 年裡作為一個國家恢復了生機。 神仍然「熱心」地履行祂對以色列的所有美好應許和計劃。
「「萬軍之耶和華如此說：我為錫安而妒忌，大大妒忌；我為了它妒忌而大發烈怒。」 （撒迦利亞書 8:2）
因此，我們與猶太人一起慶祝以色列國復國七十五週年——這是地球上的一個偉大祝福！