When I think about Israel, I think about the Jewish landmarks. I think about the beautiful landscape with the beach, desert, and mountains. I think about the fun things I can do there on vacation, like visiting my family. But I also think about the important things Israel has done to help the world. Israel is a country that is at the forefront of technological innovation. Israeli companies have created and are creating a variety of important innovations including in the areas of security, agriculture, food technology, and artificial intelligence.

One Israeli company, InnovoPro, makes a plant-based protein out of chickpeas. Chickpeas are originally from the middle east so they are common in Israel. They are also the main ingredient in hummus, a staple Israeli food. Chickpeas are a natural source of protein, an essential nutrient, and InnovoPro creates a concentrated version of chickpeas that has a higher percentage of protein. This allows people to eat protein, without relying on animal-based products. Animal-based protein can be less healthy and can also be worse for the environment because of greenhouse gases produced when raising animals. Another benefit of chickpeas is that they are parve so using them makes it easier to cook kosher meals. 

Another Israeli company is Agrint, which makes sensors that can detect weevils inside palm trees. Weevils are beetles that can destroy the tree. Typically, there are no signs of weevils until it is too late to save the tree, however, Agrint allows weevils to be detected earlier on when the trees can still be saved. Saving these trees is particularly important because palm trees are common in Israel and they are the source of both dates and palm oil, which are used in many products. Another benefit of Agrint’s technology is that it reduces the use of pesticides because knowing which trees are infected means that it is possible to only put pesticides on infected trees as opposed to putting them on all trees. Pesticides can be toxic, so reducing them is helpful to the environment.

Beyond plants and agriculture, Israeli companies create innovations in other fields such as artificial intelligence. Percepto is one such artificial intelligence company that makes drones that examine machinery and detect errors using cameras and sensors. Percepto is currently working on something called AIM (Autonomous Inspection and Monitoring). In AIM, drones and robots will work together to check for errors and dangers in machinery. Eventually, these drones and robots could be used instead of the humans that currently do the work of finding problems in machinery. An efficient way of finding problems in machinery can help ensure safety because some of the problems could be dangerous.

These are just a few examples of the many technology companies in Israel. They show all of the important things Israel is doing for safety, the environment, and making the planet a more sustainable place to live.

References:

• https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/tech-news/.premium-the-israeli-startup-with-a-fleet-of-robot-dogs-and-industrial-drones-1.9328220
• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/07/world/middleeast/israel-dubai-entrepreneurs.html
• https://www.timesofisrael.com/chickpea-protein-startup-innovopro-raises-15-million-from-investors/
• https://www.agrint.net‍