High-tech nation

What is it about Israel and hi tech?

No matter what else is going on in the world that affects Jews – air strikes in Syria, murder in Paris, assassination in Argentina, or the barbs thrown at Israel by its enemies – somehow the flow of extraordinary discoveries and inventions, fueled apparently by brainpower, willpower, and overflowing creativity, never seems to end.

Right now, we are focused on something that is not at all new, but is new to this country – Community Based Emergency Care, the program that Jersey City has begun to implement, as we detail on page 6. It is a way to fuse volunteers’ passion, GPS technology, 911 systems, and hospital-provided training to match victims with rescuers as they wait for fully trained EMT technicians and fully stocked ambulances to arrive.

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We are struck by the simplicity and elegance of the solution, which seems entirely obvious, now that someone else has thought of it. (And that, of course, is how elegance is defined.)

We also were struck by its idealism. The organization that is behind CBEC in Israel, United Hatzalah – and that is joining Jersey City and Jersey City Medical Center-Barnabas Health in starting the program here – was created by Eli Beer, an observant Israeli Jew. The “United” in its name, he said, is meant to signal that the service is meant for everyone, Jews, Muslims, and Christians. A life is a life, according to Mr. Beer and his organization, and United Hatzalah, “is about saving people.”

We are not sure what it is that draws Israelis – and for that matter, Jews around the world – to science, technology, and creativity, but whatever it is, we know we like it

We hope that CBEC is successful in Jersey City, that it is adopted by other local municipalities, and that it saves lives. We also hope that the people who benefit from it keep in mind that it came from Israel.