by David Virtue on substack
Israel is a success story. And the Arab world cannot stand it.
Why does the Arab world hate Israel? With the possible exception of the UAE, the answer runs deeper than politics or religion. Much of the hatred is driven by antisemitism — that ancient, murderous virus that never fully goes into remission. But there is something more, something that the politically correct academy and the UN resolution writers will never acknowledge.
Israel is a success story. And the Arab world cannot stand it.
No other nation in the Middle East has built a Silicon Valley. No Arab country has made the desert bloom — literally — transforming arid wasteland into some of the most productive agricultural land on earth. No Arab army has demonstrated the battlefield effectiveness of the IDF, which has repelled enemies on multiple fronts simultaneously while its economy kept growing. No Arab nation possesses a nuclear deterrent of the kind Israel is widely believed to hold — the ultimate insurance policy against annihilation.
And no Arab nation knocks on 130 doors offering solutions. They knock on Israel’s.
Some 130 countries actively seek Israeli expertise to upgrade their infrastructure, improve their water systems, and modernize their agriculture. Israel does not merely consume foreign aid — it exports innovation. There is a reason the phrase “Startup Nation” entered the global lexicon, and it was not coined to describe Egypt or Iran.
The numbers make the case better than any polemic. In 2025 — a year in which Israel was fighting a war on multiple fronts — Israeli high-tech GDP reached NIS 352 billion, ($123 billion) an 8.2% increase over 2024. High-tech exports hit $85 billion, representing 58% of all Israeli exports. Exit value reached approximately 7–8% of GDP, an intensity of innovation unmatched by any other advanced economy in the world. The crown jewel was the acquisition of Israeli cybersecurity firm Wiz by Google for $32 billion — a new benchmark for what a small nation under siege can produce. The Israeli shekel appreciated more than 13% against the U.S. dollar over the course of the year. Israeli equity markets rose. Markets, it turns out, distinguish between rhetoric and strategic reality, even when politicians do not.