'"The agreement with the ESA shows that Israel is considered a leading power in the field of space research," Science and Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz told Yedioth Ahronoth.' That won't last long. What about The Education Ministry's chief scientist, Dr. Gavriel Avital who got fired this year for questioning evolution? With Israel's bad education system, and the Haredim who don't learn anything but Torah and Talmud, who have 8 kids per family, how long is Israel going to stay a leader in anything? NO scientists will want to stay in Israel if it is just as backwards as all of the next door countries. Me thinks it's time to wake up.

how pessimistic libel; israel is growing in science even with jews learning just thorah. israel is now memeber at OECD at ESA at cyclotron project etc.....go Israel go

You are wrong. There are loads of Haredim who study at Bar Ilan University. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar-Ilan_University

You can't think clearly (cognitive obfuscation), because of your loathing of Jews and hatred of Israel. Even with all our education problems, we are lightyears ahead of our mideast neighbours and in advance of most other countries including yours. Jealous?

The Israeli government spends peanuts on its space agency. It annual funding is in the millions whilst everybody else spends billions. Obviously we don't have the kind of money that NASA & ESA have to spend but I am sure we have enough to invest a hell of alot more than we already do. Space is the future for both science, business and military and if Israel doesn't start spending real money its going to fall behind and even the likes of Iran will overtake Israel. We need to wake up and start investing in the future and look beyond the spending of individual governments.

looks like the bds movement is "really working". forget it bds guys. you have nothing to offer while israel has 100% successful offerings. hate and envy will never conquer, but, success, innovation and samrt jewish brains will always prevail.

to #1 sour grapes ?

Strangely enough I notice that Australia is nowhere on the list. I wonder why?

Worlds only nations to successfully exterminate an entire people (that would be the Tazmanians whom you cowboys exterminated as "sport"). Yeah, that your history and continued hatred of the Aboriginals, Jews, Israel and any other "non-milk toast" culture. Who the he'll do you think takes the Australian mentality serious? Bigots and along with the Brits, the most hated people in Afghanistan which is why the Afghanis beg for US troops to take over your posts. If you knew how to behave like humans rather than arrogant ignoramuses perhaps you'd produce more than just commedians and troubled movie stars with bad tempers and drinking problems.

James my boy. Please stop embarrassing Australia with your stupidity. Your nonsensical uninformed diatribe only demonstrates Australia's failed education system. Rudd/Gillards Education revolution is not something to be proud of, as is the dumbing down our national curricular to accommodate stupity so it does not effect self esteem. Go and watch Home and Away stay under the radar and leave commenting to those who know what they are talking about. Have a great day "mate"

I know that Israel is a leader in science - especially relative to her backwards neighbours, but did you ever stop to think why that is, and look at the long term threats to it? The long term threat is the Haredim who have 8 kids per family. Almost every comment attacked me but didn't actually reply to me. How can Israel stay a leader in science with the same religious backwardness as her neighbors? It can't. Israel is a leader in science because of the strong presence of Ashkenazim (at least 40%) who are not religious. Was Einstein religious? No. Was Feynman religious? No. Are the creators of Google, both Russian Jews, religious? No, they're not. Are any of the Jewish Nobel Prize winners in the science fields religious? No. It's not too late though.