still, most Israelis aren't able to pronounce the words "please", "thank you", "is it possible".... I work with customers and beyond the fact that most of them consider me as their "bro", it's almost about "give me" and "I want"

But many elementary schools are a giant Failure !!! Especially in the sciences,my daughter has had the stupidest science teachers in the world here!

and didn't their moms ever tell them to close their mouth when they eat..? Someone can be intelligent regardless of where they are from but when they lack any class or manners then they loose. The 'cute' term Chutzpah is just an excuse for lacking to understand how to deal with real people outside the bubble of Israel. I am Israeli..

Whining never sounds good. True we arent the most polite, but when we think your haircut or whatever isnt so nice, we will tell you, we wont be polite and say gorgeous when we dont mean it and we wont say thank you and have a great day when we dont really care... And usually we are always there to lend a hand when most needed.

That means Israel created society based on knowledge not on the superstitions and fairy tales. The country is getting rich. I'd like to work in Israel for a while

How perfectly dreadful! In your shoes, I would definitely leave Israel. Why don't you, by the way? Is that why you express such consistent dislike for Israel? Because someone didn't say "please" or "thank you?" You've got some serious issues, bro. Why not take them up in another country? Have you tried Saudi Arabia?

the man using the zimmerframe was too slow for the driver.. Being blunt isnt a unique Israeli thing, its nothing special. its just how its presented..

The question is what kind of education is in Israel. If you follow the hungarian example of education a catastrophe is to come. In Hungary 90% of high school students will be lawyers, economists, journalists, teachers, sociologists and other improductive administrators. Engeeners and technologists are the remaining 10%. Results : no industry, no export, no high tech technology and the total collapse of the whole country.

Gregg and Dahan are perfectly correct. There is no excuse for the sort of barbaric behaviour which is often characteristic in this country. "Manners maketh man". Sarah, you should appreciate that in your position, I'm sure. What would you think of an ill-mannered boorish red-neck American client walking into your law office eh? And by the way, references to Saudi Arabia in your comment are really completely irrelevant. Gregg is staying here, so get used to it.

Not. Generally a good reply to that is "who asked you for your opinion anyway?" That sounds rude to an Israel, and conversely telling people what you think of them even if they didn't ask for an opinion doesn't seem rude to them isn't. It's a weird country we live in, I'll give it that or the survey.

the religious whackjobs know that understanding the Big Bang and evolution undermines their credibility Hence they ensure our children do not learn, or understand it. Why the political elite of Israel send their children to the United States or London to be educated.

I can't comment on Israel's standing among countries regarding education and exact statistics, but I can only relate that from our experience of putting our children through the Israeli gan and school system, they (and we) had the most incredible amazing experiences. They made friends that I believe will be lifelong friends, went on wonderful trips around the country, and had experiences that I just don't believe they could have had in any other country. They had bad teachers and good teachers. They worked together with other kids on many assignments, and learned how to work in groups, they went to dances and parties, celebrated every holiday, and had in general wonderful school years. We were lucky enough not to hear of any bullying or violence taking place in any of the schools they went to, if it did indeed take place, we were not aware of it.

1) The story is about the positive fact that Israel is the second most educated country in the world and not abut anything else. 2) Yes there are rude people in Israel but Israelis as the epitome of rudeness is nothing but a myth. Rude people exist everywhere including the politically correct Europe. Most Israelis are decent and caring people but Israeli culture favors informal directness rather than false politness as is the case in the much of the US and Europe. In recent years service levels have improved dramatically in Israel while they are declining in Europe.

Your comment on this article and others remind me of a story which goes something like this : In a quiz show a beautiful lady took to the stage, The quiz master asked her the question "How much 2+2 equals to"? She answered 5. The crowd roared "once more once more" The quiz master asked the same question and this time she answered 3 and the crowd again roared "once more once more". On asking the same question third time the gorgeous lady answered 4 but the crowd again roared " once more once more" You are like the crowd. No matter what the article, you would say Israel is the best without even applying your mind to it.

I have been both a (graduate) student and a teacher in this country, as well as a parent, and I wonder what this study really reveals. Perhaps we have one of the highest rates of graduation, but what about content? I am often dismayed by the lack of academic skills my children are developing in school, although there is no question their hands-on experiences trump any that I received as a child. While I was studying for my Master's degree, I was shocked by the ignorance of my classmates in the realm of general knowledge. Then again, perhaps this is an unfair judgement, as I was Canadian-educated...

In your former neighbor, the US, many people including people with university degrees are deeply ignorant about the world and can't put many countries correctly on the map.

I'm sorry, but I cannot quite follow your "analogy." I do not waste time watching game shows. I hope you enjoy them, though. Was that polite enough for you?

One of my children goes to an Ivy League college. He tutors fellow "students" -- who have full scholarships -- in reading and arithmetic. (Yes, I said arithmetic; not math.) While my child -- class valedictorian with perfect SAT scores -- pays full freight. That's American education for you, these days. Even the Ivy Leagues have turned into thirteenth grade. All in the name of equality.

So much time is wasted on legends and irrelevant parables. History and literature subjects could use Tanah related explanations, but at significantly reduced proportion than is currently practiced in Israeli schools. Instead, Israeli children could be taught in lower grades how to become productive, respectful, well informed citizens. They could be taught in later grades practical subjects such as math, natural and life sciences, and art. As mentioned in one of the comments, to really get educated Israeli high school graduates need to go abroad. Sometimes they come back and get one of the top jobs in Israel, to keep the country going. But most of the better educated Israelis never come back, unfortunately.

It really bothers you that a country where religion is such a integrated part in society is better educated than atheists in California, huh? We know you so darely hate Judaism, so keep your business in California, it's better for all of us... btw To be all honest, even your average Haredi probably have a higher IQ than your average American...

You certainly appear to waste time on talkbacks on this newspaper.

I based my life on science but I've got nothing, only very expensive bills. Many years ago was clear. You have degree you have better job. Nowadays is more difficult. You have degree but you don't have better paid job. In EU thousand people with degree don't have a job Could someone tell me about Israel.

Discount all who received their degrees before BECOMING Israelis. Not people who were Israeli and went abroad to study, but discount the people who immigrated with degrees. "...there are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third and most aggravated is statistics"

Now if only we can get the Tycoons families to share some of that wealth with the other 99.99999 percent of us! Not mentioned in the article is the fact that many of those college grads will leave Israel to seek opportunities elsewhere because they'll never be able obtain affordable housing or survive the skyrocketing cost of living here. The Ofers, the Dankners, the Tshuvas, the Fishmans and others who account for the 10 biggest business groups in the country and together control some 30 percent of the economy have their own agenda.

Hey Tony, I have been in Delhi and other cities in India many times. Where you can leave your 5 Stars hotel and see dead people in an alley and nobody cares!! Where children as young as five are used as slave labourers. Have you been to Israel?? Perhaps, people there are not always polite and are frank. But they care!! What about you?? Have you ever helped a person in need, especially if not from your cast!!

I'm not sure how ynet gets that 2nd place from the OECD data. Google the report's highlights and look at figure 1.2. Certainly Israel's 55-64 year olds are at the top of the world in tertiary education, but its 25-34 year olds are behind 10 other countries. Israel's 15-19 year olds (see figure 1.3) are 33rd out of 35 in school enrollment.

The report should have stated that Israel comes in FIRST PLACE for accepting a million or two educated immigrants from Russia, and other western countries who brought their all higher degrees with them! They also brought their culture of education with them and promoted it to their Israeli born children. Most of their offspring are now educated, not because of the system, but in spite of it! How did the OECD miss this? The Israeli education system desperately needs a complete overhaul and did not produce these stellar results.