On the 75th Anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel

Today, Israel celebrates its 75th anniversary of independence, since its establishment in 1948. It is a moment to reflect on the remarkable achievements we have accomplished in such a short period of time. After thousands of years in the diaspora, a national homeland for the Jewish people was re-established in the land of our ancestors.

In the first decade of its existence, Israel struggled for its survival. Despite being surrounded by unfriendly neighbours, Israel absorbed a wave of migrants and developed innovative agriculture and irrigation techniques to overcome infertile land and water scarcity. Once the initial survival needs were met, we started seeing significant economic progress, with the development of the technology industry and the foundation of the Israeli Space Program. The construction of The National Water Carrier was also a significant step towards making the desert bloom.

The 1970s brought large social changes in Israel, with waves of immigrants from various countries and cultures. Israel also made major steps in hi-tech, industry, and medicine, with many new companies established. By the 1980s, Israel became a hub for technological innovation and entrepreneurship, and multinational corporations started establishing offices in Israel.

The 1990s saw remarkable political change, with the signing of the Oslo Accords and the establishment of the Palestinian Authority. Israeli culture boomed, and the high-tech industry experienced explosive growth. The “Yozma” program was launched to provide incentives to Venture Capital firms to invest in Israeli startups and assisting the tremendous growth of the Israeli start-up ecosystem.

This growth, together with the government’s reform to stabilize the economy, paid off when Israel came out of the 2008 crisis relatively unharmed.

In the 2010s, Tel Aviv was named Startup Capital, and CyberSpark, a national cyber complex, was opened, highlighting Israel's growing prominence in cyber technology. At that time, Israel ranked as the top 10 most powerful and innovative nations.

Israel saw a historic breakthrough in the 2020s with the signing of the Abraham Accords, establishing diplomatic and economic normalization with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and later with Sudan and Morocco.

The Thai-Israeli friendship and diplomatic relationship have been growing steadily. Our bilateral trade is flourishing, and we have joined hands to face global challenges. As before, the State of Israel and the Kingdom of Thailand will keep working together, hand in hand, for the future of peace, security, prosperity, and brotherhood of our beloved nations.

Orna Sagiv is Ambassador of Israel