And so is Tel Aviv. It far outweighs in value some of the big countries on the planet because of its knack for knowing what to do with its intelligence and employing the latest technology to solve practically every problem. For all of its 20,770 square kilometers, Israel, as of 2014, has a per-capita income of $36,151, the 25th highest in the world. By comparison, the United Kingdom, as per World Bank data, is at $39,337; Japan, $38,492; Italy, 34,619; and the Philippines, $2,765. The Philippines covers 300,000 sq km, but our per-capita income is only at par with Bhutan, at $2,498; Bolivia, $2,868; and Nigeria at $3,006.

But the secret to their success, according to Israel Ambassador Effie Ben Matityau, is the quality of whatever they do: “We say that necessity is the mother of invention. Israel always looks at qualitative edge, not quantitative edge. We can never survive in a harsh region that we are located in politically, geo-climatically. We cannot survive without technology.”​

“Israel’s economy had been based on high technology, having done away with traditional economy or limited segment of traditional economy,” Ben Matityau said during an exclusive interview. “In many ways, Israel is one of the most entrepreneurial adventures of the 20th century—creating something from nowhere. We are a new state; we created more from scratch.”

He added that it is also about creating the right environment and leadership “to create the infrastructure.”

Ben Matityau, who just assumed his post in August, stressed, “That was Israel’s leadership challenge from day one. Israel is an enterprise, one of the biggest enterprises and innovations. We need a very innovative mind in order to succeed in that.”

“Routine won’t work. We see countries that are stuck in routine. They had serious issues to future development,” the Israeli envoy related as we talked in his 10th-floor office at Bonifacio Global City.

“How can we keep abreast with developed countries? The Philippines has been left behind by our Asian neighbors. We missed the boat on the road to industrialization,” we asked.

“There is no such thing as missing the boat. Unfortunately, you missed one boat, so the others are ahead of you. But the boats are always coming. The question is: Can you speed up? Nobody misses the boat. The Philippines is going to continue its march on the road,” he added.

He saw that one of the biggest difficulties for most developing economies, like the Philippines, is the large number of people required, which translates to manpower that has very little contribution to the gross domestic product.

“We have to reverse the situation. We have to make sure that the amount of people in agriculture is going to go dramatically down, free this manpower to work in sectors that are sophisticated, sectors that has much added value and much better salaries,” he replied.

The Israeli ambassador said we keep on practicing only basic agriculture. He said one must make sure that those who are going to be freed from farms move into the industrial world, technological world, especially with the young generation. He said the farmer is going to be a better farmer, while others can study computers or services, freeing them from the burden of being farmers.

“Let them fly,” he admonished.

Told that many Filipino farmers own as much as 3 hectares as provided by the country’s land-distribution system, Matityau said that setting aside politics, 10 hectares can produce enormous amount of wealth. An Israeli farmer with 10 hectares using a combination of technology, know-how and skills is a well-to-do farmer, he revealed.

Unlike in the Philippines where a dairy farmer can get something like 2,000 to 3,000 liters of milk per cow per year, a cow in Israel under intensive growing produces an average of 12,000 liters per year, he boasted.

“Now, the idea is not to turn everything upside down and make the cow in the Philippines produce 12,000 liters,” he warned. “But rather, make sure that the process is going to bring him a much higher yield.”

The secret, he said, is “research and development, trial and error, and eventually coming out with the best formula and how it works.”

Israel is a country that made the dessert bloom, coaxing quality produce from the sand, using as little water as possible, and supplying the rest of Europe in winter, when fruits and vegetables are hard to come by.

“The Israeli way is a process that combines the know-how, technology, skills  and creating a good product in the process,” he added.

Applied to a Philippine setting, Matityau is saying that local dairy farmers have to experiment and find out the best breed that could withstand our tropical clime, and maybe the right feed, patience and proper care would eventually result in a cow that could produce more milk than the traditional way.

“This is something that takes time. It always involved trial and error, especially with something new, always. But if you are not there, nothing is going to happen,” he said.

But aside from producing quality milk in enough quantity, the ambassador also said that we must be able to find the market that would buy at a premium price.

“The most important thing in the value chain is to identify the best market possible in order to get the highest return of investment. Farming until now is a way of life. It should be way of life, but an adaptable way of life, and maybe this way of farming will change to adjust itself to the necessities of the modern economy,” he explained.

“If you are engaged in high-end agriculture products, think about countries desperate for fresh produce during the long winter. That is exactly how the Israeli agriculture was built. It’s an agriculture that caters to higher end users in very advanced markets. Because of that, we are able to invest in infrastructure,” he added.

Again, Ben Matityau said that it is not simply producing copious amounts of milk, or banana, mango or coconuts, “but looking elsewhere across the globe, in a global economy, to sell the quality milk or other high-end products in sufficient quantify to those who would accept them in container ships for as long as we are able to provide competitively.”

Aside from agriculture, Ben Matityau said the country should also open itself to the wonders of information technology (IT).

He said Israel is a country with the highest number of start-ups in IT after Silicon Valley: “There is not a single major company in the IT sector that doesn’t have a research and development element [in Israel].”

“This is something we went through, and we have a lot of experience and knowhow and a lot of ability to share,” he said. He added that the Philippines is a very friendly country and natural partner to the IT experience.

“We talk about the ecosystem, how to create an ecosystem of innovation, excellence and entrepreneurship, which are the ingredients that brought Israel to what it is today. As Warren Buffet said, if you are looking for innovation, you have to partner in Tel Aviv,” he explained.

“Do you think we have the necessary brains to cope with that?” we asked.

“The Philippines has no shortage of brains. There are young students, great institutions to capitalize on the very eager and motivated young generation,” he replied.

Our interview segued to the core of Philippine-Israel friendship, which dates back to the Second World War, when President Manuel Quezon opened the country’s doors to 1,300 Jews fleeing Hitler’s Germany. Next year would be the 75th anniversary of this event.

Ben Matityau rued that many Filipinos don’t have a clue of what it was all about.

“What President Quezon did was not just for us Jewish people to cherish, but rather in the context of telling the nations to appreciate what the Philippines did, in total contrast to what most other nations did, which was to turn their backs on those who were most needing physical and spiritual comfort at the time,” he said. “This tragedy is haunting them until now. This is a question of morality.”

In contrast, he said President Quezon reached the highest moral ground with his decision.

Ben Matityau told President Aquino that Israel has 1,301 good reasons to thank the Philippines as a role model to the world, not just in relation with Israel.

He said many more Jews could have come to the Philippines had the Second World War not intervened.

“Again, it’s really the intention and open heart. It’s not just an issue of us and the Philippines. It’s the Philippines among the other nations. It’s a part of the story, especially in Europe, those struggling with the implications of World War II,” he added.

“The Philippines stands out as a unique story. It is going to be our agenda for next year, together under the banner of ‘Thank You, Philippines.’”