For Israel, social impact means moving from “Start-Up Nation” to “Impact Nation.” It means creating a more even playing field for all our citizens. It means harnessing Israel's technological capabilities and using them for the greater good, integrating that into trends of inclusivity and diversity, and empowering the “have-nots” in Israel to bring the entire population onto an equal standard. I agree that social impact is a very flexible term. I consider that to be an advantage, at least for the moment.

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Because we are well positioned at this point in time to push forward the maximization of our technological prowess for societal good - both in Israel and abroad. There are so many examples that demonstrate this. One example I'm particularly fond of: the Social Equality Ministry has a unit called Digital Israel, and they are doing a lot to bring the digital revolution into the periphery - which can be geographic, socio-economic, or both. One of the wonderful programs they have within the framework of CampusIL is an online free course for the Israeli SATs, which is being taken advantage of today by more than 35% of the population. Taking a private course is quite expensive, so this is a game changer - an equalizer. I think that’s the importance of being Impact Nation.

When you look at the discourse in Israel, it becomes very clear that Israel is a country where we disagree about a lot, but there’s consensus about the need for social equality. It's in our historical DNA, of course; well-known illustrations of this include the kibbutz and our Declaration of Independence, there are many others. The beginnings of this as a recent trend go back about a decade, but we have to give President Rivlin a lot of credit  for giving his “Four Tribes” speech in 2015. He made a very powerful statement there: “To ensure the partnership between us, we must ensure that no citizen is discriminated against, nor favored, simply because they belong to a specific sector.” That speaks volumes. This is a statement that Israelis locked into.

Israel can definitely improve its performance vis-à-vis OECD comparatives. But in the last decade, particularly, there’s been a consistent increase in spending for social issues, social equality, social investment, protection of the weak or vulnerable. All that is happening in real terms relative to the increase in the GDP. The focus today in Israel, apropos President Rivlin’s speech, is to really zoom into the Israeli Arab community and the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community especially. Regarding Israeli Arabs: in 2016, Israel embarked on the implementation of Government Resolution 922, a 5-year plan for the expenditure of at least 12 billion shekels, which is finding its expression throughout the country. It’s bringing Israeli Arab entrepreneurs into high tech, doubling the number of students in university, improving transportation issues, reinforcing community safety - because you have to have community safety to have economic development. It’s all connected. What’s different about this plan of action - as opposed to other declarations of intent in the past - is that it's a holistic program actually being implemented; it’s not just a declaration of intent. The money is flowing. There is a very deep commitment to the implementation and success of this program in Israel.

In general terms, we’re talking about investment, but also efficiency in the implementation of investment: local authorities, infrastructure, education, economy, employment, community safety. High-tech accelerators are being set up throughout the country. Israel Arab entrepreneurs are being brought out of their communities into Tel Aviv. Israeli Jewish investors who have the benefit of the network, the benefit of military service, are being brought in to help Israeli Arabs break longstanding glass ceilings. The Israel Innovation Authority is providing more incentives and investment financing. I think we are really seeing it in the universities more than anywhere else at the moment. The number of Arab students enrolled in higher education has been doubled in the last few years, almost to the point of representing their percentage in the population. 17% in bachelor’s degree, for a population which is 20% of Israel. In computer science, which is really important for Start-Up Nation, there is a 50% rise. For doctorate students, a 60% rise. It is estimated that Israeli Arab students now account for at least one-third of the Technion's student body. There are scholarships for excellence in advanced degrees, for hiring Arab faculty members. And of course all of this is happening through a very holistic approach. When it comes to education, it starts in high school. To jumpstart Israeli Arab students and make sure they are as prepared as possible when they get to university.

We’re doing it in a number of ways. First of all, because what we are talking about here isn’t necessarily well-known, there’s a lot of awareness raising that needs to be done in a number of ways, such as getting people to meet other people and their counterparts. Recently Mariam Kabha, our National Commissioner for Equal Employment Opportunities, was here in Washington and met with her counterpart in the US administration. She is Israel's highest-ranking civil service official from the Arab community. Obviously when such officials come from Israel, we do our best to expose them to a lot of the people and programs that are relevant to conversations about social equality. Also, sharing best practices that can work both ways is an issue we are actively pursuing. As part of the Foreign Ministry, we’re involved in assisting a number of Israeli NGOs, notably in the field of technology for minorities, to share successful models with communities in the United States. That’s a win-win situation for strengthening of the Israel-US relationship.