More than a thousand ultra orthodox Jews protested noisily outside an Intel Israel plant yesterday and today over its continued production through the Sabbath. For you gentiles out there we used to have our own too, it was called Sunday. Intel Israel is one of that country’s largest companies, with nearly $1.4 billion in exports through 2008  according to Reuters. The company has been operating in the Jewish state for a quarter of a century and employs an increasing number of citizens every year. A $3.5 billion investment in the country saw a recent plant go up just last year and another plant employing a further 150 people is opening in the near future. Now this is where Wes the political geography major takes over from Wes the industry trends blogger. Take it away Wes.

Thanks Wes. On top of all the struggles that the Jewish state faces both internally and externally, I think that protesting one of the major investors and employers in the region over their own choice as a private company to work on a particular day of the week, potentially does more harm than good to the cause of Jewish nationalism.  Israel has become a technology and software leader in this world because of investments from major players like Intel who now employs over 5,000 Israelis after choosing Israel as its first design and develop center outside the U.S. in 1974. The company is recognized and lauded for its investment in the country by Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor. Now the training and experience and innovation of companies like Intel that took a chance on Israel early has spun off into numerous tech start-ups in the region. According to the Haaretz the high-tech sector contributes just over half of all Israel’s industrial exports. And once again, Intel is the largest single exporter in this group.

I’m sensitive to the religious and cultural practices and nuances of all this world’s peoples with few exceptions- namely when those practices hurt innocent life (human or animal) or spread bigotry and ignorance etc etc etc. I’m a raging liberal in short, and my tolerance level for all things “other” is quite high. Far be it from me to intellectually meddle in any country or nation’s affairs, least of all Israel’s, but I will in this case.

Investment in Israel, like Intel’s, has been and will continue to be a crucial component in creating a prosperous and vibrant country. Without it Israel is left with far less economic power, and therefore little budget for infrastructure, education and its defense. While it can rely militarily on allies who have supported its inception and growth there’s a point where it’s in the best interest of a country and its peoples to allow a certain amount of business to go on- even if it’s on the Sabbath, Christmas, Robbie Burns Day or any other group’s sacred day.  While Israel is by design a nation-state and the Jewish faith plays an integral role in all aspects of its existence, perhaps Israel’s ultra-orthodox (like the evangelical Christians of America) need to be reminded that we can’t always have our cake and eat it too. It’s not a perfect world where all observances are carried out without infringement or conflicts of interest; including our own interests. In America they still teach evolution in schools (well most schools) and in Israel Intel works on the Sabbath. Worse things, worthy of protesting, can and do happen in both countries.

If Israel’s ultra-orthodox want their own Jewish state they, like all others on this planet, might have to realize that they’ll need to make concessions and compromises. Without investment like Intel’s that have helped to foster Israel’s technology sector and served to define the country as a technology leader, the future security and quality of life in Israel is challenged. This is the very opposite of what the ultra-orthodox want.  By protesting the competitive and driven business culture of major employers like Intel the orthodox in effect are protesting the economic health and security of their nation-state. So in the end, protests like these serve only to shoot these protesters in their own collective foot. It’s not in their best interest.

Besides, isn’t protesting a lot of hard work?