“Have you come to take a spoil?” – Part unknown

Many believers in the Word of God have openly wondered why the power from the North would be attracted to invade Israel in the last days. We know that the divine hand will be involved, for Ezekiel 38 reads, “I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws…” (v.4). But God normally uses natural looking means to accomplish His purpose. That method is evidently true in this case for verse 13 reads, “Sheba, Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all the young lions thereof’ will voice concern over the spoil that the invading forces have come to plunder. The question that comes to our mind is, “What possible spoil could there be to plunder?”

Israel’s economic turn-around

In the Tidings for July, 1991, we examined this question and suggested that the spoil may be a financial one. At the time, the Israeli economy was performing poorly as compared to other nations. The influx of highly educated Soviet Jews, however, provided the possibility of a great impetus to economic development, thereby increasing the “spoil.” The Investor’ s Daily, February, 1993 supports this suggestion by noting that “before immigration, 8.6% of all Israelis had university degrees. So far 40% of the Russians who have immigrated have post-secondary degrees.”

Almost two years after our 1991 observation, it is evident that the immigrant’s learning has been put to good use. Despite continuing turbulence in the region, the Israeli economy has grown by 6% each year (The Economist, March 20, 1993). This is highly significant growth as during this period Israel has been resettling over 250,000 Jews who have arrived primarily from the former Soviet Union. By way of comparison, Germany’s attempt to absorb the former East Germany into the economy has resulted in a major slow-down. Payoffs on such major changes usually take years to materialize.

High-tech industries

The greatest single driving force in the economy is the tremendous growth of Israel’s high-tech industry. This whole segment of the economy was not a positive factor before 1988.

The growth in this area has come in spite of an Arab boycott of all companies operating on Israeli soil and of those doing business with Israel. Ironically, the boycott has helped Israel. Unable to purchase some high-tech equipment and fundamental technology, Israel has had to develop its own. In so doing, it has gained a precious understanding of both technology and the components that serve to make it up.

Today, Israel is known throughout the world as the leader in electro-optical technology and nuclear medicine diagnostics. As well, several Israeli companies are reknowned for their expertise in fiber optical applications, superconductivity and computer software, hardware and firmware.

Investors interested

Bible students are not the only people interested in this incredible emergence of Israeli technology; investors have also taken notice of this phenomena. The Investor’s Daily is quoted as saying that “U.S. investors are salivating over Is­rael.”

In this article and one scheduled for next month, Lord willing, we will document some of the extraordinary high-tech companies that are emerging in Israel today. These are companies that are quickly becoming the financial building blocks of the Israeli economy. They are high-tech companies that may well provide a tremendous “spoil” for the invading Northern power.

In 1988, Koor Enterprises represented what Israeli business was all about. Openly traded on the AMEX exchange, Israel’s largest company teetered on the brink of insolvency. Between 1987 and 1990, the company accumulated almost $1 billion of losses and $1.23 billion of debts to foreign and Israeli banks. The Economist Magazine (April 3, 1993) reported that “since 1991, when bank­ruptcy was staved off, Koor’s resurrec­tion has been nothing short of miraculous.” On March 31, the firm announced earnings of $136 million on sales of $2.2 billion, the largest post-tax profits of any of Israel’s publicly quoted companies.

Company	Exchange	As of 10/1/88	As of 4/393
Ampal	NASDAQ	1.5	8.25
Arit Optics	NASDAQ	1.5	6
ECI Tele12 for 1 split, 1991	NASDAQ	3.75	70
Elscient	NYSE	1.25	6.4
Elron Electr	NASDAQ	3	26
Fibronix	NASDAQ	3.25	9
Rada	NASDAQ	1.25	8
Scitex22 for 1 split, 1990	NASDAQ	5.75	85
Teva Pharm	NASDAQ	6.75	45

Koor today easily represents what Israeli business is about. It is leading the way in establishing a strong and vibrant Israel.

Listed below is a short sample of how share prices have risen in U.S. dol­lars in several other Israeli companies.

These companies are merely a sam­pling of Israel’s blossoming high-tech industry. The list does not include privately held companies or Israeli-based divisions of foreign companies.

It is interesting that a number of the smaller companies in this field are organizations that have been built from the ground up by Russian immigrants.