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Israel: High on Power, Low on Adventure

Sure-fire findings from a ‘best countries’ poll by ‘U.S. News & World Report’

by
Jonathan Zalman
January 22, 2016
Uriel Sinai/Getty Images
An Israeli flag waves outside the Shepherd Hotel in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, August 17, 2009. Uriel Sinai/Getty Images
Uriel Sinai/Getty Images
An Israeli flag waves outside the Shepherd Hotel in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, August 17, 2009. Uriel Sinai/Getty Images

People like to know where they stand: How do I rank compared to others? And how about my looks, my education, and where I live? OK, now that I know, how close am I, or any of these attributes of my life, to being the best? People like this word—best. They’ll pay for it, and U.S. News & World Report, that publication that puts out those college rankings with that blue cover, knows this. Their slogan is “Life Decisions Made Here.”

Here’s another decision U.S. News and World Report will help you make: Is the place in which you live good enough, or the best? Based on its inaugural “best countries in the world” list, which was released this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, you’ll now be able to look at a list that you can navigate with the track of you finger to learn how your home country—or the countries that you’ve visited, or dreamt of visiting, or read about—stack up against one another. (Only 60 countries made the list. See here for the methodology; the survey took into account the responses of 16,000 people, and was conducted in part with the Wharton at UPENN and BAV Consulting.)

For this audience, let’s focus on Israel (or, as I like to call it, Eretz Yis (pronounced “eh-retz yees”)), which came in as the—gasp!—25th best country in the world.

According to the U.S. News and World Report, Israel is:
— Not fun!
— Not sexy!
— Not fashionable!
— Not trendy
— Not place to get good food (what the…?)
— Not a place to enjoy religious freedoms, or gender equality
— Not a favorable tax environment
— Not safe
— Not a good place to start a business
— Not politically stable
— Not a happy place

On the other hand, Israel, according to the survey, is:
— Influential (No. 8 in the world)
— Bureaucratic
— Politically influential
— Powerful (No. 8 in the world, behind Japan)

Here’s the rub, among many rubs. Where are the Israeli Jews to go if they are not happy with this ranking, if they in fact are now ashamed to live in the 25th-ranked country in the world. Well, why not head to one of the top five countries?

3. United Kingdom: Maybe not the best idea, right?

4. United States of America: Maybe not the best idea.

Maybe people looking at Israel from the outside should heed IDF spokesman Peter Lerner’s advice. Or check out the second-best country in the world, Canada.

Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.