Bleak reports about Israel warn of Israel’s isolation on the world stage. Michael Ordman, the prolific Israeli online publisher of Good News from Israel, has a different view.
“Media claims that Israel is isolated can be disproved….Medical giant AstraZeneca is partnering Israeli startup Immunai to develop a treatment for IBD (inflammatory bowel disease). Israeli ultrasound is treating patients in a London hospital. And breakthrough Israeli treatments have been approved by the US for cancer and fertility.
“The French President is not friendly to Israel, but his countrymen asked an Israeli security company to help investigate the Louvre heist. The UAE have bought land in Herzliya for their permanent embassy. Thousands of Christians celebrated Sukkot (Tabernacles) in Israel. And the UN’s 52 best villages for tourists include an Israeli kibbutz.
“Sixty airlines are now flying to Israel. US and South Korean companies are partnering Israeli companies to make products varying from airplanes and autonomous cars to air purifiers. And if France doesn’t want to give a platform to Israeli defense companies, customers are happy to schlep to South Korea to see and buy Israeli systems. Germany, for example, has just spent two billion Euros with Israel’s Rafael. And…Israeli desalination technology [has] spread across the Middle East and beyond.”
(Good News From Israel, Michael Ordman, October 26, 2025)
On October 20, the Israeli Health Ministry announced Israeli life expectancy had risen to 83.8 years (85.7 years for women, 81.7 for men) in 2023, fourth place among nations in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), after Japan, Switzerland and Spain.
Its preventable-mortality rate is the second lowest in the OECD (134 deaths per 100,000 people), after Switzerland. The infant mortality rate is also below average (2.7 per 100,000 births).
By emphasizing high-quality preventive medical care and accessible health services, Israel spends significantly less on health care (7.6 percent of GDP) than Austria, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.