London should become a tech Tel Aviv-on-Thames
THE STORY of most Jews in the UK, like those of many immigrants, began in East London. In the 19th century, Jewish immigrants fresh off the boat made their homes and businesses in the East End, near to both the trading hubs of the docks and the markets of the City.
When I grew up in London a centurylater,withtheJewishcommunity having largely decamped to quieter suburbs,thatconnectionwiththeold home of Anglo-Jewry seemed like a thing of the past. But, returning as Ambassador for Israel, I have seen London’s eastern reaches become increasinglycentraltoitsfuture—and to that of the relationship between our countries.
Last week, London welcomed the Mayor of Tel Aviv, Ron Huldai — following hot on the heels of Avi Hasson, Israel’s chief scientist, who visited two months ago.
Among the manifold bilateral partnerships on the agenda, was the East End’s growing influence. Why? Because it is home to the capital’s burgeoning technology sector.
Over the past few years, the cluster of hi-tech start-ups in Shoreditch, known as Silicon Roundabout, has blossomed into one of London’s leading industries. According to Tech City, the public organisation overseeing this rapid expansion, 27 per cent of all job growth in London comes from the digital sector.
The economic potential of hitech is far from exhausted — as Israel can testify. Over the past 20 years, high technology in Israel has grown from a niche sector into the engine of the Israeli economy.
Silicon Wadi, as Tel Aviv’s technology hub has been dubbed, is now considered second only to Silicon Valley in terms of its global importance.
In fact, in terms of the number of start-ups created per capita, Israel has surpassed even the US — gaining the epithet “Start-up Nation” in the process.
Hi-tech has also become an integral feature of the economic relationship between Israel and the UK.
Through the UK-Israel Tech Hub at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv — founded at the initiative of Ambassador Matthew Gould in 2011 — and its counterpart in the Economy Department at the Israeli Embassy in London, both governments are promoting technology collaborations, partnering market-leading British corporations with Israeli innovation and offering British Latteland: the success of start-ups in Tel Aviv, with its booming café culture, has shown how new business can help to transform the entire city investors access to the Israeli market.
The scope for this exchange of products and ideas is as much a reflection on Israel’s economic strengths as those of the UK — and of London in particular. The combination of unparalleled access to capital and the vast market for technological solutions provided by the city’s services sector, coupled with a deeply embedded entrepreneurial culture, makes London an ideal place for high-tech to take off.
Indeed, the hi-tech sector may hold the key to the future of urban life itself. The smooth operation of every major city looks set to depend increasingly on technological efficiency. The cities of the future will be smart — highly connected both internally and externally to facilitate a growing demand on infrastructure and resources from expanding populations.
For Israel, whose total area is barely 13 times that of London’s, hi-tech is a great equaliser — a sector that allows small countries without vast natural resources to compete in the global marketplace on knowledge, ingenuity, and chutzpah alone.
In a region too often dominated by disputes over land, hi-tech may offer a way to transcend geography and overcome not just economic but also geopolitical challenges. Ultimately, the test of hi-tech’s value will be its capacity to unlock human potential.
Future cities will be smart and well connected
Daniel Taub is Ambassador of Israel to the Court of St. James’s