This week I attended the country’s largest security event in Birmingham. I would be the first to admit I’m not so techno-savvy so the prospect of walking into an exhibition hall with 600 companies displaying complex technology with some pretty headache-inducing explanations was overwhelming to say the least.
But what I came away with after a full day of intense interviews was a simple lesson about the contribution Israel makes to our every day lives.
As soon as I entered the gigantic NEC hall on Monday I was hit by a wave of Hebrew accents more suited to Ben Yehuda Street than the Midlands.
As I made my way around as many of the Israeli companies I could, I was immensely impressed and proud of the impact Israel has on the industry.
How could such a small company have such a large presence at an international event?
Israel is making huge leaps and bounds in the security area and the UK government, police, universities and schools are all listening. And who else would we want to make our homes safer and police forces better but Israel?
It’s times like this when I think about how those that support a boycott of Israel go about their daily lives.
They may believe that protesting at their local Tesco encouraging shoppers not to buy Jaffa oranges shows their dedication to the cause but are they really willing to give up their Yale locks and keys because the company behind them has merged with an Israeli company, or allow crimes to go unnoticed because police won’t use groundbreaking CCTV technology developed in Jerusalem’s Hebrew University or sit by while prisoners escape because the pioneering detection system is made in Israel.
And how about throwing away their Sky boxes, Microsoft computers, Amazon kindles, memory sticks, mobile phones or even their life saving drugs?
I highly doubt they are willing to go this far which once again shows how superficial and destructive the boycott movement is.
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