Israeli innovations

ZAKA is an Israeli volunteer emergency response organisation founded in 1995 to bring order, dignity, and compassion to the most devastating scenes of terror and disaster. Its mission is grounded in a central principle of Jewish law: the dead must be sanctified, and every part of a person’s body must be returned for burial. This obligation, chesed shel emet , (true kindness), is considered one of the highest mitzvot because it is given to someone who can never repay it. ZAK

Founded in Israel in 2015 by designer Pablo Kaplan, Wheelchairs of Hope makes bright, sturdy wheelchairs for kids who need them most. Each one costs under 100 dollars to build and is tough enough to roll over dirt roads and rocky ground. Working with UNICEF and the World Health Organization, the team has delivered thousands of chairs across Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. For many kids, it is their first real chance to go to school, play with friends, or move ar

Rummikub was invented in the 1940s by Ephraim Hertzano, a Romanian Jew who emigrated to Israel after the war. Banned from playing card games under the Communist regime, he created his own version using small tiles instead. From his kitchen table in Tel Aviv, Hertzano began selling sets door to door. What started as a family pastime soon spread across Israel, and later the world. By the 1970s, Rummikub had become one of the best selling games in America, winning Game of the

In the Negev desert, Israel has built one of the world’s most striking renewable-energy projects: the Ashalim Solar Tower. Construction began in 2014, turning a stretch of empty desert into a vast field of possibility. Over more than three square kilometres, around 50,000 computer-controlled mirrors now track the sun throughout the day and direct its light toward a central tower. The concentrated heat is then converted into steam and finally into electricity. The tower has

After the Gulf War, when Iraqi Scud missiles hit Israeli cities in 1991, Israel changed its building code. From 1993, every new home had to include a reinforced security room known as a mamad. It looks like any other room, but it has: concrete walls reinforced ceiling steel blast door sealed window designed to protect against missile fragments and chemical threats. The room is built into the structure of the home itself. It is used every day as a regular room, perhaps a bedr

The Michal Sela Forum was founded in 2020 with a clear goal: zero domestic violence murders each year. Named in memory of Michal Sela, who was murdered by her partner, the forum focuses on prevention. The forum runs Safe@Home hackathons, in which engineers, designers and security experts come together to build practical tools to stop violence before it escalates. A hackathon is a short, intensive event where teams design and prototype solutions to a defined problem. One proj

David’s Sling is the middle layer of Israel’s multi-levelmissile defence system. It was developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in partnership with the United States Missile Defense Agency. The program began in the mid-2000s in response to the growing threat of longer-range and precision missiles. After years of development and testing, in 2017 it became operational with the IDF. It is designed to intercept medium to long range rockets, cruise missiles, advanced dron

Waves Audio was founded in Israel in 1992 and remains Israeli-owned and led by its original founders. It develops professional audio software, known as plugins, used in recording studios around the world. These tools shape how music is mixed and mastered. Waves has been, and continues to be, a staple in global music production. If you listen to a modern album, a film soundtrack or a live broadcast, there is a strong chance Waves software helped shape the final sound. Wa

Teva sandals didn’t invent sandals, and they didn’t invent footwear for water. What they did was rethink what a sandal could be used for. Teva was founded in Israel in the mid-1980s by a rafting guide who wanted a shoe that could handle water, rocks, heat, and long days on foot, without slipping off or falling apart. The result was a simple but durable design: secure straps, supportive soles, and comfort that lasted beyond the beach. Teva turned the water sandal from some

Waze began with a simple idea: people on the road know what is actually happening better than any central authority. What began as the project "FreeMap Israel" in 2006, Waze changed how navigation works by trusting people on the road to report what was actually happening, rather than relying only on centrally updated maps. Drivers share real-time information about accidents, road closures, hazards, and congestion, and that information is instantly reflected for everyone else

Yedidim, which means “friends,” is an Israeli volunteer network built on a simple idea: when someone is stuck, help them.It was founded in 2006 by Meir Ben Shushan, who noticed how often people were left stranded by everyday problems like flat batteries or locked cars. He began organising volunteers so neighbours could help neighbours quickly, free of charge, and without fuss.What started as a small, local effort grew steadily. In a country where formal roadside help is limi

Netafim began in the 1960s on a kibbutz in the Negev, where water was scarce and farming was failing. Instead of giving in to the elements, a small group of Israelis built a different way to irrigate crops. They developed drip irrigation, delivering water directly to plant roots, drop by drop. It used less water and produced higher yields. It worked in climates where traditional farming could not. Of course, such a brilliant idea spread. Today, variations of Netafim’s sys

Leket Israel began in 2003 with a simple idea. Good food should not be wasted while people go hungry. Food rescue exists elsewhere, but Leket turned it into a national, coordinated system. Leket links farms, manufacturers, institutions, and charities into a single logistics network designed to work at scale. A core part of its work is rescuing fresh produce that would otherwise be left in fields. Instead of letting surplus food rot or be discarded, Leket steps in at the m

Save a Child’s Heart (SACH) is an Israeli medical humanitarian project performing free, life-saving heart surgery for children who have no access to the care they need. It was founded in 1995 at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon by Israeli surgeon Dr Ami Cohen and a volunteer team who believed a child’s chance at life should not depend on where they are born. The model is simple and radical: children from developing countries are flown to Israel, housed, operated on, and retu

Mobileye is one of Israel’s biggest success stories in technology and road safety. Founded in Jerusalem in 1999 by Professor Amnon Shashua, the company developed computer-vision technology that helps cars “see” the road. Its system uses cameras and advanced software to detect other vehicles, pedestrians, lane markings and potential hazards in real time. By the early 2010s, Mobileye was already being built into cars by major manufacturers, helping reduce crashes by warning dri

Remilk is a new Israeli food tech company that makes real dairy without animals. Instead of cows, it uses a yeast fermentation process that creates milk proteins that are identical to the ones found in regular milk. Israeli scientists developed a process that uses only a fraction of the land, water and energy normally needed for dairy production. The result looks, cooks and tastes like dairy, but without animals, antibiotics or the environmental cost that comes with tradition

Iron Beam is Israel’s new laser-based defence system. It uses a high-energy laser to destroy rockets, mortars and drones in mid-air. Because it uses electricity instead of missiles, each interception costs only a few dollars (often quoted as US $2–5 per shot), compared with missile interceptors that can cost tens of thousands. It works alongside the Iron Dome and other defence systems, adding another layer of protection for Israeli communities. Early tests show it can inter

Bamba looks like a simple peanut snack, but in Israel it became something much bigger. For years Israeli parents gave it to their babies because it was soft, easy and everywhere. What no one realised at first was that this everyday snack was shaping an entire generation. For a long time doctors in many countries advised parents to keep nuts away from babies. In Israel the opposite happened by accident. Babies ate Bamba early, and researchers later discovered that Israel had

Founded in 1983 at Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu in northern Israel, BioBee began as a small kibbutz project and grew into a world leader in biological pest control and natural pollination. Long before most people understood the global importance of bees to food security and ecosystems, BioBee was already showing how farming could work in harmony with nature. The company breeds beneficial insects that protect crops from pests and exports bumblebees for pollination and predatory mites

Founded in 2009 by Israeli inventor Arye Kohavi, Watergen creates drinking water from the air using solar energy and condensation. Its machines range from small household models to industrial units that can produce hundreds of litres a day, at an average cost of just a few cents per litre. Designed to be sustainable and self-reliant, Watergen systems run on renewable energy and need no external water source, reducing plastic waste and dependence on bottled supplies. They ar