Abstract
<p><em>The main concern of this research is the conflict between technology and society. It concentrates on the in the Israeli society, which is split in half: on the one hand it is in the information era, with highly advanced technology sector, while on the other hand it is still considered a developing country in terms of social development among large segments of society. The dual structure of the economy means that despite being known as the “Start-Up Nation”, Israel has one of the highest poverty rates with the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. The research argues that the problem is the dual structure: the nation is leading the world in technological development, but the services provided to its citizens are limited to the extent that poverty is high. The research further claims that the solution is technology: the technological advantage of Israel promoted its economy, which has grown more rapidly than most other advanced economies, after the government made a strategic decision to promote technology by providing financial support for in research and development. The rise in social and sectorial media allows the poorest parts of society—the Ultra-Orthodox and the Israeli-Arabs—to adopt technology and benefit from the leading role of the country in technological development and global competition. This means that while technology created the problem of dual structure—it also allows the segments of society that are considered poor and underdeveloped to use advanced media services within their communities.</em></p>
Highlights
What best identifies Israel’s economy is the dominance of the high-tech sector, which is its main growth engine (Unesco Science Report, 2015)
According to the OECD (2018), the Israeli economy has grown faster and more consistently than nearly any other in the OECD for over a decade, but labor force participation rates, education and skill levels remain low for Israeli-Arabs and the Ultra-Orthodox, contributing to the high poverty rates and low productivity
In examining the impact of technology over society, we need to examine the benefits of technological advancement on sectors with high poverty rate and inequality compered to more advanced sectors
Summary
What best identifies Israel’s economy is the dominance of the high-tech sector, which is its main growth engine (Unesco Science Report, 2015). The country is divided along ethnic, national, religious and political lines, and income and poverty rate and income gap between different segments of society are inequality is among the highest in the Western world (Keeley, 2015). According to OECD report, Israel is second only to the United States among developed nations in inequality (OECD, 2011) and has the highest percentage of people living below the poverty line (OECD, 2016). The Israeli society is experiencing the digital divide, which mainly affects Israeli-Arabs and Ultra-Orthodox-Jews (Haredim). This is where the two parts of the economy are apparent: even though technology is important, it is only one-third of Israel’s economy and more than half of the economy is not advancing (Poch, 2016). The dual structure is recognized by the Organization for Economic Co-operation (OECD) as a major social issue, as Israel’s economy is registering a remarkable performance with strong growth, but economic gaps and lack of social cohesion continue to prevail (OECD, 2018)
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