It's always tricky looking back and trying to work out why some piece of culture developed. The inevitable self congratulatory nationalism and the counteraction

It's always tricky looking back and trying to work out why some piece of culture developed. The inevitable self congratulatory nationalism and the counteractions makes it even harder. That said, Israel has (1) a highly concentrated educated, urban population. (2) A large number of people who spend 3-10 years in military tech early on. No long established industries (the country has only existed for 2 generations). (3) A very recent history of young "entrepreneurship," if you extend the definition to include all of the "ideological" settlements ranging from leftist Kibbutzes (communes) to nationalist settlements in the West Bank to religious settlements you will find a lot of exposure to entrepreneurial endevours. Everything in the country was "established" by some form of entrepreneurship within living memory. (4) Solid R&D culture (5) Difficult trade relations making ethereal goods a more attractive option. Construct your own narrative. Personally, I credit the (Socialist/Marxist) settlement culture of the 20s-60s. It feels like an analogy to the US' 'go west' initiatives, homesteading and the various mining booms and such. I think that kind of thing breeds entrepreneurship into a culture. *Israel is not Europe. There is European influence, but most of it is eastern European and it's mixed with Arab/Middle Eastern and lots of other things.