Israel's example

In his vitriolic attack on Israel (Letters, 6 January), Hugh Humphries, of the Scottish Friends of Palestine, questions why a trade delegation from Scottish Development International is to visit Israel, a country he savagely describes as a "pariah" and a "racist state".

If he put his obvious hatred of Israel to one side for a moment it would soon become obvious why it should be going.

Israel, a country with a smaller land area than Scotland and a population of a mere 7.5 million, is one of the outstanding economic success stories of the past few years.

Despite (perhaps because of) being surrounded by enemies, this remarkable little nation has in recent years become one of the world's most successful economies. It can claim to be the most entrepreneurial nation, with the highest number of start-ups per capita of any on Earth.

All this despite having little in the way of natural resources other than the creative potential of its people. How much more could it achieve if a meaningful peace could be reached in the Middle East?

Many of us would like to know what it is about Israel that encourages such entrepreneurship and associated economic success and would hope these attributes could be emulated in Scotland.

I hope the trade delegation from Scottish Development International will be able to provide some of the answers.

GEORGE SHANKS

Orwell Place

Edinburgh