Former Israeli president, Shimon Peres

JNS.org – The foundation stone of a new museum dedicated to Israeli innovations was laid at an official ceremony on Thursday at the Peres Center for Peace in Jaffa.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former President Shimon Peres attended the ceremony. The center, which will be completed in 2018, will present visitors with the history of Israel as the so-called “start-up nation,” becoming a leader in the fields of science and technology.

Exhibitions will showcase groundbreaking Israeli inventions that have changed the lives of millions worldwide, such as the drip irrigation system; cherry tomatoes; the ReWalk bionic walking assistance system for paraplegics; the Waze mobile navigation application; ICQ, the first instant messaging computer program; amniocentesis; the USB flash drive; the stent that revolutionized the treatment of cardiovascular disease; and more.

The center will also include a digital library, where visitors will be able to use of state-of-the-art technology that tells the stories of cutting-edge Israeli inventions.

Netanyahu noted that education and free economy played a key role in establishing the new museum.

“Innovation stops very quickly in societies that fail to combine lateral higher education and a climate that encourages business and free enterprise,” he said.

Peres said the center’s vision “is to create the next generation of Israeli entrepreneurs, necessary to maintain Israel’s international position as a technological power.”

Rivlin said that “to truly promote innovation, we have to accelerate the integration of the ultra-Orthodox and Arabs in the innovation and entrepreneurship sphere.”

The Israeli innovation center is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors a year.