Professor Sam Lehman-Wilzig is associate professor in the Department of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan and has written on the subject of Israeli longevity. “It occurs to me that almost everyone in this country has a reason for being here. Collectively, we have a sense of purpose,” he tells The Report. “We’re in a country where everyone is continuing a national project, which gives us a reason for living. Having a reason to get up in the morning is important for staying healthy.”"} 74:{"position":21,"content":"Lehman-Wilzig echoes Yair’s words regarding the social capital in Israel. “Research around the world shows that one of the most important factors in longevity is not biological, but social,” he says. “Isolation, loneliness, lack of social interaction can cause depression that leads to physiological problems. Israel is an extremely family and socially oriented society. There is no such thing as someone falling down in the street without someone immediately coming to help. Very few people really feel alone.”"} 75:{"position":22,"content":"Lehman-Wilzig posits that Israel’s weather may also have an effect on the long life span. “Very hot or very cold weather can kill and we don’t have that. We have lots of sunshine and people don’t get the sad symptoms that come with winter that can affect not just the suicide rate, but also physical health.”"} 76:{"position":23,"content":"The Nutritionist: But Dr. Olga Raz, head of the nutrition department in the Ariel University Center on the West Bank, sounds a different note. She is not happy with the Israeli diet despite the fact that Israelis eat lots of tasty fresh vegetables and fruits and very little red meat, yet connects this with their longevity."} 77:{"position":24,"content":"“Israelis love sweets,” she says. “When the Ethiopians first came they didn’t have any diabetes. Now they have 20 percent diabetes because they were exposed to food that is unhealthy.

Living life to the full

Israelis, despite facing the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, live longer than just about everyone else.