ByITZIK OZER

The prevailing perception is that the advantage of Jerusalem lies in its beauty and its holy sites, as the Sages said, “Ten measures of beauty came down to the world, nine of which were taken by Jerusalem.”Let me tell you about one more hidden measure of beauty that can be found in Jerusalem - that in recent years has been providing benefits both to its inhabitants and to the entire world.This beauty is the research and development ability that academic institutions and research hospitals in Jerusalem possess and their ability to collaborate with the high-tech industry and life sciences.These academic studies, together with collaboration with industry, have brought the world the autonomous driving of Mobileye, the image processing capabilities of Lightricks, Hedoxcil for cancer treatment, and many other groundbreaking companies and inventions.These Jerusalem academic institutions are responsible for a significant portion of the IP generated by academic institutions in the State of Israel since its inception.In recent years, we have seen how these same companies have chosen to establish themselves in Jerusalem and enjoy, along with the unique economic benefits provided by the state, the talent that has been created and developed in institutions of higher learning. In the past eight years, Jerusalem has grown from 200 technology companies to more than 550 companies and has doubled the number of workers in the industry from 10,000 to 20,000 workers.This is just Jerusalem’s opening shot at realizing the benefits inherent in it. At this moment, in the laboratories of its academic institutions, ideas are growing that will establish the next Mobileye and other companies that will lead the world and Israel in the coming decades. As a public sector company, we will do everything to help those companies realize their vision from Jerusalem.The writer is head of business development for the city of Jerusalem.