Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Iron Dome missile defense voted top Israeli invention

The winner of Israel’s Ministry of Economy and Industry contest, which ranked the greatest Israeli inventions of all time, was the Iron Dome missile-defense system, followed by Waze international navigation, drip irrigation and Disk On Key data storage.

U.S. President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials next to an Iron Dome battery near Tel Aviv in March 2013. Photo by Nati Shohat/Flash90.
U.S. President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials next to an Iron Dome battery near Tel Aviv in March 2013. Photo by Nati Shohat/Flash90.

The Iron Dome missile-defense system has been voted the winner of Israel’s Ministry of Economy and Industry contest ranking of the greatest Israeli inventions of all time, in honor of Israel’s 70th Independence Day.

In the first stage of the competition, 70 Israel inventions were listed and then whittled down to the top nine by 52,000 participants. In the second stage, some 63,000 online participants had to choose the single greatest Israeli invention.

In first place among the top nine came the Iron Dome missile-defense system; followed by the Waze international navigation system; the drip-irrigation targeted watering system; Disk On Key data storage; the surgical-assistance robot Watergen, which extracts water for use from the air; durable Shoresh sandals; Check Point IT security software and hardware; and the military spy satellite Ofek.

“There is no dispute that the inventions chosen by the public as leading inventions are excellent examples of Israeli ingenuity, innovation and creativity that provide solutions to significant challenges, inspire the world and bring a lot of national pride for Israel,” said Economy and Industry Minister Eli Cohen.

“Gratitude is one of Judaism’s foundational values, and very much belongs on Rosh Hashanah,” Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, told JNS. “We will never forget the nearly 3,000 victims of this terror attack, many of whom were members of the Jewish community.”
The cohort includes 392 new immigrants—246 men and 146 women.
The announcement comes as Israeli banks are expected to end correspondent banking services to Palestinian counterparts.
Eyal Zamir toured the Strip with Southern Command brass, vowing to hunt down every Nukhba terrorist involved in the Oct. 7 massacre “sooner or later.”