Text of forwarded message follows:

>That is what the French Ambassador in England said about Israel. 
>Sorry about the swear word, but I hope it doesn't keep you from 
>reading this.  It's a QUOTE.  I almost deleted it because of the 
>Fwd. subject. I only sent this to those of you who I know understand 
>about the importance of Israel to the Lord. If all these amazing 
>facts are true, or if even half of them are, then God has blessed 
>them in ways we knew little about.
>
>
>$HITTY LITTLE COUNTRY ?
>The Middle East has been growing date palms for
>centuries. The average tree is about 18-20 feet tall
>and yields about 38 pounds of dates a year.
>Israeli date trees are now yielding 400 pounds/year
>and are short enough to be harvested from the ground
>or a short ladder.
>
>Israel the 100th smallest country, with less than
>1/1000th of the world's population, can lay claim to
>the following:
>The cell phone was developed in Israel by Israelis
>working in the Israeli branch of Motorola, which has
>its largest development center in Israel.
>
>Most of the Windows NT and XP operating systems were
>developed by Microsoft-Israel.
>
>The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel
>at Intel.
>
>Both the Pentium-4 microprocessor and the Centrino
>processor were entirely designed, developed and
>produced in Israel.
>
>The Pentium microprocessor in your computer was most
>likely made in Israel.
>
>Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.
>
>Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D
>
>facilities outside the US in Israel.
>
>The technology for the AOL Instant Messenger ICQ was
>developed in 1996 by four young Israelis.
>
>Israel has the fourth largest air force in the world
>(after the U.S, Russia and China). In addition to a
>large variety of other aircraft, Israel's air force
>has an aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16's. This is the
>largest fleet of F-16 aircraft outside of the U. S.
>Israel's $100 billion economy is larger than all of
>its immediate neighbors combined.
>
>Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home
>computers per capita.
>
>According to industry officials, Israel designed the
>airline industry's most impenetrable flight security.
>US officials now look (finally) to Israel for advice
>on how to handle airborne security threats.
>
>Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to
>the population in the world.
>
>Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than
>any other nation by a large margin - 109 per 10,000
>people -- as well as one of the highest per capita
>rates of patents filed.
>
>In proportion to its population, Israel has the
>largest number of startup companies in the world. In
>absolute terms, Israel has the largest number of
>startup companies than any other country in the world,
>except the U.S. (3,500 companies mostly in hi-tech).
>With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and startups,
>Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech
>companies in the world -- apart from the Silicon
>Valley, U.S.
>
>Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital
>funds right behind the U.S.
>
>Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the
>largest number of NASDAQ listed companies.
>
>Israel has the highest average living standards in the
>Middle East.
>
>The per capita income in 2000 was over $17,500,
>exceeding that of the UK.
>
>On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number
>of biotech startups.
>
>Twenty-four per cent of Israel's workforce holds
>university degrees, ranking third in the
>industrialized world, after the United States and
>Holland and 12 per cent hold advanced degrees.
>
>Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle
>East.
>
>In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000
>Ethiopian Jews (Operation Solomon) at Risk in
>Ethiopia, to safety in Israel.
>
>When Golda Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel
>in 1969, she became the world's second elected female
>leader in modern times.
>
>When the U. S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya was bombed in
>1998, Israeli rescue teams were on the scene within a
>day -- and saved three victims from the rubble.
>
>Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship
>-- and the highest rate among women and among people
>over 55 - in the world.
>
>Relative to its population, Israel is the largest
>immigrant-absorbing nation on earth. Immigrants come
>in search of democracy, religious freedom, and
>economic opportunity. (Hundreds of thousands from the
>former Soviet Union)
>
>Israel was the first nation in the world to adopt the
>Kimberly process, an international standard that
>certifies diamonds as "conflict free."
>
>Israel has the world's second highest per capita of
>new books.
>
>Israel is the only country in the world that entered
>the 21st century with a net gain in its number of
>trees, made more remarkable because this was achieved
>in an area considered mainly desert.
>
>Israel has more museums per capita than any other
>country.
>
>Medicine... Israeli scientists developed the first
>fully computerized, no-radiation, diagnostic
>instrumentation for breast cancer.
>
>An Israeli company developed a computerized system for
>ensuring proper administration of medications, thus
>removing human error from medical treatment. Every
>year in U. S. hospitals 7,000 patients die from
>treatment mistakes.
>
>Israel's Given Imaging developed the first ingestible
>video camera, so small it fits inside a pill. Used to
>view the small intestine from the inside, cancer and
>digestive disorders.
>
>Researchers in Israel developed a new device that
>directly helps the heart pump blood, an innovation
>with the potential to save lives among those with
>heart failure. The new device is synchronized with the
>camera helps doctors diagnose heart's mechanical
>operations through a sophisticated system of sensors.
>Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and
>technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as
>opposed to 85 in the U. S., over 70 in Japan, and less
>than 60 in Germany. With over 25% of its work force
>employed in technical professions. Israel places first
>in this category as well.
>
>A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the Clear
>Light device, produces a high-intensity,
>ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that
>causes acne bacteria to self-destruct -- all without
>damaging surrounding skin or tissue.
>
>An Israeli company was the first to develop and
>install a large-scale solar-powered and fully
>functional electricity generating plant, in southern
>California's Mojave desert.
>
>All the above while engaged in regular wars with an
>implacable enemy that seeks its destruction, and an
>economy continuously under strain by having to spend
>more per capita on its own protection than any other
>county on earth.
>
>. .. . . AND THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR IN ENGLAND SAYS:
>"ISRAEL IS NOTHING BUT A SHITTY LITTLE COUNTRY"
End of forwarded message text:

John