When I was a boy, I would sit with my grandparents to watch American television shows that would follow the Arab movie on Friday afternoon, and the television would not be turned off until the final credits had run. It was always clear that as the final scene drew to a close, the beloved game of seeking one of "ours" would begin. The music would begin to play, the list of names would be quickly drawn up, and my grandfather would unerringly find the Jewish names. The lead actor ("You see it immediately, by the nose."); the lead actress ("Of course, it was once Persky."); and without question, the director who had the same name as someone we knew back in Lithuania, and the producers. Until the Jewishness of the last of the supporting actresses was determined, it was not possible to decide that we were probably the most talented nation on earth. At least that is what we thought in the 1980s in my grandparents' tiny apartment.
Today, when watching foreign television shows, the Jewish names continue to crop up even more than in the past. Alongside Josh and Ari, there are a lot of Avis and Elis in the credits. The American television industry, and the European too, have been filling up in recent years with our own talent - from Israel. Visitors at the MIPCOM fair now underway in Cannes will encounter many former Israelis holding key positions in networks and distributors from around the world. Many of them realized years ago what Israeli television franchisees have only lately grasped: that the Israeli market is too small and crowded to contain the creativity of many inspired people.
Let us put aside the arguments about the high cost of living and real estate. Many people, it seems by the recent media outpouring, are leaving Israel for these reasons. But among the departing Israelis seeking their fortunes overseas, especially in the creative field, are many who feel that they can give far more than what Israel wants to allow them to give. The potential is huge, and when your talent is all that you have for realizing it, without any help from your birthplace, it is no wonder that this potential will take you from here.
Something big is happening
However, the eyes of the whole world are now looking toward Israel. Formats created on computers in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa are being sold one after another to the world's leading television networks. Our odd language, which only a few people speak, is already not an obstacle, and our minds worried about existential dramas have become attractive and exciting by bored nations. There is a hunger for Israeli talent and perspectives, and the individuals who do something about it are the Israelis themselves; official Israel does nothing.
The government should participate in the global activity occurring in Israel's content industry, otherwise this industry will sever its ties with the country. Countries around the world have already understood the latent economic power in investing in Israeli content. South Korea, Singapore, Canada, France, and Spain are just a few of the countries that have realized that they should offer incentives to create local content, and bring in foreign productions. In the case of Israel, the economic need is dwarfed by the need to present our good side to the world, and, most of all, to make it clear to the local talent community that it can stay at home and still be global.
There are many and diverse ways to provide incentives, from the establishment of incubators to produce formats with public investment, through the finding of talents and investing in them, to support for creating infrastructures and tax breaks for big foreign production houses to come to Israel and make their movies and television series here, in exchange for which they will train young workers who will lead the next generation. Above all, the government should loosen its grip on local content producers and not tie them down when they are ready to leave the nest for other locales. In other words, something big is happening and the state should be part of it.
Great fury is directed at Israelis who choose to seek their careers abroad. It is understandable, but this fury is also mixed with pride and immediate annexation when the former Israelis and their children win gold statues at prestigious awards. The time has come that this pride should not be just for those who are "one of us", but for those who are truly us.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 9, 2013
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013