Episode 281: Are We Passing the Israel Test

In this compelling and wide ranging episode of The Bill Walton Show, host Bill Walton engages with the great economic, technology and futurist thinker George Gilder to talk about his provocative book, The Israel Test. In The Israel Test George provides much needed context for today's war in the Middle East. His theory about the root causes of the conflict dramatically reframes the issues and makes it clear why we need to support Israel in this defining moment in History. Despite comprising only 4% of the Middle East's land area, Israel has cultivated a preeminent high-tech economy, functioning as a liberal democracy with free elections, a critical press, and robust human rights protections—including for its 2 million Arab citizens, who enjoy the same civil liberties as Jewish citizens. The Israel Test posits that one's reaction to others' success—whether through admiration and emulation or envy and hostility—reflects broader attitudes toward capitalism and free enterprise. Historic...