RIP Efi Arazi. Even in death he was exceptional, exiting this mortal coil on his birthday. It’s quite something to be lauded as the father of Israeli high-tech, don’t you think? Charismatic, visionary, this was the man who in his pomp was pictured in black-and-white, looking handsome and, well, charismatic and visionary and wearing a turtleneck in the sort of style subsequently made iconic by Steve Jobs. It’s hardly surprising that Arazi was also referred to as “an Israeli Steve Jobs”, a mantle that we in the printing industry have subsequently draped around the shoulders of Indigo’s Benny Landa. Thinking about Arazi’s passing brought back memories of Scitex in its heyday, a company that brought a string of pre-press innovations to market, kicking sand into the faces of more staid rivals of the time, such as Crosfield and Hell. Re-reading various Scitex articles was also a trip down memory lane. Remember Scitex Handshake, the Raystar? Dolevs? Contex? Aprion? Iris? Leaf? The Spontane? In the 1990s, post-Arazi - who had gone on to found the cleverly-eponymous EFI business - but still carrying his DNA, Scitex hosted the jaw-dropping Scitex World event in Cannes, something that can be seen as a precursor of EFI Connect and HP Dscoop today. There’s a great quote about him on news website Haaretz by his biographer Dalit Milstein, who said: “Arazi was controversial, but the people who came into contact with him got fairy dust on their hands. He had a golden touch, and also an inspirational personality, and this is something unique. They say of him that he was a startup man to the core. What I can say is that he was someone who knew how to discover other people, and he became important in the lives of everyone who met him.” This also brought to mind a discussion between EFI boss Guy Gecht and Benny Landa during their fireside chat at the recent EFI Connect event, where among other things the two debated the question “what makes Israel such a hot bed of innovation?” Landa said a number of factors made Israel an extraordinary place, not least conscription “something in life that is unquestioned, and for a higher purpose”. During conscription of three years (men) and two years for women, young Israelis are exposed to all sorts of highly advanced technology from code-breaking systems to communications technology and beyond. And Gecht made the point that during conscription Israelis also learn about risk, and about management. There have been so many spin-offs from Scitex and Indigo, it’s become a sort of evolutionary process that keeps on developing. With all the hand-wringing here on the small island about youth unemployment and the need to encourage innovation, perhaps the government should take a leaf out of Israel’s book and bring back national service?