I've been impressed, obviously, with what Israel has done over the years, as it related to technology, agriculture, research in general.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Israel has incredible entrepreneurial spirit and a deep bench of technology talent.
Israel now has a reputation around the world of being not just a place to develop products and technology but to develop ideas.
I particularly love Israel. I've had fantastic experiences there.
The amount of culture going on in a small country like Israel is amazing.
I hope that I have had some effect on the fact that Israel is a start-up nation.
In Israel, a land lacking in natural resources, we learned to appreciate our greatest national advantage: our minds. Through creativity and innovation, we transformed barren deserts into flourishing fields and pioneered new frontiers in science and technology.
We have built cities, developed industry and cultivated agriculture - we have transformed the State of Israel into an example and symbol for many other countries in the world.
Americans admire a people who can scratch a desert and produce a garden. The Israelis have shown qualities that Americans identify with: guts, patriotism, idealism, a passion for freedom. I have seen it. I know. I believe that.
Israel is a wonderful country. It's a beautiful country. It is ours. But it is a country with 10,000 problems that we have to solve and deal.
Many occasions I've sat down with Israelis to say, where do you see your country in 10 years time, and work me back, so we can figure out the synergies and the connections between Israel and the rest of the Arab world. No Israeli has ever been able to answer that question.