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Rabbi Leo Dee holds up a copy of his new book, Aug. 5, 2026. Photo by Steve Linde.<\/p>\n
Rather than encouraging investment capital alone, Dee said his goal is to persuade Jews to invest their lives in Israel. He believes many Diaspora Jews continue viewing Israel through an outdated lens dating back to the country\u2019s early decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we were growing up, Israel was a third-world country,\u201d he said. \u201cNow Israel is really probably the most dynamic country in the world. Our minds are still set in that 1980s and 1990s scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n
He recalled arriving at Ben-Gurion Airport decades ago, when visitors disembarked into a modest terminal surrounded by open land before traveling to Jerusalem on a narrow highway. Many Jews abroad, he argued, still picture that Israel, despite its dramatic transformation into a global center of innovation and entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n
To illustrate the point, Dee compared Israel\u2019s trajectory to Apple\u2019s rise over Kodak, arguing that investors who cling to outdated assumptions often miss transformational opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe old world for Jews\u2014the Americas, Britain, France, Argentina, Canada\u2014those are the Kodaks,\u201d he said. \u201cIsrael is Apple.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked whether the Oct. 7 attacks made Israel a riskier place to build a future, Dee argued that they demonstrated precisely the opposite.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the product of a country is its youth,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re producing here is an incredible next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
He contrasted the willingness of young Israelis to serve in the Israel Defense Forces with the anti-Israel demonstrations that erupted on university campuses across the West after Oct. 7, arguing that Israel\u2019s younger generation has developed an unusually strong sense of national purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe future of the country depends on product development, which is youth development,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat you see here is a group of young people who are fighting with their lives for their culture, their religion and their country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drawing on economic data cited in the book, Dee argued that Israel has consistently outperformed many Western markets over the past quarter century in both equities and real estate, while demographic trends point to continued long-term growth.<\/p>\n
He said investors should focus less on current headlines and more on long-term trends.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat investors spend less time analyzing the past and more time identifying the trends that will shape the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dee also cited Israel\u2019s entrepreneurial culture as one of its greatest competitive advantages, particularly as artificial intelligence reshapes the global economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one skill that will matter most in the age of AI is entrepreneurialism,\u201d he said. \u201cThe country with the greatest startups per capita is Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
He argued that because Israel has long faced security and economic pressures, its entrepreneurs have learned to create products that solve essential problems rather than merely convenient ones.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything here has to be a must-have,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have the luxury of producing things that are merely nice to have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018The Jewish people belong in Israel\u2019<\/p>\n
The final chapters of the book return to Dee\u2019s religious roots, arguing that the Hebrew Bible consistently presents the Land of Israel as the natural home of the Jewish people.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bible is simply a book about a people who fall to the lowest level of degradation in Egypt and then come out of Egypt and come home,\u201d he said. \u201cThe message is that the Jewish people belong in Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dee said that while serving as a rabbi in Britain, he often focused sermons on the Torah\u2019s moral teachings, but he came to realize after moving to Israel that its overarching narrative points to the return of the Jewish people to their homeland.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at the whole book as a whole, clearly the message is that the Jewish people belong in Israel,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are basically the Israeli people in exile. We forgot about it for 2,000 years, but now we\u2019re home.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also points to history as evidence that the center of Jewish life has shifted decisively to Israel.<\/p>\n
For the first time in nearly 2,000 years, he said, a majority of the world\u2019s Jews live in the Jewish state.<\/p>\n
\u201cFifty percent of Jews are here now,\u201d he said. \u201cWithin 20 years it\u2019ll be 60%. Within 50 years it\u2019ll be about 80%.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dee traces the movement of the Jewish people over the past 3,500 years\u2014from Egypt to Babylonia, the Roman Empire, Spain and the United States\u2014observing that Jews have historically gravitated toward the world\u2019s leading powers. Today, he noted, that demographic center has shifted to Israel.<\/p>\n
He leaves readers with a question rather than a definitive answer: Did Jews settle in those countries because they were already powerful, or did Jewish talent and enterprise help make them great?<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean now that most Jews are in Israel?\u201d he asked. \u201cDoes that mean that Israel will become the new superpower in the next 20 years?\u201d<\/p>\n
While acknowledging that readers may reach different conclusions, Dee believes the demographic, economic and cultural trends all point in the same direction.<\/p>\n
His message to Diaspora Jews is unequivocal. \u201cThere is no future for your children or your grandchildren in the Diaspora,\u201d he said. \u201cThose who are considering moving here\u2014for themselves, for their assets and for their family\u2019s future\u2014should not leave it too late.\u201d<\/p>\n
He argued that aliyah will only become more difficult as Israel\u2019s economy continues to strengthen and demand for housing rises.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe longer you leave it, the more expensive it becomes,\u201d he said. \u201cProperty prices here are going through the roof. The shekel has strengthened, and I believe that trend is set to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Dee, though, the case for Israel transcends economics. Whether viewed through the lens of venture capital, demographics, Jewish history or the Bible, he believes the same conclusion emerges: The future of the Jewish people is being written in Israel. Overall, the book challenges Jews around the world to reconsider where their family\u2019s future is best served.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal of this book is to help people look at Israel with new eyes,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n