ABSTRACT
As a widely accepted opinion has it, Israel, although a small country, is a mighty power in the scientific realm or, at least, it shall become one in the foreseeable future. This opinion rests on two assumptions which remain unexamined and unconfirmed. According to the first, the Jewish people are the people of the book, dedicated to a long tradition of study and inquiry, who in each and every generation have brought forth great scholars. Thus, it is to be expected that such a people will rise to even greater heights in their own country. Statistically speaking, there is little chance that in a country as small as Israel, and even in a country ten times bigger, there will emerge great scientists. Mediocre practitioners usually enjoy monopoly, and all the more so when there is only a single position or a single department in any given field in an academic institution.
