It's not just you. With a heritage of Soviet-era immigrants and an atmosphere of paranoia, the space of "technological solutions" in Israel looks different than it does in other cultures. If I had a moment (in a meeting atm), I'd go through and research some of the strides their scientists have been making in oppressive technology.

Also, Stephen Hawking himself has recently participated in a boycott of Israel: [1]

[1] http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/is-stephen-hawking-s-acade...