Well, I'm not sure this is fair. From what I can see in the rankings, they're size/population independent. So in absolute terms, the US is probably ahead in "innovation". But in relative terms, no, which might be more interesting if you're looking for a place to send your kids to university or whatever. Plus Israel has a huge number of tech companies, with really smart people (in my experience). Money is one thing, culture is another. With that in mind, I don't think it shocks anybody to hear the US education system is letting people down...