Worldcrunch
TEL AVIV— The recent wave of violence and Mahmoud Abbas’ threats to dismantle the Palestinian Authority could represent not just a security emergency for Israel, but also an economic nightmare. More than 1,000 factories in the West Bank rely solely on the manpower of Palestinian workers. And they’re just a small part of the financial […]
It’s home economics, not geopolitics.
While lawmakers wage political battles every day about how much religion the government should impose, ordinary Israelis, both religious and secular, are surprisingly unified on the notion of keeping the government out of their private lives.
-OpEd- TEL AVIV — The reactions to last week’s Locker Commission report that calls for massive cuts to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) budget is perhaps the best proof to date that the Israeli people don’t understand the mechanisms that keep them safe. The report recommends keeping the defense budget at $15.4 billion for the […]
TEL AVIV — A whole lot of money is involved in the current Palestinian political struggles, with some suggesting that the ability to bring in the bucks is a non-official competition for the title to be the next president of the Palestinian authority. And no better way to judge that than to measure how notable […]
JERUSALEM — The biggest Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds published a long interview last week with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. The interview is an unusual event in the political landscape of this nationalist Palestinian newspaper that has long spent its ink attacking Israeli policies. In the interview, Barkat lays out details of construction plans for a new […]
While attention was focused on alleged corruption at FIFA, another kind of drama was playing out between the Israeli and Palestinian soccer delegations.
-OpEd- TEL AVIV — Who would have thought that we’d miss Avigdor Lieberman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Well, we don’t really miss him, but unlike Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, Lieberman at least understood the importance of good relations with the United States. So sure that relations with the U.S. are “excellent,” she […]
Ultra-Orthodox parties in coalition with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have obtained bonus welfare benefits for their religious schools and families. How the government is undermining the country’s future generations.
TEL AVIV ― Annual results for 2014 for Israeli tourism companies, hotels and airlines are not good, though few are surprised. Every sector linked to the travel and tourist industry is losing money due to the consequences of last summer’s conflict in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government had approved a measure that promised that […]
TEL AVIV — After the final breakdown of the election results were confirmed, it was clear who sent Benjamin Netanyahu back for another term as prime minister: the people of the so-called “periphery” of Israel, far away from the urban centers in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. Support from small towns and distant suburbs had […]
TEL AVIV — When the coalition agreement is signed and the next Israeli government is officially formed as expected next month, it will have exactly 107 days to pass the state budget that will chart the country’s economic course. So even while the rest of the world may focus on the profiles of the incoming […]
It’s the consultants …
-OpEd- TEL AVIV — Israel’s high-tech industry has experienced a major boost in recent years. The 2014 numbers are notable: a record $3.4 billion in investments and mergers and acquisitions valued at $7 billion. There was also an increase in venture capital funds raised, totaling approximately $914 million. None of this is by chance. The […]
Turns in the war in Syria, as well as shifting resources and alliances across the Muslim world, mean tensions are easing between Israel and both Hamas and Hezbollah.
He’s coined everything from the PowerBook to Blackberry to your kitchen mop. There’s a method to his magic.
TEL AVIV — After Israel announced plans to freeze the transfer of $126 million in taxes it collected for the Palestinian Authority, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah attended a round of meetings in Saudi Arabia to nurture solidarity for his government. And they obliged. The Arab States promised that if Israel wouldn’t transfer the money, […]
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has done great harm to Israel’s reputation, and the early elections he’s called for March are a perfect chance to end his hold on the nation.
TEL AVIV — Olive branches are a symbol of peace, but Palestinian olive production has become a sign of the economic troubles that come with Middle East conflict. The approximately 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of olive groves represent around 45% of Palestinian agriculture land, with most centered in the West Bank’s mountainous territories. With […]
Professor Asher Tishler has long been a highly respected researcher in both Israeli military and business domains. It’s high time for him to dish on those in the highest positions of power.
After a religious pilgrimage to Mecca, an Arab-Israeli businessman imagines how a Saudi-brokered peace across the region could help solve economic problems for all.
TEL AVIV — An Israeli company says it has developed an easy and accurate new method for detecting breast cancer. The technique, developed by the company Eventus Diagnostics, involves a simple blood test measuring how the body’s immune system reacts to the presence of a cancer tumor. Eventus Diagnostics, located near Jerusalem in Moshav Ora […]
Welcome to Moonshine, where it would all seem illegal if everyone didn’t look so cool.
TEL AVIV — In recent days we have been witnessing growing discontent among Hamas public employees in Gaza who have not been paid their salaries. The situation endangers the coalition government between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, and it is without exaggeration to say that the non-payment by the government in Ramallah could restart the […]
TEL AVIV — With Israeli students returning to school this week, Calcalist decided to ask a few how they spent what turned out to be an unusual summer holiday, given the fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Seven weeks of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and Hamas rocket attacks aimed at targets in Israel have […]
From Gaza to the U.S.-Mexican border, the latest innovations in detecting illicit tunnels that transport people and goods below the radar.
TEL AVIV — Don’t know where to run when you hear the sirens? Want to send a distress signal in an emergency to security forces or assure your family you’re okay with a tweet? Here is a list of the latest smartphone applications that are getting downloaded during the current military “Operation Protective Edge,” as […]
Without infrastructure and trade that arrives from Israel, the situation in Gaza would be even worse. So the lines are left open, even as bombs and missiles fly in every direction.
TEL AVIV — When Lucy Brown fell in love with her current husband a decade ago, she immediately went to work. When she arrived, she lay down in the latest fMRI brain scanner, closed her eyes and thought of him. “It’s not that I was looking for scientific proof that I was in love,” Brown […]
The abduction of three young Israelis unfolded across the Internet, even as newspapers in Israel were barred from reporting it. What does social media mean for both democracy and security?
People over-40 and over-50 who are laid off find it increasingly difficult to find a job or switch careers. But opportunities are arising in unlikely places.
TEL AVIV — “A few steps away from the all the urban fuss …” And so begins the seduction advertized on the website of a unique approach to the city shopping mall. It is indeed hard to imagine a public consumer space as beautiful as this one. Historical stone houses meticulously restored, neatly cut lawns, […]
Zvi Narkis, credited with reinventing the Hebrew letter, left a huge archive after his death. A new book will document this treasure, which is integral to the history of Israeli design.
TEL AVIV — The collapse of Middle East peace talks is making headlines around the world and, of course, here in Israel as well. It is possible that the renewed negotations that began a few months ago are now taking a temporary break, or might even halt completely for an undetermined period of time. And […]
TEL AVIV — Over the past few weeks, we have heard many members of Parliament calling on the government to block the sale of Israeli dairy company Tnuva to China’s Bright Food. Such a ban would be very bad news for Israel. We must first remember the basic principal that business decisions should be taken […]
A visit to Tzahala, a tony district on the edge of Tel Aviv, where a canine unit and dozens of cameras have been brought in to fight crime. But at what price?
A failure of the American peace initiative in the Middle East could cause a severe political crisis that will undermine both the economy and the stability of the Palestinian Authority.
After building Beijing’s Olympic Park for the 2008 Games, a Chinese-American urban planner and Israeli architect continue to help develop green cities in a largely polluted China.
TEL AVIV — Just last week at the Davos summit, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was publicly praising the hi-tech industry in Israel. Now it seems his compliments may have been a bit premature. A new report says that Palestinian hackers from Gaza have recently launched a cyber-attack on Israel that has successfully targeted government […]
TEL AVIV – New research from Ben-Gurion University found that 91% of those working in human resources in Israel are women. It is data that largely conforms to recruiting and personnel departments around the developed world. According to the figures released by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in the UK, 72% of […]