http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/korol/130103 Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren’s Op-ed of November 28 concerned the Islamic jihad against Israel, fought on many fronts, not the least of which are false narratives for Palestinian propaganda and outside pressure demanding equal casualties. Not so oddly, the Left never suggests that Israel return an equal number of rockets […]
Chuck Hagel told Israel Supporters: “Let the Jews Pay for It!” Hagel once told an employee of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that she was a “[expletive] tool from AIPAC.” By: Lori Lowenthal Marcus Whether or not former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel will be nominated by President Obama to be the U.S. Secretary of […]
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Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought”
Straight from the Jerusalem Boardroom #174, January 4, 2013
http://bit.ly/10VXRHN
1. Israel’s 2009-2012 economic growth of 14.7% leads the OECD countries, ahead of Australia – 10.7%, Canada – 4.8%, USA – 3.2%, Germany – 2.7%, France – 0.3%, Euro Bloc – 1.5% decline. Israel’s growth was undermined by the stoppage of natural gas supply from Egypt, which requires the acquisition of more expensive sources of energy (“Israel Hayom”, Jan. 2, 2013).
2. Israel’s 2012 economic growth, 3.3%, leads the OECD countries which average 1.4% growth, ahead of the US (2.2%), Canada (2%), Japan (1.6%), Brazil (1.5%), Germany (0.9%), France (0.2%), Britain (0.1% decline), Spain (1.3% decline) and Italy (2.2% decline), trailing India’s 4.5% and China’s 7.5% . Israel’s growth per capita, 1.5%, exceeds OECD’s average of 0.7%. Israel’s unemployment, 6.9%, is lower than the OECD (other than Germany’s and Japan’s) which averages 8%. Israel’s private consumption increased 2.8%, compared with the OECD average of 1%. Notwithstanding the global meltdown, Israel’s exports grew 1% at a time when most countries experience a substantial decline in exports (Globes Business Daily, December 31, 2012).
3. Israel’s 2012 tourism – all time high of 2.9 million tourists, compared with 2.8 million in 2011. American tourists lead the pack, ahead of Russia, France, Germany and Britain. Domestic tourism grew 3% (Ma’ariv, December 25).
4. Australia’s $30BN Woodside Petroleum (WPL) is acquiring 30% of the rights of Israel’s Leviathan offshore natural gas field licenses for $696MN upon signing the agreement in February, 2013, $200MN upon launching exports, $350MN upon final decision to invest in liquefied natural gas export facilities, 11.5% royalties up to $1BN and $50MN for immediate oil exploration underneath Leviathan. Woodside explores investment in additional Israeli offshore natural gas licenses (Globes, Dec. 4).
5. The $1.6BN Minnesota-based Stratasys merged with Israel’s $1.4BN Objet (3D printers manufacturer), a week following the acquisition of Israel’s Retalix, by NCR, for $800MN. Objet’s market value before the merger was $634MN (Globes, Dec. 4). The $10BN Wollingford, CT-based Amphenol acquired Israel’s Tel-Ad for $65MN; the US storage giant, EMC, made its 5th Israeli acquisition, More IT Resources, for $15MN. EMC employs 1,000 persons in its Israeli research and development centers (Globes, Dec. 3). Israel’s CrossRider was acquired by an overseas unidentified company for $37MN (Globes, Dec. 17).The Menlo Park-based Greylock Venture Partners and the Palo Alto-based Norwest Venture Partners led a$12MN 1st round of private placement by Israel’s ScaleIO (Globes, Dec. 11).
6. Google inaugurated its Israeli Start Ups Incubator, signaling its aim to expand its Israel operations (Globes, Dec. 11). The Holland-based Philips announced the establishment of a new research & development center in Israel, which will employ scores of scientists and engineers. Philip’s research & development center in Haifa – which coordinates special applications developed in Israel the US, Holland and India – employs 600 persons, specializing in CT 3D imaging (Globes, Dec. 13).
7. Electricite’ de France’s (EDF) renewable energy unit inaugurated its first three projects in Israel’s Negev – a $65MN investment. EDF plans additional ventures in Israel, demonstrating its confidence in the viability of Israel’s economy (Globes, Dec. 19).
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=3169 Shame on Peres and Prosor This week’s prize for political chutzpah goes to two prominent Israelis — President Shimon Peres and Ambassador to the U.N. Ron Prosor — whose salaries are paid for by our tax shekels. On Sunday, Peres reiterated his position that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “is a true partner for […]
Don’t miss this special episode in which, Mike Finch, Chief Operating Officer at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, fills in for Jamie Glazov and hosts a fascinating discussion with three titans:
The Shattered Republican Spine — on The Glazov Gang
by Frontpagemag.com
Bill Whittle, Dwight Schultz and Paul Croshaw shed light on the Stockholm Syndrome that has crippled GOP.
http://frontpagemag.com/2013/frontpagemag-com/the-shattered-republican-spine-on-the-glazov-gang/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-04/nobelist-gore-getting-70-million-from-qatar-funded-al-jazeera.html Al Gore’s Payday From Oil-Rich Qatar ‘Reeking With Irony’ By Jeff Green & Christopher Palmeri Al Gore, who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his fight against global warming, may gross about $70 million from the sale of his Current TV network to Al Jazeera, the cable channel funded in part by oil-rich […]
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3527/european-court-justice-ngo-monitor The European Commission in recent years has been funding rabidly anti-Israel and anti-Semitic campaign groups. Parading under the banner-term of “NGOs,” they have one concerted aim, which is to manipulate international opinion against Israel: Foreign government-funded subversion of a democracy. Few people would ever label the hydra-like institutions of the European Union as transparent… […]
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3524/al-jazeera-qatar Al-Jazeera, which bought Current TV from Al Gore, is not a communications medium in the Western sense. It is a psychological warfare medium, a fundamentalist terrorist communications base operating under Qatari cover. It sets its sights on changing regimes. Al-Jazeera TV, located in and financed by Qatar, which just bought Current TV from former […]
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=3165 Robert D. Kaplan has long been among America’s most insightful analysts of global trends. I’d rather argue with him than agree with most others. Right now, I’m going to do a bit of both. In “Toxic Nationalism,” an essay published in The Wall Street Journal last week, Kaplan observes that “Western elites” regard their […]
http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2013/01/03/goodbye-literature/?singlepage=true These days I have trouble even getting to the sort of books — on Israeli and Middle Eastern politics and history — I see as a necessary nurturer for what I’m writing. Not long ago the top shelf of the pine hutch in my bedroom collapsed under the weight of its books. I stared […]
