RUTHFULLY YOURS

1. Intel has announced a $4.5BN-$5BN expansion of its southern Israel plant (in Kiryat Gat) – which is one of the world’s most advanced chip manufacturing facilities – for the next three years, following a 2016-2017 $6BN upgrade of the same facility. The two rounds of investment are, probably, related to Intel’s March, 2017 $15.3BN acquisition of Mobileye, the Jerusalem-based developer of advanced vision and autonomous-driving assistance systems. Intel acquired eight Israeli companies.

Intel employs, in Israel, 11,000 persons (in addition to Mobileye’s 1,000 employees) in three research & development centers and one manufacturing plant, which exported $3.7BN in 2017 (before the current expansion). Since 1974, when Intel launched its Israeli operations, it invested $35BN in Israel, and exported $50BN from Israel.

Since 1998, “Intel Capital” has invested in 18 Israeli startups.

During the last decade, Intel’s total purchase of Israeli goods and services was $10BN (Globes Business Daily, February 19, 2018).

2. Israel has attracted over 300 global high tech companies due to its brain-power, which has been enhanced by a “do-or-die” state of mind – militarily, economically, educationally, agriculturally, irrigation-wise and balance of trade-wise, yielding game-changing, ground-breaking solutions and technologies.

3. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway expressed confidence in Israel’s (ailing-recovering) Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, buying 1.8% of its stock for $358MN, which surged Teva’s share price 8.64% on the NYSE (Globes, Feb. 15).

4. According to Bloomberg (Feb. 19), a 10 year, $15BN deal to export Israeli natural gas to Egypt is about to be concluded between Noble Energy and Delek Drilling, the exporters, and Dolphinus Holdings, the importer, enhancing the Egypt-Israel cooperation, and advancing Egypt’s ambition to become a regional energy hub. It follows the 2016, 15 year $10BN natural gas agreement with Jordan.

UNITED NATIONS—Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called at the United Nations on Tuesday for an international conference in 2018 to restart peace negotiations, in a clear jab at Washington’s historically central role in resolving the peace crisis.

Mr. Abbas, addressing a monthly Security Council meeting on the Middle East, said the goal of the conference would be to expand the role of multiple world powers—including the five permanent members of the Council—along with regional actors in helping Israelis and Palestinians reach a two-state solution. Washington, he said, had “contradicted itself and its own commitments and has violated international law.”

Mr. Abbas was referring to President Donald Trump’s decision in December to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Under international agreements and U.N. Security Council resolutions, Jerusalem is considered a “final status” issue to be determined in the last stages of peace negotiations.

“It has become impossible today for one country or state alone to solve a regional or interactional conflict,” Mr. Abbas said. “To solve the Palestine question, it is essential to establish a multilateral international mechanism emanating from an international conference.”

Mr. Abbas’s proposal was quickly countered by Israel and the U.S. Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, said the only way forward would be direct talks between Israel and Palestinian leaders and criticized Mr. Abbas for leaving the room after his speech, saying he was “running away.”

The two rival parties, Fatah and Hamas, are prepared to lay aside their differences and work together to foil US President Donald Trump’s plan for peace in the Middle East, the details of which remain unknown. Thwarting Trump’s peace plan has become a top priority.

Although the details of the Trump plan still have not been made public, Palestinians across the political spectrum say they will never accept any peace initiative presented by the Trump administration.

The Palestinians know that no US peace plan would comply with their demands. Abbas’s Fatah is demanding 100% of the territories Israel secured in 1967, namely the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Hamas, for its part, is demanding 100% of everything, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. As Hamas leaders repeatedly affirm, the goal is to “liberate all of Palestine,” meaning all of Israel.

Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction are continuing to contest control of the Gaza Strip.

However, the two rival parties are prepared to lay aside their differences and work together to foil US President Donald Trump’s plan for peace in the Middle East, the details of which remain unknown.

Thwarting Trump’s peace plan has become a top priority for Hamas and Fatah. This is a mission that seems to be much more important than alleviating the suffering of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where 65% of families live under the poverty line.

Although the details of the Trump plan still have not been made public, Palestinians across the political spectrum say they will never accept any peace initiative presented by the Trump administration. Whatever the peace plan will be, the answer is No.

In the eyes of the Palestinian leaders, the US administration has shown unprecedented “hostility” towards the Palestinians.

Will this be another “peacemeal” destruction of Israel? rsk

AMMAN, Jordan—President Donald Trump’s plan for peace in the Middle East is “fairly well advanced,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday, offering a rare insight into progress on the administration’s proposal for solving the decades-old conflict.

The peace plan, being developed by the White House in a closely held process overseen by President Donald Trump’s aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner, has been on Mr. Tillerson’s agenda while traveling across the Middle East this week.

“I have seen the plan, the elements of the plan,” Mr. Tillerson said in Jordan. “It’s been under development for a number of months. I have consulted with them on the plan, identified areas that we feel need further work.” He added that “it will be up to the president to decide when he feels it’s time and he’s ready to put that plan forward.”

The U.S. is sharply at odds with Palestinian leaders after Mr. Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognizing the contested city as Israel’s capital. Palestinians have sought to replace the U.S. as a peace broker, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas plans to address the United Nations Security Council next week.

Mr. Tillerson spoke to reporters alongside Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, after the pair signed a new foreign-assistance agreement. Under the agreement, the U.S. will commit $1.275 billion a year to boost Jordan’s security and economy.

For the past two decades, the anti-Israel rhetoric of Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership has radicalized many Palestinians, to a point where they are no longer willing to accept any form of compromise or peace with Israel.

By accusing the Trump administration of hostility to the Palestinians, the Palestinian leadership has delegitimized the US to a degree where many Palestinians now feel that Americans are legitimate targets for violence and terror attacks.

How, exactly, do these condemnations conform with Abbas’s other claims that he seeks to resume peace talks with Israel? The mask on Abbas’s face has fallen once again. That mask has, in fact, been falling for many years. Perhaps one day the world will even see that.

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas continues to say one thing to his people, and an entirely different thing to the international community.

To Arab audiences, Abbas describes Israel and the US administration as not far short of Satan incarnate.

When the PA president sends a message to the international community, however, he shows a different face.

Ever since US President Donald Trump’s December announcement recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Abbas and his top aides in Ramallah have been consistently signaling to the Palestinians that the peace process with Israel is “over.”

The Palestinians have also been assured by Abbas that Israel and the US will pay dearly for the recognition.

Israel’s unique contribution to US’ national security and US defense industries was reaffirmed on February 10, 2018, by Israel’s effective military operation against Syrian-based Iranian-Syrian surface-to-air missile batteries, early-warning radar stations, a launching-base of unmanned aerial vehicles and a command-control bunker.

While Israel lost one F-16 combat plane, its air force demonstrated exceptional capabilities in the areas of intelligence, electronic warfare – especially radar jamming – firepower capabilities, precision, maneuverability, penetration of missile batteries, early-identification and destruction of advanced unmanned aerial vehicles and their mobile controller, etc.
Israel’s Defense Forces (IDF) are analyzing the lessons of this recent operation, most of which will be shared, promptly, with the US – the manufacturer and provider of most of the systems operated by the IDF – as has been the case with a multitude of Israel’s military operations and wars. For example, much of the battle-tactics formulation in the US Army Headquarters in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas has been based on the Israeli battlefield experience.

The February 10, 2018 Israeli Air Force operation against Syrian-Iranian military targets has reinforced the legacy of the late Senator Daniel Inouye, who was the Chairman of the full Appropriations Committee and its Defense Subcommittee. Senator Inouye considered Israel a moral ally of the US, as well as the most effective battle-tested laboratory of the US military and defense industries – a primary outpost, in a critical region, sparing the US billions of dollars, which would be required to deploy additional US military forces to the area.

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES OCTOBER 19,2000 http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/19/nyregion/columbia-debates-a-professor-s-gesture.html

When Edward W. Said, a celebrated literary scholar, Columbia University professor and outspoken Palestinian advocate, hurled a rock toward an Israeli guardhouse from the Lebanese border in July, a photographer caught the action. The photo, which captured Mr. Said with his arm reached far behind him, ready to throw, appeared in newspapers and magazines in the Middle East and the United States.

When challenged later, Mr. Said, who had been on a trip with his family at the time, dismissed the action as trivial, ”a symbolic gesture of joy” that Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon had ended. But others saw it as scandalous and called on Columbia to reprimand Mr. Said, or at least repudiate his behavior.

For two months, Columbia gave no reply. But yesterday, in response to a request from student government leaders of Columbia College, Columbia broke its silence.

Its answer: Mr. Said’s behavior is protected under the principles of academic freedom.

”To my knowledge, the stone was directed at no one; no law was broken; no indictment was made; no criminal or civil action has been taken against Professor Said,” Jonathan R. Cole, the provost and dean of faculties, wrote in an open letter to Columbia’s student government and the student newspaper, The Columbia Daily Spectator.