Here’s the latest installment in our monthly series of posts detailing BDS fails.
Economic BDS Fails
“Israeli companies have announced an investment that will create about 100 jobs in south Wales. The announcement was made as Israeli businesses visited Wales.They said investment in manufacturer SPTS Technologies, in Newport, would mean £13m for local suppliers.”
“Both Houses of Parliament in Berne confirmed the deal ,which includes 6 Airborne Surveillance planes made by Elbit , despite claims that Israel violates Palestinian rights , and made use of these aircraft in operation “Zuk Eitan” . Swiss Defense Minister : ” They will not be used to attack ”
Dramatic achievement for Israel in battle against the boycott movement : the two houses of the Swiss parliament approved tonight (Monday) is a huge deal for the purchase of six aircraft unmanned Israeli spy of the ” Hermes 900 ” , manufactured by Elbit Systems . The value of the transaction is 250 million Swiss francs , about US $ 256 million.”
“Private equity investment in Israeli companies climbed to a quarterly record in the second quarter of 2015 according to the latest report by IVC Research Center and Shibolet & Co. There were 29 investment deals in the second quarter of 2015 totaling $1.67 billion. The quarter ended with the largest number of Israeli PE deals in comparison to the 5-year quarterly average of 17 deals and the quarterly amount invested in PE deals was the highest in three years, far above the $145 million and the $385 million invested in the corresponding quarter of 2014 and the preceding quarter of 2015.”
“TEL AVIV and JERUSALEM — While banking a white Audi on Route 443 outside Jerusalem, Shalom Mines nonchalantly let go of the steering wheel and took his foot off the gas.
In an instant, a camera-and-software system made by Mobileye, a Jerusalem company developing autonomous-car technology, took over and navigated the vehicle through a curve.
‘I’m not doing anything,’ Mines, a Mobileye test driver, said while he craned his head toward the rear of the car to show it was no trick. “One day I will just sit in the backseat.”
Mobileye’s journey reached a milestone last year when the 16-year-old company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, raising $1 billion in the largest initial public offering ever for an Israeli tech firm. The company, now at the forefront of crash-avoidance systems and the white-hot market for self-driving mechanisms, immediately became a poster child for the higher ambitions of Israeli technology.”
“Flavoring and ingredient firm Frutarom took a giant step toward becoming Israel’s next “unicorn” – a world giant with a billion dollars in sales – with its tenth acquisition so far this year, tying the record for number of companies acquired by corporation in a single year this century by a corporation (Massachusetts-based Alere Global bought ten companies in 2007). Over the weekend, Frutarom announced it was acquiring 79% of the shares of the Spanish company Nutrafur, a company that develops and markets specialty natural plant extracts bearing antioxidant properties.”
“Israel-based MediWound recently signed a five-year, $112 million contract with the US authority that handles public health medical emergencies to further develop and buy the company’s drug treatment for severe burns.
Investment group Clal Biotechnology, which has a 45 percent stake in MediWound, said in a statement that the deal with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority would raise preparedness for mass-casualty incidents.
The US body would also help MediWound get approval for its drug NexoBrid, a topical treatment that removes damaged tissue, from the Food and Drug Administration, Clal said.”
“Tel Aviv has been chosen as one of the top 25 leading financial world centers, according to a study sponsored by the Qatar Financial Centre in Doha.
The distance from the top three – London, New York, and Hong Kong – is still great, however the White City nonetheless precedes tens of other very important financial centers.
According to the study, Tel Aviv is ranked 25th, and advances, among others, Abu Dhabi (28), Beijing (29), São Paulo (31), Stockholm (32), Rio de Janeiro (35), Amsterdam (36), Paris (37), Oslo (67), Moscow (78), and Madrid (79).”
Political BDS Fails
“An Arab bid to pressure Israel over its assumed nuclear arsenal failed on Thursday after Washington and other powers united to reject it at the U.N. atomic watchdog’s annual gathering.
The extent of the rejection – with a larger number of ‘no’s than a similar vote last year – will reassure Israel, whose relationship with the United States and other traditional allies has been strained by their support for a nuclear settlement with its enemy Iran.”
“Israel’s security was and Is a very important matter for every German Chancellor – and so it will be in the future, too. My statement must be understood in a very comprehensive way. It is frequently reduced to the military aspect, but it refers to an entirely fundamental commitment to Israel’s security. We are certainly not neutral. I am working on instilling this recognition in the next generation of young people. I am similarly working to make the future generation’s young people to be aware of it.”
Cultural, Technological and Scientific BDS Fails
- Top Ways The UK Benefits From Israel: The top ways in which the UK benefits from Israel, from investment, to research, to medicine and technology and beyond. (See the complete list here.)
- Israel provides one in seven medicines prescribed on the NHS
- Israeli app Gett is making London taxi rides cheaper
- Israeli technology protects UK forces on deployment
- Israeli investment creates thousands of UK jobs
- Some 300 Israeli companies operate in the UK employing thousands of British workers.
- In March 2014 David Cameron, during a visit to Israel, welcomed £70 million in new investments from companies in the fields of technology, energy, pharmaceuticals and medical innovation.
- 25 Israeli companies set up or expanded in the UK in 2014.
- During a trade delegation in September 2015 Israeli tech companies announced £3 million of investment in South Wales with plans to create up to 100 jobs.
“‘We want to be the greenest parliament in the world,’ said Ronen Plot, director general and kingpin of the Green Knesset project which aims to transform the seat of Israeli politicians into a 100% eco-efficient building.
Emblem of energy transition
The biggest undertaking was installing a solar field on the roof of the Knesset, which measures 4,560 metres long and has an installed capacity of 450 kilowatts. Nor is the Knesset the first parliament to claim the idea of solar panels; however, its installation is larger than those of the Reichstag in Berlin, or the houses of parliament in Canberra, Australia. As it stands, it should be able to cover 10% of its electricity needs.”
“One of Israel’s sources of pride is the enormous number of inventions and innovations that have taken root on its soil over 63 years — despite challenges of geography, size and diplomacy. The ever-churning Israeli mind has brought us drip irrigation, the cherry tomato, the electric car grid, the Disk-on-Key and much more.
Through December at the Bloomfield Science Museum in Jerusalem, 45 indispensable Israeli inventions are being displayed and demonstrated. Curator Varda Gur Ben-Sheetrit tells ISRAEL21c that hundreds of ingenious inventions were considered for Inventions, Inc., which offers visitors a chance to learn more and try their own hand at coming up with something new.”
“Those who arrived without pretension, young at heart and nostalgic – and there were 50,000 of them in the Park Saturday – got to see a great performance by one of the most experienced and refined bands in the world today. The guitar playlist that blared through the microphone was sharply cut off at 8:45pm (an earlier-than-usual start for a concert at the park), the lights went out, and from that moment till 10:50pm Bon Jovi took the hungry Israeli crowd on a journey of the crevasses of their long and winding career.”
Related articles
- The BDS Movement’s Very Bad Month (Commentary)
