Israel Update Week Ending December 17

Bennett visits UAE, Barak Ravid on Abraham Accord,$25.5 Billion in venture investments and more!

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The week began with a visit by Prime Minister Bennett to the United Arab Emirates. This was the first visit of an Israeli Prime Minister to the UAE, a trip which underscored the warm nature of Israel and the UAE relations at present. Three or four years ago, no one could have imagined the current state of affairs, i.e., with eight flights each day between Ben Gurion Airport and Dubai.

Barak Ravid’s book on the Abraham Accord came out this week. After a teaser in the weekend edition of Yediot, the book continued to make waves. One of the interesting stories Ravid revealed is the problematic role played by US Ambassador David Friedman, encouraging Netanyahu to believe he could unilaterally annex part of the West Bank — something which came as a surprise to Trump, and which Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, understood would destroy any chance for reaching an agreement. 

The Abraham Accord, it turns out, was a hail-Mary attempt to stop Netanyahu from going ahead with annexation. The UAE was willing to be the catalyst that stopped Netanyahu from taking further steps. According to Ravid, Netanyahu almost backed out at the last moment, but was read the riot act and went along with the normalization deal. I was asked on Knesset TV (my first Hebrew TV appearance after over five years of English TV appearances), whether America was as engaged in this story of the seemingly mutually exploitative relationship between Netanyahu and Trump. I had to say “minor news,” since tornadoes and Covid-19, were given much more coverage.

DEFENSE

A terror attack in the West Bank Thursday night took the life of Yehuda Dimentman, a 25-year-old father of one, from the West Bank settlement of Shavei Shomron. Two terrorists opened fire on the car Dimentman was in, as it exited the illegal settlement of Homesh. Two others in the car were injured. This was the 13th terror attack this month, and the second fatality.

Also on Thursday, it was announced the Shin Bet had arrested two workers from Gaza for attempting to spy for Hamas. In a message to residents of Gaza, the IDF General in charge of working with the territories warned that for the sake of a few pictures, Hamas was endangering their economic future. Gazan’s desperately want to work in Israel, where the wages are ten times those in Gaza, and Israel has slowly been allowing more Gazans in. If, however they continue to be a security threat, that option will be discontinued.

POLITICAL AFFAIRS

It was a strange week in politics. In a non-political move, the government committee responsible for deciding who receives protection opted to remove the security detail from Netanyahu’s adult children. Netanyahu’s sons were the first adult children of a PM to receive protection, which Netanyahu made sure would continue, as long as he was PM. Both the Mossad and the Shin Bet stated that as children of a former PM, there was no need for their protection to continue, and it was ended.

Netanyahu reacted angrily. That anger included refusing any Knesset vote-balancing, which customarily takes place when an MK is sick, or has to be away. In this case, MK Pinto was forced to come to the Knesset to vote just six days after giving birth. 

On Thursday, Netanyahu released a video, in English, asserting that Democracy in Israel is under threat. As evidence, Netanyahu cited the proposed new law that would stop someone who had been indicted for becoming PM, as well as a law the government is considering banning hate speech on social networks— which he referred to as “censorship”. (When I remarked on Knesset TV that Trump’s public profile had been somewhat limited, after being banned from Facebook and Twitter, the host remarked ”that must be why Netanyahu has been so vocal against the new social media laws). 

A little later on Thursday, a poster was widely circulated (see below), with a picture of PM Bennett surrounded by the North Korean Leader and the Turkish leader, stating: “Israeli democracy is in Danger! Erdogan is here. #We will not be silent”. The great irony is that almost all supporters of the current government believe the new coalition was founded to save Democracy from Netanyahu.

COVID–19

The number of Covid cases continue to be slowly increasing, with between 600-750 new infections every day. On Thursday, there were 838 new cases. The rate of positive tests remains under 1% and the number of serious illness has dropped to 80 patients. So far, Israel has more or less kept the Omicron variant at bay, with almost all cases in Israel entering from abroad. 

The fear is that the dam will not hold. The problem continues to be Israelis who do not follow the rules. The largest outbreak in Israel of Omicron has come from an ultra-Orthodox family of four who returned from South Africa, and did not keep quarantine. The parents both went to work, and the kids went to school all carrying the Omicron virus. 

Most of Europe has now been designated as “Red,” meaning that Israelis need special permission to travel there, and must remain in quarantine for at least a week when they return — regardless of their vaccine status. There is an expectation the United States will be added to the “Red” list next week. Israel continues to block the arrival of tourists.

ECONOMY

Some astounding data about the Israeli economy came out this week. A total of $25.4 billion was invested in Israeli companies this year. This is up from 10.8 billion in 2020, which was an increase from $6 billion in 2018. While the low cost of money has increased available venture capital this past year, Israel has outpaced all of the other countries in terms of pct increase — that is, $2,600 Per capita/per person in Israel; compared to America, where VC investment is calculated at $600 per person. Last year, there were 20 Unicorns created in Israel. Today, there are 53. And finally, 57 Israeli companies had public offerings this year, either in the US or Israel.

While the value ascribed to Israeli startups consists of valuation on possible future products and sales, one Israeli high-tech company, Elbit Systems is breaking all barriers. Not a day goes by without an announcement of a new mega-sale by Elbit in my inbox — often to an unnamed country, but also just as likely to the US Department of Defense, or a NATO ally. Elbit now has a market cap of 7.5 billion, with sales growing over 20% Y/Y per quarter. Elbit currently boasts a sales backlog of $13.6 billion, an increase of 24% in the last year.

Greeneye Technology, developer of AI-enabled precision spraying technology for agricultural applications, announced completion of a $22 million (USD)  funding-round, led by JVP. This round also includes participation from Syngenta Group Ventures, the world's largest manufacturer of crop protection chemicals, Hyperplane Venture Capital, and One Way Ventures. They are joined by leading agricultural machinery manufacturer, AGCO, and KDT.

Each year, farmers worldwide apply millions of gallons of herbicides — the vast majority of which are wastefully sprayed onto bare soil or the crop. This overuse of chemicals, which is common practice in the industry, damages the environment, causes weeds to develop resistance to herbicides, and is a financial burden for farmers.

Greeneye has developed proprietary AI-enabled precision spraying technology that allows farmers to seamlessly transition from this hugely inefficient practice, to precise application of herbicides and other chemicals. This  method is proven to reduce herbicide volumes by up to 90%, while also improving weed control efficacy compared to standard broadcast spraying.

FruitSpec, announced it has completed an investment round of $5 million, led by Amathaon Capital, a European agtech investment company, Ocean Azul, a North American early stage venture capital firm and Smart-Agro, an R&D partnership traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange specializing in agro-food investments.

FruitSpec's "Yield Management Platform" provides digital visibility of fruit yield data to all supply-chain production unit departments, from the farmer, through the picking, packing, and marketing departments. The Yield Management Platform uses an early-season accurate fruit yield prediction technology together with digital tools, allowing customers to optimize yield sales and operations, resulting in increased profitability.

DOING GOOD

I am going to try to add an article, from time to time, on some organization that I come across that is doing good in this country. I am a strong believer in direct giving. If a charity is doing good work, and you can check that all is legit, then get involved, give your time, and your money.

Jordan River Village (www.afjrv.org) is an organization that maintains and nurtures a youth village for disabled children. A friend, who I trust, is active with the village and is a major donor. During Covid, Jordan River Village reinvented itself, by reaching out and expanding its work with children — not only those who come to the camp, but also those who remain in their communities. This has allowed Jordan River Village to double the number of children with whom they are able to work. You can learn more Jordan River Village from this interview on i24News.