Israel Week Ending July 23

Ben & Jerry's, NSO, Covid, Economic Reform, Air Force Exercise, Israeli Pill for Covid.

It's been another busy week in Israel … No summer doldrums here!

BEN & JERRY’S

Controversy over the decision by Ben & Jerry’s to prohibit its local licensee to sell in the West Bank and East Jerusalem was a significant news item in Israel this past week. In a rather personal article posted in Newsweek (as well as a longer version on my website), I laid out why I think this decision by the ice cream giant is wrongheaded and self-defeating. However, as expected, the reaction in Israel has also been over the top. Israelis immediately called the action anti-semitic, and President Herzog called it “a new form of terrorism”. 

Both approaches are wrong. Not every criticism or action against Israel is antisemitic. If someone says that Israel does not have the right to exist, then that is an antisemitic statement. However, criticizing Israel's actions, or denouncing the fact we continue to control most of the West Bank, is not anti-Semitic. As I point out in my article, the choice made by Ben & Jerry’s may be wrong — since I firmly believe that the Palestinians are primarily responsible for our continued stalemate— but that is my opinion, to which others can disagree. 

Our approach, i.e., questioning why they criticize us, and not others like China is also wrong. Yes, we get more criticism than any other country. Still, we must realize that our occupation has gone on longer than any other occupation in recent history (except for China in Tibet). Moreover, add to the mix the fact we are part of the OECD and consider ourselves part of the democratic world — and not a Third World dictatorship — makes us a target. 

We must recognize that even though it may not be our fault, the reality that we control other people will always open us up for criticism, justified or not. Despite all this, there is truth in that a portion of the enthusiastic embrace criticism of Israel has its roots in antisemitism. As to Herzog's statement calling the Ben & Jerry’s action “terrorism,” this is the equivalent of defining deviance down. People can be our enemies, and or take steps against us, and not be terrorists. The term “terrorist/s” refers to an individual/s who use violence against civilians. A boycott may be a profoundly unfriendly act, but it is not terrorism.

SO … NSO

Another story that received much attention both in Israel and around the globe, is the use of software developed by NSO (a private Israeli cyber firm) by various dictators, to break into the phones of journalists and opposition leaders. This is not the first time NSO has been in the news for similar reasons. However, this time, the story was much broader, encompassing global leaders throughout the world. NSO markets itself, both publicly and in its recruiting for hard-to-find talent, as a company that develops tools to stop terrorists and other bad actors. Unfortunately, like any tool, it can be used in harmful ways. This has been the dilemma of Israeli exporters for decades. 

When Israel first started exporting arms, it had no first-world countries as customers. Yet, exports were critical to economic viability in its early days. Today, circumstances have changed dramatically. Israel primarily exports to the developed world, including even, the sale of advanced military equipment to the US military. Israel runs a consistent, and growing trade surplus with the US, and an even more significant current account surplus. Perhaps it's time to for Israel to reexamine our national priorities, and increase enforcement of export controls on certain sensitive technologies that are not always used for good.

COVID—19

Coronavirus infection numbers have been going up steadily — with this week's number of newly infected 50% higher than last week. The number of seriously ill has been continually rising, as well, with 84 people now hospitalized in critical condition. A month ago, the number of Covid-based critically ill patients was down to just 3 or 4. 

There is so much conflicting information on how well the vaccinations hold up against the Delta variant, and whether the efficacy of these vaccines diminishes over time. Indications are that Covid vaccine efficacy does deteriorate over the course of time, but it's hard to be sure. The government is acting way too slowly, given the growing numbers. There was a chance to end this new wave of the Delta variant at the very beginning, with rapid action — such as closing all the schools in the initially infected towns, but that did not happen. 

While testing at Ben Gurion Airport has become very efficient, large numbers of Israelis continue to travel, and return with the virus — and unfortunately, Israelis have not been all that good at maintaining quarantine. Israel purchased 10,000 electronic bracelets, and passed a law to allow them to be used by people returning from abroad to help enforce quarantine compliance. Regrettably, the plan to start using these bracelets was never implemented. Why? Nobody knows. 

In a minimal move, the government has implemented a program to restrict those who attend large events (of more than 100 people) to vaccinated individuals, or those who have tested negative for Covid-19. But this plan only goes into effect in a week and excludes children, all of whom can be carriers of the disease. The Ministry of Health's experts are said to be unhappy with the government's response. The streets of Tel Aviv were super-packed last night, and as someone who was one of the first people in the country to be vaccinated, it would be dishonest if I did not say that seeing these hordes out on the town was unsettling, to say the least.

DEFENSE

According to foreign reports, Israel attacked in Syria twice this week. In addition, an arms warehouse of the Islamic Jihad mysteriously blew up Wednesday night. An accident? Who knows? What we do know is that two rockets were fired from Lebanon at the northern Galilee, this week. One missile was intercepted by Iron Dome, while the second fell in an open field. 

Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force is hosting the first joint military exercise on the use of drones in warfare. The exercise brought together Air Force personnel from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy to learn from, and with the IAF, on the best ways to use drones. This puts the trivial Ben & Jerry's boycott in a bit of perspective.

ANTISEMITISM & RACISM

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid opened an interesting debate this week; first with a speech in the Knesset, followed by an article in Haaretz. Lapid, son of a holocaust survivor, tackled the very charged question of the nature of antisemitism, and indirectly the meaning of the Holocaust. 

One view is that antisemitism, and thus, the Holocaust are unique and sui generis to the Jewish people. Lapid has weighed in on that controversy by advocating the view that antisemitism and the Holocaust are, in fact, the most extreme examples of racism. While there has never been any other extreme, and long-lasting example of racism in history — and thus, it is unique to the Jewish people. 

Antisemitism is indeed the most extreme continuation of the racism that exists in too many societies. Lapid believes we have the responsibility to fight racism in all its forms. That fight can also be used against many of our critics, asserting to them that their attacks on the only Jewish State are, in fact, racist attacks—an interesting position to take.

Lapid continues to surprise.

NEW GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

Israel’s new government has announced several significant reforms. The first is to eliminate the monopoly of the rabbinate on Kosher supervision. Naturally, the ultra-Orthodox are livid, making all sorts of disparaging claims — although the ultra-Orthodox do not accept the Rabbinate kosher system for themselves, since they have controlled this system, it has meant jobs, power, and money, all of which they will soon lose.

Minister of Interior Ayelet Shaked has signed an order that former Minister Arye Deri refused to approve. The new regulation requires all new buildings must be built with a built-in infrastructure for fiber-optic internet connection. So why did Deri oppose this regulation? Because it would be too easy for ultra-Orthodox to connect to the internet, if it was already built into their apartment buildings.

Significant reforms have also been announced in the area of agriculture. The government will remove the import tax on agricultural products. The farmers are outraged, but the Ministry of Finance has promised to compensate them directly. The current situation is absurd. A straightforward example is that a tiny package of blueberries currently sells at my local grocer for about $12. When I was in the states recently, the first thing I ordered at a Diner was a bowl of blueberries, which contained twice as many blueberries, for $5.

In Israel, pineapples cost 10 times or more than what they cost abroad. All of this has led to the high cost of living. Of course, we shall see if the price decreases will be passed on to consumers.

In another action, the government announced that the process of gaining approval for the import of products by the Israeli Standards Institute would be ended. Instead, if a product has US or European approval, it will be allowed to be imported. This will permit much more competition from importers, and thus, sideline official importers that have been getting rich on the backs of Israelis, for three generations.

BUSINESS

One of the most exciting announcements this past week was by Oramed Pharmaceuticals. Oramed reported they are starting Stage-One clinical trials of their oral Covid 19 vaccine, here in Tel Aviv. Oramed has spent years developing oral vaccines, to replace injections. They expected their first commercial product would be aimed at oral insulin, but the past year's events may have changed all that. 

According to Oramed, its subsidiary Oravax owns the IP for virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine technology that targets three SARS CoV-2 virus surface proteins — including proteins less susceptible to mutation. This would potentially make their vaccine effective against current and future variants of the COVID-19 virus. If pills can replace vaccines and are manufactured here in Israel, it will be a worldwide game-changer. It's not clear how long trials will have to continue. Let's hope for a quick a successful set of trails.

Also, Outbrain, a web advertising platform, has gone public on the NASDAQ at a $1.1 billion valuation. This sum was below their initial hopes of a $1.3 billion valuation. Outbrain projects sales of $214 million for 2021, which would represent a growth of 24% over 2020.

Pandologic was purchased by Veritone, a US corporation, for $150 million. Pandologic has developed a platform to use AI that helps employers find workers.

Lastly, Tailor Brands, which developed an online marketing platform, has raised $50 million. Tailor Brands’ major investors include, the internet register company “Go Daddy,” and the investment fund “Our Crowd”.