Tel Aviv Diary September 23, 2022
A Week of Diplomacy, Lapid Speaks to UN,Terror Attacks, Acquisitions, and Reviews
Shannah Tova To All My Readers!!!!
DIPLOMACY
This has been an incredibly busy week in Israeli diplomacy. The week began with Prime Minister Lapid’s visit to Germany; during which the PM dealt with both Iranian negotiations, as well as bilateral Israeli-German matters (including the expected sale of Israeli missile defense systems to Germany). Then on Wednesday, Lapid traveled to New York for the UN General Assembly meetings, where he met with King Hussein of Jordan to discuss both bilateral issues, as well as, concern the situation on the West Bank could deteriorate.
Lapid later held a historic meeting with Turkish President Erdoğan, the first such meeting between an Israeli Prime Minister and the Turkish President since 2007.
Lapid also met with Jewish organizations and the newly appointed British Prime Minister, Liz Truss
.
Thursday, Lapid addressed the UN General Assembly and delivered a very different speech from the fiery rhetoric Netanyahu meted out year-after-year. Lapid’s optimistic, but resolutely candid speech was a welcome departure from the doom and gloom, albeit eloquent, for which Netanyahu is famous. In his well-polished presentation, Lapid made clear that Iran was behind much of the terror in the world, and that Israel would not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
Prime Minister Lapid stated firmly and definitively that the only solution to our conflict with the Palestinians is the two-state solution. Lapid emphasized that we must remain very careful in reaching a peace agreement, as we must always maintain full control over our security. Lapid’s speech did possess certain risks in terms of the upcoming November election. The right-wing swiftly attacked Lapid, with Netanyahu asserting the address “endangered Israel’s future,” and Bezalel Smotritch contending Lapid’s statements were “a shameful surrender to terrorism.” Of course, neither Netanyahu nor Smotritch have an answer as to how Israel can remain both Jewish and Democratic, if we continue to occupy the West Bank forever.
One thing Lapid proved, without a shadow of a doubt, is that he is completely capable of delivering a powerful speech in English, every bit as well as Netanyahu.
POLITICS
Although the upcoming election is only six weeks away, the campaign has been muted — despite the continual bombardment of polls, and Netanyahu’s constant barrage of videos attacking Lapid and the government. Lapid has been running a Rose Garden campaign, (i.e., taking advantage of his interim Prime Ministership to showcase his ability to lead the country), differentiating himself from Netanyahu's leadership style.
Will Lapid’s strategy work? It remains tough to predict the outcome of the election, despite the constant polls. The outcome of the election will be determined by the turn out, especially amongst Israeli Arabs, and polls have been an unreliable predictor of turnout. The one “interesting” occurrence was Ayelet Shaked’s apology for joining the Change government and opposing Netanyahu. Shaked’s mea culpa is unlikely to help her, as her party currently polls below the electoral threshold.
DEFENSE
While we are a long way from a new Intifadah, the number of terror incidents has been growing. On Tuesday, an 84-year-old woman was killed by a Palestinian working in Israel, with a work permit. The next day the perpetrator hung himself (a very strange thing for a “terrorist” to do). There have been a number of ramming attacks in the West Bank, as well. However, the central event of the week was a clash in Nablus between Palestinian security personnel vs. Hamas and its supporters, after the Palestinians Security Police arrested a member of Hamas activists wanted by Israel. While the initial reaction in Nablus was fury at the Palestinian Authority, after a day of clashes, an agreement was reached that reestablished de facto control of the Palestinian Authority in Nablus.
On Thursday night, there was a stabbing attack outside the City of Modi’in, which left two Israelis wounded, and the terrorist killed.
The Israeli Navy successfully test-fired the Gabriel 5 Sea to Sea and Sea to Land Missile. The missile is the fifth generation of
ISRAEL IN THE NEW YEAR
With a New Year approaching, Israel’s population is approaching 10 million; representing a growth of 1.8% this past year. There were 177,000 births, 49,000 new immigrants, and 2,000 Israelis returned from extended stays abroad. On the other side of the ledger, 53,000 Israelis died during 5782.
This is how Israelis define themselves in terms of religious observance:
BUSINESS
The Tel Aviv Innovation Ecosystem Report 2021 was released. Tel Aviv hosts 32% (2,947 companies) of all the tech companies in Israel, and 135 multinational R&D centers. In the past five years, the capital raised by Tel Aviv tech companies grew tenfold.
In 2021:
● A record-breaking $20 billion in funding was raised by Tel Aviv-based companies
● A 42% jump in the number of Scale-up??? companies
● Near doubling of Tel Aviv companies global headcount, reaching 150K total
● 135 leading multi-national corporations from 16 countries, (including 20 new ones), turn to Tel Aviv for innovation and expertise, across 34 industry verticals.
Cyber Security is the clear leader in 2021 exit value, and number of deals by vertical.
An unprecedented number of 20 companies went to IPO, while acquisitions led exits in numbers and value.
Elbit Systems Ltd. announced it was awarded a contract valued at $80 million to supply unmanned turrets for Armored Fighting Vehicles (“AFVs”) to an Asian-Pacific country. The contract will be performed over a three-year period. Under the contract, Elbit Systems will supply 30mm-gun unmanned light turrets that integrate sensors and display systems for enhanced situational awareness, target acquisition capabilities, fire control systems, and weapon systems of various types, enabling significant mission performance upgrade for the AFVs
.
Thailand will purchase Hermes 900 drones from Elbit.
Rafael, the government-owned arms manufacturer who makes Iron Dome has purchased Britain’s Pearson Engineering for 100 million Pounds. Rafael hopes the purchase will help the company penetrate the European market.
Google has acquired BreezoMeter for over $200 million. The company monitors air quality and improves people’s health by using atmospheric data acquired through multiple sensing stations, AI, together with machine-learning algorithms trained to recognize and detect several different types of pollutants. The company has raised $45 million, to date.
A PIECE OF HISTORY — MIKVE ISRAEL
Mikve Israel was founded in 1870 by Charles Netter, an emissary of the French organization Alliance Israélite Universelle, as a place for the Jews of Palestine to learn modern agricultural techniques. Baron Edmond de Rothschild funded the school. In the 1880s, some members of the 1st Aliyah were trained at the school. Once the members were trained, Rothschild was willing to finance the land purchase for them. The first group founded Rishon LeTzion. Herzl met German Emperor Wilhelm II at the entrance to the school. For many years, the school was considered the main agricultural research facility in the country. Today, there are 1,800 pupils between the ages of 12 and 18 studying at the school
.
A TASTE OF TEL AVIV — BY TALI SCHULMAN
George and John
This week we’re visiting my favorite restaurant in Tel Aviv, George and John. Located inside the Drisco hotel; a trendy, upscale, boutique hotel, on the border of Florentine and Yafo, George and John serves some of the most flavorful dishes in the city. The seasonal menu changes regularly according to available ingredients, however, you will not be disappointed with a single dish Chef Tomer Tal places on the menu. Two of my favorite dishes which you definitely should not skip if available are the kohlrabi served in the most delectable sauce, and the beef tartar which is accompanied by bone marrow. But most importantly, don’t skimp on the bread, you will want it to soak up the delicious sauces served with every dish!
Find me on Instagram @talischulman and follow all my food adventures saved in my highlights!