Here’s the latest installment in our ongoing series of posts documenting BDS fails – stories of Israeli success and BDS failures that are rarely covered by British media outlets.
Political BDS Fails
Israeli and American militaries tighten air-defense cooperation
(August 11, 2021 / JNS) Representatives from the U.S. and Israeli Air Forces met last month to discuss a remarkable development: what the Israel Defense Forces described as “updated orders for the cooperation between the two nations’ air-defense systems during emergency situations.”
South Korea adopts International Definition of #Antisemitism
🇰🇷 South Korea adopts International Definition of #Antisemitism https://t.co/nI3ZpgRaVU
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) August 10, 2021
Australian PM confirms Australia recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital
Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed a shift in the Australian government’s policy on the Middle East, recognising West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
He said however, any relocation of Australia’s embassy to Jerusalem would be delayed until a peace settlement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The decision announced on Shabbat – the Jewish day of prayer and rest – was welcomed by Jewish groups with the peak representative body the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) hailing it as “groundbreaking”.
Azerbaijan opens Trade Office in Tel Aviv
PEACE EXPANDS: Another Islamic nation is now flying its flag in Israel as Azerbaijan Minister Mikayil Jabbarov today opens Trade Office in Tel Aviv. 🇦🇿🇮🇱
This follows Israel’s historic accords in the past year with Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and the UAE.
May we see many more! https://t.co/dnqGeIUs2o pic.twitter.com/qspm2gLO1Q
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) July 29, 2021
RAF pilots on a mission to perfect drone skills in Israel
RAF pilots have begun training with their Israeli counterparts as part of the first major dron exercise by Western powers.
The exercise, dubbed Blue Guardian, is taking place at the coastal Palmachim airbase in Israel, where pilots are operating the Israeli Hermes 450 drone.
Along with drone pilots from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, teams from the United States, France, Italy and Germany are also taking part in the two-week exercise.
Israeli military officials say the state is increasingly relying on drones as a surveillance and intelligence tool, adding that during the recent conflict in Gaza, some 20 drones were flying over the territory at any given moment.
They added that Israel was quickly becoming a drone “superpower”, but it was eager to exchange expertise with Western allies.
Economic BDS Fails
Israeli-Founded Cloud Protection Firm OwnBackup Nears $3.35 Billion Valuation
US-Israeli cloud data protection firm OwnBackup said on Tuesday it raised $240 million in a late-stage funding round to bring its valuation to near $3.35 billion.
It said it has close to 4,000 customers including Aston Martin, Guidewire Software, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Medtronic, Navy Federal Credit Union, Singapore Economic Development Board, and the University of Miami.
OwnBackup is based in New Jersey but was founded in Israel, where it retains a large presence.
Azrieli Group signs with British fashion retailer AllSaints
The Azrieli Group Ltd. (TASE: AZRG), has signed an exclusive agreement with the leading British urban, premium fashion retailer, AllSaints to operate their stores in Israel.
AllSaints was founded in 1994 and offers a variety of Menswear, Womenswear, Footwear, and accessories through its department store locations, 323 stand-alone retail stores and its website. Its flagship store in the UK is in Notting Hill (Portobello) and its trademark is a wall inlaid with old sewing machines (the design is changing these days).
AllSaints has presence across 27 countries and regions including the UK, France, Ireland, USA, Canada, Russia, South Korea and China and employs 3,200 people. Overall turnover in 2020 amounted to $500M and its operating profit amounted to $13M.
One year into Abraham Accords, Israel’s trade with UAE tops $570m
A year into the Abraham Accords, some $570 million in business has been done between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, according to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics.
During 2020 and the first six months of 2021, Israel exported $197 million of goods and services to the UAE, and imported about $372 million.
Trade could reach $1 billion for the whole of 2021, and could exceed $3 billion within three years, according to the UAE-Israel Business Council, an organization connecting businesses in the two countries.
Israel Aerospace Industries inks $237 million radar deal with German military
Israel Aerospace Industries has signed a deal worth 200 million euros ($237 million) to supply advanced radars to the German military.
The four long-range radar systems will help modernize Germany’s airspace surveillance and ballistic missile defense capabilities, IAI said in a Thursday statement.
The system will contribute to NATO defense against long-range weapon threats, the company said.
IAI will collaborate via its ELTA subsidiary on the project with the German firm Hensoldt, a leading European defense company that produces sensors for security applications.
Technological and Medical BDS Fails
Israel to expand use of COVID drug that gets 88% of patients out of hospital
The drug, MesenCure, has been tested by Rambam Medical Center as part of a Phase I/II trial. The ministry has approved allowing any interested Israeli hospital to take part in the Phase II trial and to use the drug for additional approved patients.
The goal of the expanded trial, which will include a minimum of 50 patients, is to confirm the safety and efficacy of the drug, which was developed by Bonus BioGroup.
COVID: 90% of patients treated with new Israeli drug discharged in 5 days
Some 93% of 90 coronavirus serious patients treated in several Greek hospitals with a new drug developed by a team at Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center as part of the Phase II trial of the treatment were discharged in five days or fewer.
The Phase II trial confirmed the results of Phase I, which was conducted in Israel last winter and saw 29 out of 30 patients in moderate to serious condition recover within days.
“The main goal of this study was to verify that the drug is safe,” Prof. Nadir Arber said. “To this day we have not registered any significant side effect in any patient from both groups.”
Sustainable Skim: Israel’s Remilk Making Dairy Lactose-Free, Sans Cows
Remilk’s “milk” is nearly identical to regular milk, but is engineered without any lactose, cholesterol, growth hormones, or antibiotics. “It’s like regular milk with all the upsides but without the downsides,” Wolff said, noting that some 65% of the global population is lactose intolerant or has a reduced ability to digest lactose. Although Remilk’s product does not contain harmful additives, it remains unclear whether it is suitable for consumption by those allergic to dairy byproducts.
Cultural BDS Fails
‘Fauda’ Co-Creators Extend Partnership With Netflix to Develop, Produce More Original Content
Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz, the co-creators of the hit Israeli show “Fauda,” have extended their production company’s current contract with Netflix and will continue to develop and produce original content for the streaming giant, Variety reported on Monday.
Issacharoff and Raz are the founders and leaders of Faraway Road Productions, which created and produced “Fauda” as well as the new Netflix action series “Hit & Run.” All three seasons of “Fauda” are streaming on Netflix, and the fourth season of the Hebrew-language show is currently in pre-production.
The nine-episode first season of “Hit & Run,” which stars Raz in the lead role, premiered on Netflix on Friday and made it onto the platform’s Top 10 list after a one-day debut, according to Variety.
Russian gymnast calls to stop harassing Israeli gold medalist Linoy Ashram
Russian Olympic rhythmic gymnast Dina Averina on Monday urged people to leave Israel’s gold medalist Linoy Ashram alone after the Israeli’s win on Saturday in Tokyo drew controversy on social media in Russia.
The 22-year-old stunned the world and won a gold medal on Saturday after topping a stiff competition in the individual all-around final. Ashram’s win caused an uproar in Russia, which counted on Averina to take home the gold medal instead of silver. Since her win, the public, Russian sports officials and even some politicians in Moscow have claimed the results were rigged.
“I, like Linoy Ashram, am being bullied on social networks,” she said in an interview with Championat, a Russian digital sports publisher.
“Yes, not all people support me,” she said. “We are not guilty of anything — this is a matter of the judges. I feel sorry for Linoy — she did nothing wrong. Don’t harass her.”
Fauda becomes first Israeli series to be dubbed in Farsi
The hit television series Fauda will become the first-ever Israeli show to be dubbed into Farsi.
The Farsi version of the show is slated to air on Manoto TV, an international Persian-language channel based in London.
Iranian defector dedicates Tokyo Judo Silver medal to Israel
Flashing some Hebrew vocabulary, judoka says ‘todah‘ to Israelis for support; Israeli Olympian Sagi Muki congratulates unlikely friend on achievement, calling his journey ‘incredibly inspiring’
Iranian defector Saeid Mollaei dedicated his silver medal to Israel after competing in the final of the men’s judo 81-kilogram division at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday.
“This medal is also dedicated to Israel and I hope the Israelis appreciate this achievement,” Mollaei said, according to public broadcaster Kan.
Mollaei, who represents Mongolia, claimed his first Olympic medal two years after fleeing his native Iran after the country’s judo union tried to pressure him to deliberately lose in the semifinals of the 2019 world championships in Tokyo to avoid facing Israel’s Sagi Muki in the final.
Israeli judoka Raz Hershko praises ‘brave’ Saudi opponent for fighting her
In an interview with an English-language daily in Saudi Arabia, Israeli judoka Raz Hershko said Saudi fighter Tahani Al-Qahtani was brave to show up to their match last week at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I was so happy that she put — and the country put — the politics out of it,” Hershko said in an English-language video interview with Arab News published on Wednesday. “We did both of us what we love to do, and the things we want to do and because of this we came to this competition.”
Artem Dolgopyat wins Israel’s first gymnastics medal with floor GOLD | Tokyo Olympics | NBC Sports
Israel’s ArtemDolgopyat and Spain’s Rayderley Zapata posted identical scores of 14.933, and the former prevailed by 0.1 by virtue of difficulty score. #NBCOlympics#Tokyo2020#Gymnastics
BDS is a racist endeavour and membership of it should be banned in the UK. It facilitates antisemitism and does nothing at all to help the Palestinian people.
#defundthebbc