Here’s the latest installment in our ongoing series of posts documenting BDS fails – stories of Israeli success that are rarely covered by British media outlets.
Political BDS Fails
70,000 people from 95 countries make aliyah in 2022
Jewish Agency data for the period between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2022, shows that 37,364 olim arrived from Russia; 14,680 from Ukraine; 3,500 from North America, with assistance from Nefesh B’Nefesh; 2,049 from France; 1,993 from Belarus; 1,498 from Ethiopia as part of Operation Tzur Israel; 985 from Argentina; 526 from Great Britain; 426 from South Africa; and 356 from Brazil. Final totals for 2022 will be available after the year concludes.
Sudan to sign Abraham Accords in coming days
Sudan to sign Abraham Accords in coming days: Following high-level talks between Israel and Sudan with US mediation, Sudan is ready join the accords, "Globes" has learned. https://t.co/DqS6UkYcm3 Globes pic.twitter.com/8DIlA7HZVN
— Jewish Community (@JComm_NewsFeeds) February 2, 2023
Morocco To Boost Military Ties With Israel
Morocco’s army said Tuesday it had agreed with Israel to strengthen military cooperation including in intelligence and cybersecurity, following defence meetings in Rabat.
The two countries “agreed to further strengthen cooperation and expand it to other areas, including in intelligence, air defence and electronic warfare,” the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces said in a statement.
Puma is urged to ignore anti-Israel boycott calls
UK Lawyers for Israel, together with the Zionist Advocacy Centre, have written to the CEO of Puma International to congratulate him on continuing to sponsor the Israeli Football Association and to counter the anti-Israel groups who have been urging Puma to withdraw its sponsorship.
Anti-Israel campaigners have been pressurising Puma to withdraw from sponsoring the Israeli Football Association on the ground that some of its sanctioned football matches take place in so-called West Bank Settlements.
We wrote to remind Puma that boycotts relating to the West Bank are both immoral and costly to firms as was recently learned by Unilever and Airbnb.
Our letter explained that boycotts of trade with the “West Bank” are an antisemitic strategy to attack the Jewish state. They are a “camel’s nose” strategy because enemies of Israel realize that they cannot get support for general boycotts of Israel and so they call for West Bank boycotts as a first step towards a total boycott.
Economic BDS Fails
Tel Aviv flooded with new international chain stores
Alo Yoga, 7-Eleven, and Sunglass Hut have opened their first Israeli branches in span of one week; Israel chosen due to the large number of Israelis on Alo Yoga website, despite high cost of the merchandise
“The Economist” ranks Israel fourth best performing economy
“The Economist” has ranked Israel as the fourth best performing economy in 2022. “In the Middle East, Israel enjoyed success over the past year, despite the political chaos,” the UK weekly wrote.
The ranking of the 34 OECD countries was based on five macroeconomic indicators: GDP growth, annual inflation, inflation breadth, share prices, and government debt. As “Globes” reported last week Israel’s debt: GDP ratio has fallen from 68% to 60% this year. Although inflation over the past 12 months has risen to 5.3%, this is about half the level of inflation in much of the Western economies, as “The Economist” points out.
“The Economist” has ranked Israel as the fourth best performing economy in 2022. “In the Middle East, Israel enjoyed success over the past year, despite the political chaos,” the UK weekly wrote.
The ranking of the 34 OECD countries was based on five macroeconomic indicators: GDP growth, annual inflation, inflation breadth, share prices, and government debt. As “Globes” reported last week Israel’s debt: GDP ratio has fallen from 68% to 60% this year. Although inflation over the past 12 months has risen to 5.3%, this is about half the level of inflation in much of the Western economies, as “The Economist” points out.
Tevva begins first high-volume production of electric lorries in UK
The truck startup Tevva has become the first company to start high-volume production of electric lorries in the UK.
The company has started making its 7.5 tonne electric truck for customers at a facility in Tilbury, Essex, after receiving European type approval – the regulatory clearance required by all volume manufacturers.
Tevva, which means “nature” in Hebrew, was founded in 2013 by Asher Bennett, a former submariner in the Israeli navy. He is the older brother of Naftali Bennett, the former entrepreneur who became a far-right politician and served as the prime minister of Israel for a year until last June.
The trucks built this year in Tilbury will go to customers including the Royal Mail and the builders’ supplier Travis Perkins, with the aim of selling 1,000 vehicles in 2023. It has had test vehicles on the road with the delivery company UPS since late 2019.
Israel’s exports rise sharply in 2022
Israel’s exports of goods and services have consistently grown over the past decade, with exception of 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.
According to a conservative estimate by the Ministry of Economy and Industry’s Foreign Trade Administration (FTA), Israel’s exports of goods and services will amount to at least $160 billion in 2022, a new record and up more than 10% from last year, when exports of goods and services totaled a then record $144 billion.
According to the rate of growth of exports in the first nine months of 2022, exports of goods and services from Israel could reach $165 billion, up 15% from 2021.
Israel Ministry of Tourism – 2.67 million tourists visited Israel in 2022
Jerusalem, 4 January 2023 – In 2022, 2.675 million tourist entries were recorded (as opposed to only 397,000 in 2021 and 831,000 in 2020). The skies in Israel were opened officially to incoming tourism in March 2022 and only three months later, in May, without any restrictions. Incoming tourism to Israel in 2022 is about 41% lower than 2019, a record year for incoming tourism.
Revenue from incoming tourism stands at about NIS 13.5 billion (not including cost of flights) as opposed to about NIS 23 billion in 2019.
Technology and Medical BDS Fails
U.S. astronaut celebrates Space Week in Israel
American astronaut Victor Glover, who will soon partake in NASA’s Artemis 3 mission to the moon, arrived in Israel Thursday as a guest for Israel Space Week.
Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis opened the Israel Space Week, saying “The event marks 20 years to the crash of space shuttle Columbia, and the death of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. Ramon brought Israel much honor. The groundbreaking Israeli space industry will continue to bring impressive achievements to Israel.”
Promising Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease
Professor Shai Rahimipour in the Chemistry Department at Bar-Ilan University in Israel has pioneered a different approach utilizing theranostics to pinpoint and treat the earliest, pre-symptomatic signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
Showing promise in stopping progression of the disease before onset of irreversible brain cell damage, Rahimipour’s groundbreaking approach has garnered significant attention in the scientific world.
Apple to inaugurate new development center in Haifa
(January 17, 2023 / JNS) While U.S. tech giant Intel is canceling the construction of a new development center in Haifa, another U.S. titan, Apple, plans to open a new facility in the same industrial zone in the near future.
The structure has 46,000 square meters (495,000 square feet) of space, with 28,000 square meters (300,000 square feet) above ground. It will be occupied within the next few months
Cultural BDS Fails
David Gilmour Joins His Wife in Accusing Roger Waters of Being Antisemitic to the Core
Every word demonstrably true https://t.co/KWk4I3bMTN
— David Gilmour (@davidgilmour) February 6, 2023
Israel’s Noa Kirel to perform in Eurovision semi-final on May 9
Israeli Eurovision representative Noa Kirel will perform her song “Unicorn” on May 9, 2023, during the second part of the first semi-final for the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, as determined Tuesday evening.
Other countries participating in this semi-final include Serbia, Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, Malta, Croatia, Norway, Ireland, Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic, among others.
Blues legend Buddy Guy plans Israel shows as part of farewell tour
Blues virtuoso Buddy Guy is coming to Israel as part of his final tour, Damn Right Farewell, with shows this July in Caesarea and Tel Aviv.
The octogenarian guitarist will play the Caesarea amphitheater on Wednesday, July 19 and Tel Aviv’s Heichal Hatarbut auditorium on Thursday, July 20, with opening acts by American vocalist Tom Hambridge.
American rapper Travis Scott to perform first Israel concert in March
Travis Scott, one of the world’s most prominent hip-hop artists, will perform in Israel for the first time on March 14 at Live Park in the central city of Rishon Lezion, according to Monday announcements.
This will be Scott’s first performance in the Jewish state. The rapper – whose first studio album, “Rodeo,” was released in 2015 – has become one of the leading artists for the younger generation in less than a decade. Since his first hit album, he has released two more, with prestigious features from Drake, Justin Bieber, Kendrick Lamar, Rosalia, The Weeknd and Kanye West.
Actress Ruby Rose brushes off anti-Israel brigade amid Holy Land visit
A good friend to Fauda star Rona Lee-Shimon, Orange is the New Black star informs Instagram followers of her arrival, which was met by both happy and hostile responses; ‘I am visiting a friend, not making a political statement,’ she says
Israel and Norway will play Chess4Solidarity
Israel and Norway will play a chess match online on Lichess on January 9th as part of the Chess4Solidarity initiative, which aims to strengthen international relations and promote human solidarity.
There will be 3 different tournaments with a total prize fund of USD 2000.
Related Posts
Guardian unmoved by Jewish students’ complaint about professor’s antisemitism
Naftali Bennett, – far-right? Or just right-leaning?
Well, that was from the Guardian, so that language isn’t surprising.