Smart Jews plus Divine Providence…a potent combination…

Morgan Stanley raises Israel growth forecast

The US investment bank sees 4.8% growth in both 2011 and 2012

Reprinted from globes.co.il

US investment bank Morgan Stanley today raised its growth forecast for Israel. A report by analyst Tevfik Aksoy entitled “Israel: Macro Smile – Say Cheese” began “Without doubt the Israeli economy remains one of the robust and well managed among both the developed and the emerging market economies.”

The report continued, “Having shown an excellent track record in weathering the most recent crisis via timely monetary and fiscal policy responses, the country earned well deserved respect and confidence among global investors.”

After visiting Israel and meeting with Bank of Israel and other economic officials, Morgan Stanley said it had come back with positive impressions and is raising its growth forecast to 4.8% for both 2011 and 2012 from its previous growth forecast of 4.3%.

On the downside Morgan Stanley noted that house prices remain a concern due to supply-side constraints, and also warned against possible repercussions from the Palestinian plan to seek UN recognition for its independence in September.

Israel’s economy is growing, jobs are being created, innovation and entrepeneurs flourish in the Jewish State…
If you are Jewish, you might want to consider coming home…the benefits are wide and varied…

High-tech work force rises 2% in 2010

The Central Bureau of Statistics also reported that business output in the sector rose 5.3% last year.

Reprinted from globes.co.il

The increase in GDP (gross domestic product) in the business sector in 2010 did not reflect the rate of growth in the information technology field (IT). Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported that the GDP in the IT field totaled NIS 73 billion in 2010, up 2% from 2009. This is compared with a rise of 5.3% in the market’s business output sector.

The Central Bureau of Statistics reported that the disappointing increase in 2010 does not accurately reflect the situation. According to statistics from the last decade, the annual increase in the IT sector is estimated at 5%, as compared with an increase in 4% from the business output sector. Export industries totaled $18.8 billion, 27% of all export products and services.

Exports in the IT field decreased significantly compared with 2009, when the proportion of exports was 31%. But apparently it is 2009 that was the exception, since the average export rate in IT from 1997-2010 was 24% of all exports, which means that 2010′s rate of 27% was not bad at all in comparison.

Improved situation

The data reflect economic behavior in the relevant sectors according to the definitions in OECD countries for the IT sector. According to the data, the number of people employed in this sector began growing in 2010, and provided jobs for an additional 7,000 people, an increase of 3%, as compared with a decrease of 2,000 jobs in 2009. In total, about 218,000 people are employed in the IT sector (or 174,000 excluding communication services), about 6.8% of all employees in the market (5.4% excluding communication services).

According to the data, the bulk of the increase in new employees was felt in service related fields such as computing services and start-up companies, which mainly provide pre-sales R&D. The number of employees in this category increased 3,700. This improvement is also reflected regarding salaries, which grew about 2.5% in 2010, and amounted to an average of NIS 243,000 a year. The sectors that stand out are R&D services, communications hardware, and industrial and medical equipment.

Their product is windows that protect a building’s occupants from radiation, while generating power at the same time…
Brilliant!…Israeli ingenuity…

Pythagoras Solar Window

GE awards Israeli startup $100,000 ‘Ecomagination’ grant

Pythagoras Solar creates windows that protect against solar radiation and produce useable energy, CEO says.

Reprinted from jpost.com

GE awards Israeli startup $100,000 ‘Ecomagination’ grant
By SHARON UDASIN
06/27/2011 04:33

Pythagoras Solar creates windows that protect against solar radiation and produce useable energy, CEO says.
Talkbacks (1)

An Israeli solar company that employs windows to both block solar radiation and harness energy from the sun has received a $100,000 grant from General Electric and partners’ “Ecomagination” program, the corporation announced this weekend.

The company, called Pythagoras Solar, is one of five firms to win an Innovation Award from the program’s “Powering Your Home” challenge, in which GE invested $63 million this round and also provided sizeable awards to 10 commercial partners in addition to the smaller firms. Currently in its second year, the challenge has now provided a total of $200 million worth of funds to 22 commercial corporations and 10 startups in total, with an aim of “accelerating the global development of clean energy technologies,” the corporation said. A panel of independent judges selected the winners and included Wired Magazine editor Chris Anderson, executives from GE and academics leaders from the field, according to a statement from the company.

“We knew that GE recognized that this technology could have a huge impact on the way buildings are being built,” co-founder and CEO of Pythagoras Solar, Golan Fink, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

“This is the part of the award that we are most happy about and feel good about the validation and feedback we have.” Pythagoras, established by Golan Fink and partner Dr.

Itay Baruchi in 2007, employs a technology called “Building Integrated Photovoltaics,” which aims to achieve “netzero buildings” in terms of energy consumption.

“The windows themselves include a combination of optical devices and solar cells,” Fink explained. “The unique thing about this combination is that the optical device manipulates sunlight so that instead of getting into the room, the direct radiation is used for generating clean solar energy. It produces energy and also shades the room.” While the company currently has five pilots running – three in the United States and two in Israel – the most longrunning trial has been going on now for six months at the Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois, according to Fink.

“The Sears Tower itself is looking at the project as part of retrofitting the building,” he said. “Even though Chicago is not the best place for concentrated solar energy, it still suffers from getting too much heat.

“We are looking for this to be the greenest building in the US,” he continued.

They wanted to evaluate this technology because of its unique combination of solar power generation and energy efficiency.” Pythagoras is also in the process of evaluating several potential projects in China, Fink added.

“There is a lot of construction happening in China, and they are not on the forefront of energy efficiency,” he said.

“There are some projects there that are moving more and more toward the green construction industry.” While the company is currently in the process of developing a type of window that would be more appropriate for residential locations, Fink said that the current models – which will hit commercial markets in the US by the end of this year – are better suited for larger buildings at the moment.

“It’s more relevant for buildings with significant amount of glass,” he said, noting, however, that the building need not be as tall as the Sears Tower.

“The current product is less applicable for residential windows because you need a large surface of glass to make this economical.” Fink added that the company hopes to move to marketing larger volumes of installations by next year.

In addition to Pythagoras Solar, the other four startup winners this year were British firm E.quinox for its renewable energy in developing countries, as well as American companies PlotWatt for its smart meter analysis, Suntulit for its climate control systems and Xergy for its green refrigeration systems, according to GE.

GE’s decision to include the Israeli firm among its winners comes just shortly after the corporation opened a multidisciplinary research and development center in Israel, where it will host local projects in medical technologies, clean energy and water – with the hopes of advancing technology by partnering with Israeli companies and academics, the corporation said.

An Israeli-developed cell-based product for treating the scourge of pulmonary hypertension will be hitting the market…

…and adding to the already VERY long list of lives saved by Israel…

Pluristem soars on agreement with United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics will use Pluristem’s PLacental eXpanded cells to develop and commercialize a treatment for pulmonary hypertension

Reprinted from globes.co.il

Pluristem Therapeutics Ltd. (Nasdaq:PSTI; DAX: PJT: PLTR) has signed an exclusive out-license agreement with United Therapeutics Corporation (Nasdaq: UTHR) for the use of Pluristem’s PLacental eXpanded (PLX) cells to develop and commercialize a cell-based product for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH). United Therapeutics will receive exclusive worldwide licensing rights for the development and commercialization of the future product for treating PH patients. Pluristem will retain its intellectual property – the PLX cells – and all manufacturing rights. It will participate in the pre-clinical and clinical trial activities and provide the commercial grade product.

United Therapeutics will pay Pluristem an initial $7 million and milestone and other payments for a total of $55 million. Pluristem will also be reimbursed for costs of development and clinical activities. United Therapeutics will bear all the costs of conducting the clinical trials for this indication. Following commercialization, United Therapeutics will purchase commercial supplies from Pluristem at a specified margin over Pluristem’s cost, and it will also pay Pluristem specified royalties as a percentage from its gross profits generated from the developed product.

“This is an important milestone for our company, as it exemplifies our belief that Pluristem’s PLX cells are a platform technology that can be used for the treatment of numerous diseases. This agreement is in line with our strategy of being a state of the art cell manufacturer while maintaining all the production and Intellectual Property rights for future product candidates,” said Pluristem chairman and CEO Zami Aberman.

United Therapeutics president and CEO Roger Jeffs said, “Our mission to help patients suffering from pulmonary hypertension has led us to seek companies exhibiting innovative approaches and cutting edge technology, with whom we could partner for developing new therapies. Pluristem’s impressive results of their current clinical trials, their strong intellectual property and unique manufacturing capabilities, convinced us to select Pluristem as our partner in developing an important cell therapy for treating PH. We are excited to enter into this partnership and to work alongside Pluristem in advancing this exciting platform.”

If they even refuse to recognize Israel as Jewish State…What more is there to talk about?…

New Show/Podcast!!!

Listen to the show…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

If the palestinians cannot even grant Israel this most basic of “concessions” in return for an extension of the ill-conceived Israeli settlement building freeze, what hope is there for meaningful negotiations and agreement on significant issues? Can anyone possible conceive of a peace agreement creating a palestinian state that refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish State?…I think not…

Stanley Fischer

Also…Bank of Israel governor, Stanley Fischer was named the best bank governor in the world, adding this crown to two previous international honors received in the past two weeks…This, as he directs the Bank to purchase US dollars in an attempt to shore up the sinking American currency and help bail out the Obama-led sinking US economy…

Taglit-Birthright

And…Demand by North American youth to visit Israel under the Taglit-Birthright program reaches unprecedented heights after ten years of successful Zionist education to the young people of the world…

Annie Lennox

Plus…Annie Lennox is NOT coming to Israel (who cares)…

Axle Rose

Guns and Roses (what’s left of them) ARE coming…

Pamela Anderson

And so is Pamela Anderson…

All this and more on “The Marty Roberts Show”…

Candidates in Middle East Elections…From Jailed Murderers to Ancient Has-Beens

Also…Will Jerusalem EVER be Recognized as Israel’s Un-Divided Capital???

Read more »

Arab Oil: It Seems to Speak VERY Loudly in Washington…
Louder than principles, louder than freedom, louder than democracy and MUCH louder that America’s friends…
Also…a PR-Media Blitz for America’s Image Building…
Why does America have to kiss up to the Arabs so much??

Read more »

…This time, he’s calling for Israel to be moved to Europe…What can you say about THAT?…And, by the way, Zionism DOES equal Judaism!…

Also,…Donald Trump Is Betting on Israel
What does the US tycoon have planned for Israel’s fabulous Mediterranean beachfront?…
Plus…The status of Jerusalem, and anti-zionism in Kiev…

A classic post and podcast from the archives!!!

CLICK PLAY Button to Listen to “The Marty Roberts Show”

Iranian President Ahmadinejad

He publicly denies the Holocaust…

American tycoon
Donald Trump

Marty explains why aliyah-immigration to Israel from Western, democratic countries is SO important right now…And why it’s also good for YOU, Brother Jew!…

Plus….A cure for the bird flu from Israel…But will it work on German cats?…All this and MORE…

CLICK PLAY Button to Listen to “The Marty Roberts Show”

Aliyah

Aliyah

Tzachi HaNegbi

Weisglas Fit the Battle of Jericho…..And the Bucks Came ROLLING In!!

Dov Weisglas is probably the second most powerful figure in Israel, second only to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. As Special Advisor to Sharon, Weisglas created and engineered the plan to expel some 10,000 Jews from their homes and destroy their communities in Israeli Gaza and the Northern Shomron. So what has this got to do with Jericho? He is responsible for negotiations with the PLO AND the United States, representing Israel and speaking for the Prime Minister, Sharon.

Marty uncovers serious financial conflicts of interest in Weisglas’ role regarding the Palestinian Casino in Jericho and the soon-to-be-abandoned (Heaven forbid!!) Jewish communities in Gaza. And Weisglas is not the only one…..

Also….Can there be such a concept as “relative peace”? Marty questions the idea on this edition of “The Marty Roberts Show”.

The show is 25 minutes long.

CLICK PLAY Button to Listen to “The Marty Roberts Show”

America Takes over The Bank of Israel…But First, Stanley Fischer Became Israel’s Newest Citizen!!!

Also…Huge Strides Towards Woman’s Equality in the Middle East and Around the World…For Better or for Worse???-YOU Be the Judge!!!

CLICK PLAY Button to Listen to “The Marty Roberts Show”

Israel’s Newest Citizen–Stanley Fischer

Muslim Husband-Wife Suicide Team in Cairo

New Love-Cocktail???

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better (including, unfortunately, rape)

Mazel Tov to the Happy Young(??) Couple(??)

This week, Israel was formally accepted as a full member in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD. Israel is now one of only 34 advanced countries with robust economies that participate fully in searching for answers to global challenges and establishing standards in many technical, economic and social arenas.

Of course, the Palestinian Authority, whose economy is almost totally dependant upon Israel, attempted to block Israel’s entry into the prestigious international body.

Fortunately, as usual, they failed…Fortunate for Israel…Fortunate for the palestinians, as well…Whether they know it or not…

Netanyahu: Entrance into OECD a Great Day for the Country

“This is a great day” for Israel and for the economy, Netanyahu said after the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) unanimously accepted the Jewish State as a member. The Palestinian Authority suffered a rare political loss in its unsuccessful bid to thwart Israel’s bid.

Reprinted from Israelnationalnews.com Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Israel had been concerned that Norway and Sweden, which strongly support Palestinian Authority demands for becoming a new Arab state within Israel’s borders, might try to block the Jewish State’s bid, but they sided with other member nations in favor of its entry. The OECD stated, “Israel’s scientific and technological policies have produced outstanding outcomes on a world scale.”

Israel’s acceptance is another feather in the Prime Minister’s “economic hat” that he has been wearing since being Finance Minister in the Sharon government. He won wide praise for bringing the country out of the economic doldrums and into a period of unprecedented growth and stability.

The OECD granted Israel “observer status” more than a decade ago, and its efforts to win the coveted position as a full-fledged member culminated Monday. Estonia and Slovenia also were accepted, bringing the total OECD membership to 34 countries.

The new additions “will contribute to a more plural and open OECD that is playing an increasingly important role in the global economic architecture,” OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said.

“This new chapter in the history of the Organization confirms our global vocation as the group of countries that search for answers to the global challenges, and establish standards in many policy fields such as environment, trade, innovation or social issues,” he added.

The new status formalizes Israel’s change from an “emerging” market to a developed market, which has significance in the financial world. “Over the years, the economies of all OECD countries have benefited in one way or another from the transformative effects of OECD membership,” the organization noted.

It said that “will shortly publish an Innovation Strategy to provide policy makers with a comprehensive and cross-cutting policy guidance package setting out the priorities for structural reforms that can accelerate innovation-led growth.”

Proposed reforms will be aimed at combating corruption as well will assuring high standards of corporate management and narrowing gaps in income among sectors.

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz commented, “The announcement of Israel’s accession to the OECD is a mark of respect for the Israeli economy.” He said that the OECD “is the most respectable international club a small state like Israel can be accepted into. From what we know about other states, in the years following the acceptance there is a rise of billions of dollars in foreign investments in the state accepted.”

A formal ceremony welcoming Israel, Estonia and Slovenia is scheduled at the annual meeting of the OECD Council at ministerial level on May 27 in Paris.

The Palestinian Authority had told the OECD that granting Israel membership would mean “accepting its occupation of the Palestinian territories.”

Israel’s OECD bid also faced resistance from within Israel. Member of Knesset Ahmed Tibi urged OECD members not to let Israel in, arguing that Israel discriminates against its Arab citizens.

In spite of the economic meltdown taking place right now in Europe…In spite of the stock market collapse on Wall Street in the US yesterday…Israel’s little old economy keeps on tickin’…

Stanley Fischer..Israeli Economy is Strong

Conservative banking regulations and an innovative hi-tech sector…good old “Jewish Sachel”…an economically savvy leadership, headed by MIT economy-educated Benjamin Netanyahu, assisted by Bank of Israel’s Mega-financial brain, Stanley Fischer…A formula for a successful, growth economy that continues to prove itself year after year, even in the face of worldwide economic crises.

Yeah, Israel…

Fischer: EU crisis mildly impacts Israel

Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer said Wednesday that Israel was likely to weather the European economic crisis, and be only lightly affected by it

Reprinted from Jpost.com

Fischer told the Knesset’s Finance Committee that although the dramatic drop in the value of the Euro and the slowdown in the European economy would impact exports to Europe, those may be offset by improved exports to the US. However, if the crisis engulfs the US, which he deemed unlikely, it would be cause for major concern, said the BoI governor.

“Suddenly” the Greeks discovered “the economic data they had been using was wrong. Their deficit stood at 13 percent rather than five. Their fiscal policy was extremely irresponsible, their debt-to-GDP-ratio was 130%,” Fischer said. “Their economy was in deep crisis and they could no longer finance their over-generous budget.”

Fischer also gave his economic forecast for the year 2011, saying the central bank expected a growth rate of 4%, and was updating the forecast for 2010 to 3.7%.

He favorably compared Israel’s unemployment rate to that of the US, which rose from 5% to 10%. Israel’s unemployment rate was just under 6% and are now near 8%.

Speaking before Fischer, Knesset Finance Committee chairman Moshe Gafni opened the session by attacking the detractors of government support for Yeshivot because they are economically unproductive. Gafni said he would go through the budget item by item and see what outlays were economically productive. “Over 60% of the budget is uneconomical,” he told the committee.

“Was the Kibbutzim debt arrangement economical? Are the dramatic subsidies to agriculture? What about the settlements? I will even say the investment in development towns isn’t economically worthwhile.”

“This is an ideological issue,” Gafni said. “Zionism and civics classes are ideological. I’m all-out opposed to the view that only what is economically productive should be included in the budget. It should be taken off the public agenda.”

Gafni also spoke about the low employment rate among the ultra-orthodox, saying, “I have said and will say again it is not the haredim who do not want to go to work, it is the state that does not want them to work, it lies when it says it wants them to work.”

The Israeli economy continues to thrive and grow, even in the face of the world economic crisis. I have often pointed out, and will continue to do so…Can you begin to even imagine the accomplishments that this tiny little country Israel could achieve if we didn’t have to spend SO much of our human and economic (not to mention emotional) resources fighting terror and daily threats to the existence of the Jewish State.
I can dream, can’t I?

Israel Economy

Our economic success story


While world struggles, Israel’s economy reaches another milestone

Reprinted from Ynetnews.com Sever Plocker

Without you realizing it, Israel is approaching yet another milestone en route to turning into a highly developed economy – our per capita GDP will reach the $30,000 mark this year, likely at the beginning of the summer. The overall gross domestic product, which is the economic value of all the goods and services produced in Israel, will reach roughly $230 billion.

Israel fully reached the $20,000 per capita GDP mark only in the first half of this decade. We did it slowly and hesitatingly; the deep recession during the second Intifada curbed economic growth and pushed the economy backwards.

Reaching the $30,000 per capita GDP mark reflects to a small extent the increase in real national income in shekels, and to a large extent the shekel’s strengthening against the dollar. Yet this does not detract from the accomplishment. For many years, the shekel has been traded in foreign currency markets below its real purchasing power.

We can address the $30,000 GDP mark as yet another statistical figure; just another fleeting figure. Yet we can also look at it as a starting point for a leap in the coming decade. The Israeli economy’s state at this time is exceptionally good: Other economies whose per capita GDP is similar to ours – Spain, Greece, Portugal, and Britain just to name a few – sustained harsh blows during the financial crisis. They will dedicate the coming years to licking the wounds and attempting to extract themselves from the abyss of deficit and debt. Their recovery will be slow.

Window of opportunity

This is our window of opportunity. While in most developed and industrialized states are weakened and bleeding, while their government budgets skyrocketed, Israel is strong and in good health. In six of the seven leading industrial powers, the ratio between government debt and GDP is expected to grow by dozens of percents in the coming years. The debt will reach 90% of the GDP in Germany, 96% in France, 100% in Britain, 110% in the US, 130% in Italy, and 250% in Japan. In Spain, Greece, Portugal, and Ireland, the ratio is expected to stabilize somewhere between the 100% to 150% mark.

Yet in Israel, the opposite is expected to happen: Government debt is expected to go down to only 70% of GDP, with the decline starting as early as this year. The budgetary plan presented to the government by Foreign Minister Yuval Steinitz is a pipe dream for most finance ministers in developed countries.

Israel’s new comparative advantage is prominent in many areas. The Irish government, for example, announced last week a national rescue package for local banks, at a total cost of 80 million Euros. The British, French, and American governments are close to imposing special taxes on financial institutions, in order to fund at least some of the assistance handed over to them during the crisis. Yet in Israel there’s no need for it. Israel’s banking system overcame the past two years without taking a penny from the government.

Ambitious target

Late into his tenure as finance minister, Benjamin Netanyahu presented an ambitious target for Israel: Joining the list of top 10 or 12 richest economies in the world. Is this target realistic? Based on today’s perspective, the answer appears to be “yes.” In order to join the group of truly wealthy states, Israel needs to reach the $40,000 per capita GDP mark. To that end, our economy must grow at an annual rate of 6.5% in the next six or seven years, assuming that the shekel exchange rate won’t shift much from its current level of about NIS 3.6 per dollar, and that our population will grow by 1.8% annually.

This isn’t impossible; the target can be reached. In the years 2003-2008, Israel’s economy grew at an average annual rate of 5.5%, with a less convenient starting point and with two wars in the middle.

So what can the accelerated growth in the coming years be premised on? What are its possible engines? Here they are: Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men joining the workforce, boosting the production of Israeli Arabs, improving the quality of education and employment in outlaying areas, massive investments in physical and educational infrastructure, expanding the export base and directing it to new markets, slowing down the defense budget growth, and removing bureaucratic obstacles. These are the main required steps. All of them, without exception, will minimize economic gaps within Israel.

We are already enjoying strong backwind. Here are four examples: The kibbutzim reinvented themselves and have again turned into an economic asset and a significant growth accelerator; the discovery of natural gas by businessman Yitzhak Tshuva frees Israel of the depdendancy on coal and dramatically brings down the cost of producing electricity; the Arab sector is seeing an unprecedented entrepreneurial business revolution; Israeli software companies are taking over Africa – and there are many more examples.

Diplomatic component

At this time, Israel is equipped with the needed means for a great leap. These means are integrated and also include a diplomatic/political component. In the past, Netanyahu claimed that Israel can grow and become wealthier even without a peace deal (but not under intifada conditions). Yet now he knows: A diplomatic agreement with the Palestinians is a vital condition for the great economic leap. First and foremost, because without such deal, the world will have trouble countering Iran and forcing it to abandon its nuclear program.

The grave economic implications that Iranian nuclear capabilities will have for Israel’s economy are horrifying. A nuclear arms race will add tens of billions of dollars to the defense budget, at the expense of developing the economy. One government body has already prepared a scenario for the day after Iran acquires a nuclear bomb: Foreign investors fleeing, Israeli investors taking their money and assets out of the homeland, and the grim and frightened national mood paralyzing production.

On the other hand, an Israel-Palestinian agreement would serve as a lever for orchestrated global activity – and possibly military action as a last resort – against the Iranian nuclear program. This will enable us to save tens of billions of dollars. Such deal will also open up the giant markets of rich Gulf states, which are desperate for the kinds of products and services Israel specializes in, ranging from right-to-left software systems to salt water purifiers for desert springs.

Incredible gift

Communism’s collapse in the late 1980s granted Israel an incredible gift in the form of the massive immigration from the former Soviet Union and the opening of export markets that were off limits for dozens of years. Israeli governments and the business sector managed to take advantage of the opportunity and completely change the face of our economy. Within about 12 years, we went up from a $10,000 per capita GDP to $20,000 per capita GDP.

Later we turned from a state that owes money to foreigners and contends with a foreign currency shortage to a country that foreigners owe money to, and that has foreign currency surpluses. Our economic, rather than military, independence is full by now.

The 2007-2008 crisis again grants Israel an incredible opportunity, this time in respect to competing against the developed world; the crisis undermined its pillars and posed deep trouble for it. Will we be foolish enough to miss out on this opportunity?

So Swedish and Norwegian pension funds are just SO moral, SO ethical, that they have decided that they must not taint their hands nor their investment portfolios with investments in a company that builds and installs surveillance systems designed to stop terrorists from killing innocent civilians…REALLY, now!!!…Elbit builds drones and other monitoring gear designed to detect terrorists attempting to cross Israel’s security barrier…an event known to occur pretty much on a daily basis on the border between Israeli and palestinian controlled areas. What is immoral or unethical about PREVENTING terror?
Please feel free to open your humble servant’s eyes on this one…

An Elbit Systems technician pilots a Universal Ground Control Station (UGCS) to operate drones

Swedish pension giant shuns Israeli arms maker


The biggest Swedish pension fund said Monday it had barred Israeli arms maker Elbit Systems from its investment portfolios on ethical grounds.

Reprinted from AFP/Google News

Following the lead of Norway’s state oil fund, Foersta AP-Fonden said it had banned investment in Elbit because it had built and was operating a surveillance system for a controversial barrier between Israel and the West Bank.

“The Ethical Council recommended that Elbit Systems Ltd should be excluded from each portfolio because it deems that the company can be linked to violations of fundamental conventions and norms,” it said in a statement.

Israel says the barrier — a network of walls, fences and closed military roads — is designed to prevent attacks. The Palestinians view it as an “apartheid wall” that carves off key parts of their future state.

Israel has so far completed 413 kilometres (256 miles) of the planned 709-kilometre (435-mile) barrier, according to UN figures.

When completed, 85 percent of the wall will have been built inside the West Bank, taking land from villages like Bilin and Nilin.

The international community has condemned Israel’s decision to construct the barrier.

The Swedish fund, which only had small investments in Elbit according to its ethics council chairwoman Annika Andersson, said that Grupo Ferrovial, PetroChina, Thales and Yahoo had successfully addressed its concerns about ethics violations.

Last September, Norway’s state pension fund, one of the world’s biggest investors, also banned Elbit from its portfolio, prompting the Israeli foreign ministry to summon Norway’s ambassador in protest at the move.