Staying Real in Israel
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"The Marty Roberts Show"

Most of Israeli society is thriving, and the movement is in all the right directions…

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Listen to how the divides and social riffs in Israel are narrowing, as Israeli society and the Israeli economy moves forward on all fronts…How the role of women and the ultra-Orthodox is evolving and advancing…contrary to the much reported problems in the religious vs. secular realm…

Also…As Israeli TV hit “Still Standing” is exported to the US and 30 other countries…A special look at Israeli TV…how it is growing and expanding

And…A riveting feature on Official Palestinian Authority-sponsored TV…From Sesame Street to the praising of murderous terrorists, to Israeli parliament members joining in the praise of terrorist-murderers of Israelis…

Plus…Turkish television breaks ground with their programming…From Holocaust documentaries to Israeli chefs…to Jewish singers representing Turkey to the international community on Eurovision…

All this and more on The Marty Roberts Show

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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.

More evidence of the importance of the Jewish State to the world, not just to the Jews…

The Israeli economy continues to be strong, offsetting the economic collapse taking place in the rest of the world.

Israel ranked 14th in global innovation

Jewish state gains nine spots over last year’s position in GII, which recognizes key role of innovation as driver of economic growth and prosperity

Reprinted from ynetnews.com

The results for the fourth edition of The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2011 have just been published and Israel is ranked number 14, a significant improvement over its number 23 position last year.

The GII recognizes the key role of innovation as a driver of economic growth and prosperity.

Launched in 2007 by INSEAD eLab, the GII has become an important tool in benchmarking continued progress in countries. The GII provides advanced metrics and approaches to better capture the richness of innovation in society and go beyond traditional measurers.

With a population of 7.3 million, Israel is ranked number 96 in global population.

The top three ranked countries in the Index are Switzerland, Sweden and Singapore. The United States is ranked seventh with Canada below them at eight.

The only other Middle Eastern country in the top 30 is Qatar at 26.

Never have to buy gas again…Ever!!!…

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The story of Shai Agassi and his revolutionary “Better Place” start-up…How it happened, how the system works, why it’s better than hybrids…
The first step towards eliminating the world’s need for arab oil?…

Better Place Founder Shai Agassi

Also…The Dutch parliament takes the first step towards banning kosher meat in The Netherlands…What does this mean to the Jews?…Is there possibly a higher message being sent here?…

Ban Shakira Facebook Page

Plus…Shakira…Banned in Egypt?…Why?…Because she visited Israel!…Welcome to the new Spring-time arab democracy in Egypt…

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

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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.

The “brain drain” seems to be entering a “recycling” phase, as Israeli hi-tech brains continue to return home, amidst the influx of new, innovative talent flooding Israel…

General Electric to set up new Israeli R&D center

The Haifa R&D center will do basic research in medical devices, clean energy, and water technologies

Reprinted from globes.co.il

General Electric (NYSE: GE), one of the world’s largest companies, will open its a multidisciplinary R&D center in Israel, its eighth R&D center in the country, at an investment of $3-5 million. The R&D center will engage in research in medical devices, water, and clean energy.

The R&D center will be set up in Haifa, near the center of GE subsidiary GE Healthcare, which has hundreds of employees who work on medical imaging systems.

GE currently has 450 employees at seven centers in Israel, out of the company’s total global workforce of 30,000. GE has a market cap of $194 billion. The other Israeli centers focus on specific products, while the new R&D center in Haifa will conduct more basic and general research.

GE will hire 12 researchers when the new R&D center is opened. It will be headed by Oded Meirav, who has been VP business development at GE Global Research Center for the past four years. He was responsible for establishing GE’s collaborations with Israeli companies, such as medical devices companies InSightec Image Guided Treatment Ltd., WideMed Ltd. (TASE:WDMD), DeepBreeze Ltd., and Arineta Ltd.; with Shai Agassi’s electric car venture Better Place LLC; and with cleantech companies Desalitech Ltd., Emefcy Ltd., Solaredge Ltd., GridON Ltd., and Winflex Ltd.; and with water companies incubator Kinrot Technology Ventures.

One of GE’s goals in setting up the new center is to establish partnerships with Israeli high-tech companies and academe. “Israel has a rich history of innovation and scientific discovery, says GE Global Research VP advanced technologies Michael Idelchik. “With the establishment of the new R&D center, we will be in a better position to build a close relationship with the Israeli technology community and identify new technologies that could become part of our portfolio.”

The research team will focus on renewable energy, energy storage, smart grid, and energy efficiency technologies. It will also work on water monitoring, purification, wastewater treatment, brackish water and seawater desalination technology; and in healthcare, on non-invasive medical devices, advanced diagnostic tools, and medical navigation and guidance systems.

The R&D center’s researchers will collaborate with GE Capital’s life sciences and energy funds, which invest in innovative technologies.

Criminalizing Jewish ritual circumcision (Brit Milah)…

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The newest, yet oldest form of institutionalized anti-semitism gains momentum in the United States…

Next on the list of targets will most likely be kosher meat…These people value the lives of animals more than they do those of humans…
It’s okay with them to kill unborn male children (freedom of choice), but don’t you dare mess with their penises (if they happen to make it to birth), no matter WHAT your Creator says…

The author of the San Francisco bill created these hate-filled anti-semitic comic books to further the cause of stripping Jews of their right to practice their faith in America…
Nazis, anyone?

The Greek-Assyrians first banned Jewish circumcision in 170 B.C.E., and it led to the story of Channukah…
Then came the Romans, the Nazis…now the liberal-progressive atheist Americans…

And…Why do states like Texas, Illinois and Florida need NEW laws to allow a Jew to hang a 2-inch long tube with a scroll inside (mezuzah) on their doorpost?…What happened to freedom of religion in America?…

Bob Simon of "60 Minutes"

Plus…Bob Simon and 60 Minutes spend a month in Tel Aviv, more Israeli technological and medical breakthroughs…

Sorek Water Desalinization Plant

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

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Believe it or not…Possibly oil reserves in Israel greater than those in Saudi Arabia!

Watch this video, if you think that it’s too good to be true…

Can you even begin to imagine the implications of this find?
Just think about it…OPEC becomes irrelevant?
And then there are the natural gas fields that Israel is just now beginning to develop…
The Lord works in strannnngggge ways…
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And there is a lot of it…We’re talking Chivas Regal, Glenlivet and Ballantine’s…

I’m ready to sacrifice the scotch whiskey…I guess the Scottish are ready to sacrifice anti-cancer treatments, microprocessors, internet security, mobile communications, and…….well, you get the gist of it…Lot’s more good stuff comes out of Israel than Scotland, so take your pick…

Kiddush clubs declare boycott on Scottish whiskey

Move by Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs comes after Kiddush-favorite Chivas named in global boycott of Israeli goods.

Reprinted from Jpost.com

The Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC) – a partnership of 250 Jewish men’s clubs that claims more than 25,000 members throughout North America – has joined with synagogues both in Israel and in the diaspora in “suggesting a boycott of scotch from distillers located in West Dunbartonshire Council in Scotland at Kiddush and [in] public and private” celebrations.

The FJMC, which is affiliated with the Conservative movement, has called for Jews to avoid certain brands of spirits following a boycott of Israeli goods instituted by the local council of the whiskey-producing region.

“A boycott is like a snowball heading downhill,” said FJMC Executive Director Rabbi Charles Simon.

“It begins at the top of a large mountain, and gathers momentum until it is transformed into an avalanche.

If we wish to stop it, we need to act as soon as possible.”

Among the distilleries named in the boycott are Morrison Bowmore, Loch Lamond and Chivas Brothers.

Chivas Brothers produces the well-regarded Chivas, Glenlivet and Ballantine’s brands which are the preferred spirits in many so-called “Kiddush clubs,” which gather following services in some synagogues.

The decision by Rabbi Simon to urge FJMC members to engage in a counter-boycott came after well known Israeli-Anglo blogger and pro-settlement activist, Jameel Rashid, publicized on his website a letter to several distilleries located within West Dunbartonshire. Rashid wrote: “the global counterboycott of Scottish whiskey products, distilled in the West Durbanshire council region, is beginning.”

Anglo-Israelis, an important target market for purveyors of liquor here, have been circulating e-mails calling on both Israeli and American Jews to cease consumption of Scotch whiskey, and urging supporters of Israel to send copies of Rashid’s missive to the distilleries in question.

When “your local council representatives boycott my country – under the most unethical and immoral of pretext – you cannot expect your market to sit idly and pretend you are not perverting justice,” wrote Rashid.

Both Rashid, the pseudonym for an anonymous Israeli who writes the popular Muqata blog, and the author of the widely read website Israellycool, have posted the home phone numbers of local council members, urging participants in the counter-boycott to call them to express their discontent.

Explaining his rationale for the initiative, Rashid stated that “its best to contact the whisky distillers directly, since the West Dunbartonshire Council of Wise Men couldn’t care less what a pro-Israel, proliberty, person might think… but they might listen to voices of their constituents – specifically the Scotch whisky distilleries in their council’s region.”

The boycott against Israel was initially introduced by the West Dunbartonshire Council in response to what councilmen described as “the disproportionate use of force used against Palestinians” during the IDF’s Gaza incursion in 2009.

The council resolved that it “recognizes the disproportionate force used by the IDF in Palestine and agrees to boycott all Israeli goods as a consequence. Officers should immediately cease the purchase of any goods we currently source, which were made or grown in Israel. Officers should also ensure we procure no new goods or produce from Israel until this boycott is formally lifted by WDC.”

Replying to the council’s assertions, Rashid excoriated the local representatives for whitewashing Hamas’ “barbarism” – citing the use of hospitals, schools and Mosques as cover by Gaza terrorists.

“Why was there an IDF operation in Gaza in the first place? To oppress poor Palestinian Arabs? How would you deal with Gazas’ Arabs targeting Scotland’s babies, other children, and other civilians. Have you not seen the pictures of atrocities the Arabs have visited on innocent children, or does your council not care?” Rashid, in an e-mail to The Jerusalem Post, stated that people have joined his counter-boycott from “all over” Israel and the US.

“The International Kiddush Club of America is giving us top billing as well,” he added.

The West Dunbartonshire Council, while it has not responded publically to calls endorsing a boycott of locally manufactured spirits, has defended the decision which sparked the protest.

The Council explained that it does “not in any way seek to censor or silence authors and commentators from Israel.” “The Council’s boycott only relates to goods ‘made or grown’ in Israel. The vast majority of mainstream books by Israeli authors are published in the UK, and are therefore not affected by this boycott. Only books that were printed in Israel and transported to the UK for distribution would be potentially boycotted.”

Members of the council did not reply to requests for comment about the whiskey boycott made by the Post.

Kirsteen Beeston, a spokeswoman for Morrison Bowmore Distillers, told the Post that “Neither Morrison Bowmore Distillery nor Auchentoshan take any political stance, and this policy has been made independently from us, and without our consultation.”

Kirsteen highlighted Auchentoshan’s efforts to reach out to the Jewish community and its connections to the London Rabbinical court. She stated that she is forwarding all e-mails received to the council to “ensure it is made fully aware of the potential implications of its policy.”

Gary Sakol, the deputy director of the Zionist Federation of the UK, commented that “Whilst not from West Dunbartonshire, this makes me ashamed to call myself Scottish, and I truly hope those involved will reverse their action.”

The pride of Israel’s economy, Bank of Israel Head, Stanley Fischer, certainly would be a fantastic pick to head the International Monetary Fund…but we need him here, in Israel!!!

Stanley Fischer

Maybe the world will recognize Fischer’s value and allow him to work part-time, while maintaining his important role in Israel…

But, probably not…

Israel’s Fischer perfect IMF head, supporters say

Israeli central bank chief Stanley Fischer, who has announced his candidacy for the post of IMF director general, is credited with having steered an economic “miracle” in Israel despite the global downturn.

Reprinted from AFP

JERUSALEM — Israeli central bank chief Stanley Fischer, who has announced his candidacy for the post of IMF director general, is credited with having steered an economic “miracle” in Israel despite the global downturn.

Fischer announced on Saturday evening that he was seeking the top post at the International Monetary Fund, to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn who has resigned after being accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid in New York.

His candidacy, the subject of much speculation in Israel in recent weeks, shakes up the race for the key post, which is normally held by a European.

His main rivals for the moment are French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, the presumed frontrunner, and Mexico’s central bank chief Agustin Carstens, who is angling to become the first non-European head of the fund.

Despite media speculation, Fischer had been coy over seeking the post, telling Israeli public radio this week: “One must never accept a position that no one has offered you.”

But his potential candidacy has won favour among many, with commentators in leading financial publications including the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and Euromoney magazine all expressing support.

Fischer has been credited for keeping Israel’s economy growing even as the global downturn ravaged other nations.

Reappointed in March for a second five-year term at the head of Israel’s central bank, Fischer can boast a 5.0% growth rate projected for the Jewish state this year and foreign reserves of $77.4 billion.

He has strongly championed bolstering foreign reserves to rein in the strength of the shekel and boost Israeli exports.

His tenure has made him both trusted and popular in Israel, with the economic newspaper, The Marker, running an article under the headline: “Please don’t go.”

Born in October 15, 1943 in Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, Fischer studied in both Britain and the United States, where he graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, before taking US citizenship.

In January 2005, he became Israeli under the Law of Return, which allows Jews to obtain citizenship when they emigrate to the Jewish state.

Under Israeli law, its senior officials are not allowed to hold a second nationality, which would have required Fischer to renounce his US passport. But Israel offered to make an exception to bring him on at the central bank.

“Stanley Fischer was authorised to keep his US citizenship as a special privilege when he took on the job of central bank governor,” bank spokesman Yossi Saadon told AFP on Sunday.

But his US citizenship could be an obstacle to his candidacy at the IMF, where tradition dictates that the top post is reserved for a European, with an American at the helm of the World Bank.

At 67, his age is another handicap, as IMF rules usually cap applications for the top job at 65.

But Fischer does come with experience at the world’s top financial institutions.

Between 1988 and 1990, he was a vice president and chief economist at the World Bank, and between 1994 and 2001, he served as a deputy managing director at the IMF.

He has also spent time in the private sector, serving as vice chairman of Citigroup and president of Citigroup International between 2002 and 2005.

His time at the head of Israel’s central bank has won him supporters at home and overseas, with Euromoney magazine naming him their central bank governor of the year for 2010.

The magazine praised Fischer for his “bold move” to raise interest rates in September 2009, making Israel the first country to do so, saying his decision “proved well-guided and prescient.”

Intel, Microsoft…you name it…and now, Google is expanding her presence in Israel with a long-term office commitment and hiring spree…

Google rents floors in new Tel Aviv tower

The company will move its Tel Aviv R&D center and business center to the new premises in the Electra Building.

Reprinted from Globes…Michal Margalit

Google Israel Ltd. has rented 8,000 square meters on six floors in the Electra Building on Yigal Allon Street in Tel Aviv in a ten-year lease at NIS 11 million a year.

The new 45-storey 60,000-square meter Electra Building, formerly the Elco Building, is owned by Ampa Real Estate Ltd. (50%), and Elco Holdings Ltd. (TASE: ELCO) subsidiaries Electra Real Estate Ltd. (TASE:ELCRE) and Electra Investments Ltd. (25% each).

Google Israel rented the 26th through 31st floors of the Electra Building at NIS 114.50 per square meter per month, as well as 200 parking spaces of the building’s 1,100 parking places. The company will move its Tel Aviv R&D center and business center to the new premises. The company leased three times as much space as at its current premises in the Levinstein Building in Tel Aviv.

Google Israel is renting the space in shell condition. Google Israel has 200 R&D employees at its Tel Aviv and Haifa offices, and it has embarking on a hiring drive this year.

Electra Building’s tenants include Adler Chomsky ad agency, Goldfarb & Co. law firm, eBay Israel Ltd., First Israel Mezzanine Investors Fund (FIMI), Office Plus Ltd. real estate agency, and Chef Haim Cohen, who opened a restaurant on the commercial floor.

Probably not as nice as it is now…

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When my wife pointed out that the new joy of my life, my Amazon Kindle, would not exist were it not for Israeli technology, I began to think…

Just what else would the world be missing were it not for the existence of the 100th smallest country in the world…the country that the world loves to hate…Israel…

The results were mind-boggling, even to me, who already loves the Jewish State…

Medicine, biotechnology, agriculture, communications, security, and, of course, computers…

You won’t believe just how much the world would be lacking were it not for the existence of the modern State of Israel…

Find out more right here…

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

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

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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???

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…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…

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Iranian President Ahmadinejad

He publicly denies the Holocaust…

American tycoon
Donald Trump