Israel Active

This newsletter has included several articles recently about opportunities for young people from overseas to have an internship with an Israeli organization. You can download information on many more from the 1st linked site below.  The 2nd link is just one example from the download.

UK business intelligence company Euromonitor International shows Jerusalem as the world's fastest growing destination. Its 3.93 million overseas tourists in 2018 was up 12% from 2017 and the projected 4.8 million visitors in 2019 is another huge increase.

Israeli airline El Al is to trial commercial flights from Tel Aviv to Melbourne Australia from April 2020. It will initially offer three flights each way, aimed to gauge interest in the potential of launching such a route permanently. Flight times are around 17 hours.

The long-awaited 57-kilometer electric train route connecting Jerusalem’s Yitzhak Navon station and Tel Aviv’s HaHaganah station has opened to the public. Travel time is around 33 minutes, including a stop at Ben Gurion airport.

The latest Bank of Israel's Financial Stability Report has just been published. Its summary: “The analysis of the environment in which the domestic financial system operates, and the periodic assessments of its resilience during the first half of the year, show that the system remained stable.”

Israeli Venture Capitalist Jon Medved spoke at the SALT (SkyBridge ALTernatives) conference in Abu Dhabi. He is probably one of the first Israeli VCs to speak openly in an investor conference in the Gulf. See also the positive message from the Foreign Minister of the UAE.

Over 700 participants from across the world, including 100 from China, attended the 2019 GoforIsrael conference in Tel Aviv. The business summit brought together global investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs for investment and collaboration opportunities in Israel.  

The Tel Aviv-Jaffa Local Planning and Building Commission recently approved an urban development plan for the derelict area of South Tel Aviv. It will add many apartments and offices, plus large amounts of public and open space.

Israel’s medical-device pioneer Lumenis (reported previously) is being acquired by Baring Private Equity Asia for approximately $1.2 billion.  Subject to the customary regulatory approval process, it will be one of the 15 biggest acquisitions in Israeli history.

Japanese life science company Olympus Corp is to open an innovation office in Tel Aviv. Olympus is looking for Israeli technologies and startups in the digital health and med-tech fields, particularly in prostate stent technologies. Over 70 Japanese companies have offices in Israel.