Israel Active

I’ve reported previously on Israel’s Softwheel and its revolutionary new wheel technology.  The latest news is that Softwheel is partnering car-maker Ford and truck-maker Iveco. Both companies are embarking on electric vehicle projects and have chosen Softwheel to give them a smooth ride.

Israel’s Salt of the Earth has implemented an extensive (NIS 1 million plus) program to protect waterfowl of all species in its salt pools. It includes a specific island nature reserve. Since the program has started, the population of little terns (Sterna albifrons) has more than tripled.

Georgian airline “MyWay Airlines” launches its first direct flight between Tbilisi and Tel Aviv on 28th June. MyWay is a subsidiary of the China-based Hooling Group established in 1988, and is one of the youngest airlines in Georgia.

Low-cost airline Wizz Air has taken over the London-Eilat route that was formerly operated by now defunct Monarch Airlines. Twice-weekly flights will commence from Oct 28. Wizz already operates services from Eilat’s Ovda airport to Bucharest, Warsaw, and Riga.

Waze co-founder Uri Levine is now piloting Refundit – an app that helps tourists process a VAT refund request on leaving a country. It’s simple, quick, no queues, no closed counters, no need to show the goods and the handling fee drops to 9% from the current 35 - 40%.

Israeli tourism has seen increases of nearly 40% so far in 2018, giving the Israeli economy a $577 million boost in the last five months alone. North America Israel Tourism Commissioner Uri Steinberg explains the latest trends and events on i24NEWS.

Since the original 1997 Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA) came into force, bilateral trade has tripled to more than $1.7 billion and fueled job growth in key Canadian sectors. The recently upgraded CIFTA gives almost limitless possibilities for extending Canadian-Israeli partnerships.

There are currently 18 Israeli-founded companies worth over $1 billion. They include WeWork ($20 billion), Magic Leap ($5 billion), Tanium ($5 billion), Houzz ($4 billion), Compass ($2.2 billion), Elastic ($2 billion), Infinidat ($1.6 billion), ironSource ($1.5 billion), Payoneer ($1.5 billion) and Gett ($1.4 billion)

The German army is to lease seven of Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) newest Heron-TP surveillance drones for nine years. The €1 billion ($1.18 billion) deal includes training, logistics, infrastructure, project management, operational support and maintenance.

There have been 175 Business deals initiated by the UK-Israel Tech Hub since its 2011 launch. Their combined value of £85 million ($113 million) is estimated to boost the UK economy by potentially £800 million ($1.1 billion) and helps Israeli companies to access global markets.