Israel Active

In 2015, Time magazine picked Jerusalem as the world’s top emerging technological hub. Corporation tax had been reduced from 25% to 9%; And the Jerusalem Development Authority’s Jnext program helped setup 110 startups in Israel’s capital in 2016 alone.

Industrial parks in the Territories are in high demand.  At Shahak, over 100 dunams have been sold to developers. At Barkan 60 companies have applied to join the existing 160. Nahal Rabah is set to open shortly, just 20 minutes from Petah Tikva.

Israel’s Tower Semiconductor had a record year with 2016 revenue of $1.25 billion, up 30% over 2015 and profit of $204 million after a loss in 2015. But this was dwarfed by Israel’s Teva whose revenue was $6.5 billion in just one quarter!

Further to previous reports, Volkswagen and Mobileye now plan to implement a new navigation standard for autonomous driving starting in 2018. Future Volkswagen models will use the camera-based map and localization technology Road Experience Management™ from Mobileye.

From July 21, Wizz Air is commencing 3 flights a week between Varna Bulgaria (coolest city on the Black Sea) and Tel Aviv (coolest city on the Mediterranean). And from Jun 24, Wizz will operate four weekly flights from London Luton to Tel Aviv.

Israel’s Emefcy is to build an innovative sewage plant to serve an area of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. The plant will use Emefcy’s Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor to generate recycled water for irrigating the neighborhood’s landscape. It is Emefcy’s second treatment plant in Ethiopia.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has developed and delivered comprehensive security and protection systems, known as the ‘Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System’ (IUHDSS for the Indian Navy. Its sensing arrays can detect threats from small boats, submersibles, divers etc.

The Israeli government has put forth a NIS 15 billion plan to revamp northern Israel. It includes upgrading schools, improving health care, grants to businesses, road schemes, expanding Haifa’s bus system and a light rail between Haifa and Nazareth.

Having discovered that few Chinese own an oven, Israel’s Ronen Mechanik launched Uga Uga (Uga = Hebrew for “cake”).  Chinese users order cake-baking kits for use in their rice cookers. 4,000 kits have already been sold since the website’s launch - just through word of mouth.

Israel’s Arkia Airlines is commencing regular flights to London Stanstead, Milan, Salonika and Sardinia. It has already begun flying to Belgrade. Air France is going to Tel Aviv from Nice and Bilbao and China’s Hainan Airlines is offering Beijing flights for $500. And Air Transat is to fly direct twice weekly from Montreal between June and October with connections from Toronto.