Israel Active

69% of all electricity produced in Israel now comes from natural gas - a new Israeli record. The Israel Electric Corporation reported electricity production at 11,936 megawatts, of which 8,258 MW was produced by gas-driven turbines. The rest is from coal and other sources.

Israel's unemployment rate fell to 4.3% in December, from the previous record low of 4.5% in November.  Most of the increase was in full-time jobs.  More women joined the labor force.  The average salary rose by more than 2.5% over the past year.

Ahead of the official announcement, foreign exchange analysts have calculated that the Bank of Israel's foreign currency reserves have exceeded $100 billion for the first time ever. Last month’s value was $98.361 billion and the BOI added at least $2.75 billion in January.

Air fares from Israel to Western Europe have fallen 18% in the five years since Israel signed the Open Skies airline competition agreement with the EU.  Fares to North America have also dropped – by 14%.  110 foreign airlines now fly to Israel, and passenger traffic has increased by 40%.

Some 970,000 tourists stayed at least one night in Israel in Nov 2016, an increase of 38% compared to Nov 2015 and 23% higher than Nov 2014. The revenue generated from foreign tourists in Nov 2016 was more than 1.5 billion shekels ($390 million).

Israel’s Startup Stadium is a non-profit venture that maintains a Facebook page with almost 40,000 friends and a variety of other activities. It provides a network of connections between entrepreneurs, investors, and representatives of international corporations.

I reported previously about the GuideIN Tube designed by students at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center to help inflate collapsed lungs.  Guide In Medical is now a startup company and has just raised two million shekels ($529,000) for further development of the device.

Fresh.fund is Israel’s new student-run venture fund.  Its aim is to invest in early-stage companies and ventures run by students and others.  ​The new fund has raised $1 million from an angel investor in Jerusalem and intends to invest $20,000 to $50,000 per venture.

I reported previously on Israeli augmented reality startup Cimagine Media. Now Image messaging app Snapchat is buying Cimagine for an estimated $30-$40 million, marking Snapchat's first acquisition in Israel. Cimagine will become Snapchat's R&D center in Israel.

US Celanese Corporation has acquired the nylon compounding product portfolio of Israel’s Nilit Plastics for an estimated $250 million. Nilit, however, will retain ownership of its worldwide nylon fibers and polymerization businesses, including facilities in Israel, US, China, and Brazil.