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Israel Update 26.5.22

ISRAEL & THE EUROPEAN UNION

 

 

Israel and the EU have been in negotiations for the past month to export gas to Europe via Egypt. Israel’s Energy Ministry Director General said that the European Commission “officially asked for Israel’s help to get through the energy crisis,”. Israel has been preparing to double its export capacity in the coming years. Read more here

 

 

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola visited Israel and addressed  a special plenary session of the Knesset on Monday, symbolizing an encouraging and dramatic change in Europe’s tone and approach.
Read more here

 

 

The EIT Hub Israel, the Israeli branch of the European Union’s Innovation and Technology Arm (EIT). is an organization set up in 2019 to link the Israeli and European tech ecosystems. 13 startups have been selected  to take part in its scale-up programme Calling2Scale, a project that helps firms with working products to reach global markets through grants and industry connections. Read more here

 

UKRAINE

 

 

Israel recently delivered 2,000 helmets and 500 protective vests for emergency and civilian organizations in Ukraine.Read more here

 

 

INDIA

 

 

Israeli startup Watergen, a pioneer and global leader in the “Atmospheric Water Generation” (AWG) industry has signed a partnership agreement with Indian conglomerate SMV Jaipuria Group. The joint venture aims to bring Watergen’s “GENius” patented AWG technology to India. SMV will be responsible for manufacturing the machines that turn humidity particles into drinkable water in what has the potential to alleviate water pollution crises worldwide.Read more here

 

 

MOROCCO

 

A group of 40 young people, 20 Israelis and 20 Moroccans took part in the Leaders of Tomorrow programme, which seeks to build on the long-standing historical and cultural roots between the two countries. The initiative, focused on forging personal connections and expanding tech cooperation among young Israelis and Moroccans, comes after the two countries signed a normalization agreement in 2020. Read more here

 

 

Israel and Morocco signed a number of business-and-tech-focused agreements this week through delegations from both countries that attended the first-ever “Connect to Innovate” conference. Agreements were signed in fields that included agrifood-tech, water tech, climate tech, human capital, logistics, and more. Read more here

 

 

PAKISTAN

 

 

Pakistan is viewed as hostile towards Israel and the countries have no diplomatic ties.
Recently, a 15-member delegation visited Israel, organized by the American Muslim and Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council and by Sharaka, an NGO founded in the wake of the Abraham Accords to embed people-to-people normalization between Israel and Muslim-majority states. The delegation included American Pakistanis, a British Pakistani, and prominent Pakistani journalist Ahmed Qureshi, who works for Pakistan’s state broadcaster, Pakistan Television (PTV).
Qureshi said”All Israelis we met went the extra mile to show us that…they respect Muslims from other countries in the world. They would like to make the experience of local Palestinians and visitors from outside who want to visit [Jerusalem’s] Masjid al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock and other holy sites as smooth as possible.” The fact that a Pakistani journalist working for the state broadcaster could make this trip reflects that the Pakistani state is increasingly open to normalization. Read more here

 

 

TURKEY

 

 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived on Tuesday for a two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank. Israel perceives the visit as a significant step toward putting ties back on track, but still harbours suspicions about Turkey’s efforts toward rehabilitating relations. One of Israel’s main demands ahead of advancing ties is that Ankara work harder to stop Hamas activities in Turkey. Read more here

 

 

CHAD

 

 

Israeli diplomat Ben Bourgel has presented his credentials to Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno on for the first time in half-a-century after the two countries re-established relations in 2019.  Israel’s envoy  pledged that Israel  will work with Chad in the fields of  climate, agriculture, water management and health. Read more here

 

 

 EGYPT

 

 

 

An Israeli orchestra has performed in Egypt for the first time in 40 years, surprising locals by playing Egyptian classics from the 50s and 60s. The event took place as part of Israel’s 74th Independence Day celebrations at the Israeli embassy in Cairo. Read more here

 

 

 

THE UK

 

 

The UK’s Health Secretary Sajid Javid has spoken of the “unbreakable partnership” between Israel and the UK at the Israeli Embassy’s annual Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day) event in London adding that “this evening is about celebrating our remarkable friendship.” Read more here

 

 

SPORT

 

Israeli kickboxer Loai Sakas, a Christian Arab, won a gold medal on Thursday last week at the world championships in Turkey and draped himself with the Israeli flag. He said: “I’m first and foremost an Israeli citizen….I represent the country and want everyone here to live in peace with each other.” The CEO of the Kickboxing Association in Israel is a Muslim Arab woman Naama Ali. Read more here Read more here

 

 

For the first time, some basketball fans will be able to see and hear everything players do on the court, thanks to a new agreement between EuroLeague and the Israeli startup MindFly that will have athletes wear body cameras powered by artificial intelligence. Read more here

 

 

 

DEFENCE

 

The Pentagon’s major weapons supplier Lockheed Martin Corp has successfully delivered the Israeli-made Spike-NLOS missile system on the Oshkosh’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) to US Special Operations Command, such integration demonstrating the versatility of the Spike NLOS weapon system. Read more here

 

 

VOLUNTEERS

 

 

Amid an ongoing terror wave, 4,000 Israelis have thus far stepped forward to volunteer in the new civilian Home Guard established by the Israel Police. 12% of the volunteers are Muslims who are mostly concerned for their safety in the face of increasing violence in Arab communities. Read more here

 

 

 

GAZA THREAT

 

 

A year after the May 2021 war in Gaza, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are preparing for the next conflict with Israel, developing and perfecting new attack methods, including digging more tunnels, utilizing drone technology, and expanding their naval capabilities.
Hamas has also added 1,000 rockets to its arsenal since last year and is focussing on their quality and improving their range and accuracy. Read more here

 

 

BATTERY TECHNOLOGY

 

 

StoreDot, an Israeli developer of extreme fast-charging (XFC) battery technology for electric vehicles, held a live public demonstration of its capabilities on Wednesday, charging a full-scale electric vehicle battery cell in just 10 minutes. The company hopes to deliver charging technology that can power EVs for 100 miles in a charge of five minutes by 2024, reducing to three minutes by 2028 and two minutes by 2032. Read more here

 

 

 

FOOD TECH

 

 

 

An Israeli food tech startup is serving up what it calls the world’s first plant-based poached and fried eggs aiming to launch in US restaurants later this year.Yo! Egg (also Yo-Egg) was founded in 2019, developing an egg-free product that produces poached and fried “eggs,” complete with the equivalent of the egg whites and runny yolks but without the cholesterol. It uses a blend of plant-based proteins, water, sunflower oil, soy, flour, “and a few more simple ingredients,” all 100% vegan, to make its “whole egg” product.Read more here

 

 

ARCHAEOLOGY

 

A 2,100 year-old agricultural farmstead has been uncovered in a dig in northern Israel. The inhabitants appear to have left in haste, leaving a “time capsule” for archaeologists to find. Read more here

 

 

 

COMMENT & OPINION

 

 

Bret Stephens: Zionism Remains a Freedom Struggle:

EXTRACTS: Most of the new states established since World War II were born from the twin processes of decolonization and national-liberation struggles. Among the first was Israel. Israel is a decolonized nation, liberated from imperialism just as surely as Kenya or Indonesia was…
As for the argument that Palestinians experience apartheid because they don’t get a say in Israeli politics, the entire point of the 1993 Oslo Accords was to provide Palestinians with a separate polity in the form of the Palestinian Authority…

Israel cannot be expected to agree to the immediate creation of a Palestinian state if Israelis have good reasons to fear that ending the occupation is a prelude to ending Israel itself. The Jewish state is expected to conduct its battles with greater regard for the safety of its enemies than for that of its own people. It is expected to make diplomatic concessions that put the lives of its own citizens at serious risk. It is expected, when struck, to turn the other cheek. Read more here