Israel is known as the start-up nation. Its bilateral trade with countries like the UK has never been higher. OurCrowd, based in Jerusalem and a leader in microfunding, is about to reach US$1 billion in crowdfunding.

In recent weeks, the country has seen a stunning list of successes in the acquisitions market.

And so the list goes on. Israel’s place in the international market is well established.

This position is based on mutual trust and growth for all. Today, Tuesday, the annual conference of the British Labour Party is due to vote to reject that prosperity. This issue is considered more important than the failing National Health Service….which is also now benefits from Israeli technology.

Tonight, Tuesday 18th September 2018, the fast of Yom Kippur will commence. Known in English as the day of Atonement, Israel shuts down. You will not see cars on the road. Businesses are closed. Restaurants are shut. Complete tranquility, as the country – at least traditional and observant Jews – dedicate themselves to prayer.

(To put the biblical instruction in terms of 2018, millions learn how to put aside Whattsapp for 25 hours).

Sunday morning, roughly 48 hours previous to my writing this text, Rabbi Ari Fuld was out shopping near the town of Efrat, located between Bethlehem and Hebron. Many around the world know this region as the West Bank (of the Jordan River).

Fuld was stabbed in the back by a 16 year old, Khalil Yusef Ali Jabarin, from a village south of Hebron. There is a video of Fuld trying to chase the youth and taking a shot at him, before collapsing. I know the medic who tried to treat Fuld on the spot. He described to me the gapping hole in the rabbi’s back. He was declared dead shortly after arrival at the hospital.

The youth was remanded in an Israeli hospital, where he was treated for a mild flesh wound to his hand. His initial “court appearance” was conducted around his bed. The Palestinian Authority (PA) will pay his family about US$400 every month for three years. As the Palestinian ambassador to the UK effectively admitted on a talk-in last week, such funds are available due to the generosity and financial support from European and other governments towards the PA.

The supporters of the Palestinian cause have blasted social media with the argument that Fuld was an armed settler, and thus he was a legitimate target. I suppose the logic of that argument is that if you disagree with somebody’s politics, you can slay them in cold blood.

I guess that mix of hatred justifies 9/11 in the USA, 7/7 in London, Spanish train bombings et al. It is noticeable the many of the proponents of such views hang out with anti-semites. They imply that Jews are a fifth column in their country of living. More hatred, which is rarely found in societies looking to cerate individual growth and development.

What would such people say if a dear and beloved one was randomly slain in the name of a political movement? Would that also become acceptable?

As for the victim, I saw a post from a friend of mine, David Olesker.

In the last week a righteous man, whose public works are known to many, was murdered. Our Sages say that the death of the righteous (especially those who die sanctifying G-d’s name) is an atonement for the generation.
I can’t help but feel that, despite the countless merits of the acts Ari Fuld did in public, his true righteousness probably lay in his private life, known to his family and those closest to him. There are doubtless others, who are not known to the wider world, who stand beside him today, before the Throne of Mercy, where they will plead for their people on the day when we are all judged.
These advocates will not make us ashamed, let us not make them ashamed!

The scenery at this time of year in Israel is exquisite. On the Day of Atonement, Jews pray to be sealed in the Book of Life. I wish everyone – yes, everyone – a healthy, prosperous year ahead. It should be a year full of self-fulfillment and mutual opportunities.

The amount of Israeli investment in the UK has been growing since a UK government scheme called the UK Israel Tech Hub was launched in 2011……..Anglo-Israeli business deals totalling £85m have now been secured through the hub. Meanwhile, hundreds of British and Israeli companies have been involved in its various activities and events. During 2016-17 this included more than 150 UK and 490 Israeli firms.

Thus, summarised an extensive review by the BBC of the growing tech ties between Israel and the UK.

To give some context, the item comes during an interesting week for relations between the two countries. The British affirmed in the House of Commons that “The UK has announced £17 million of funding over the past four months, in addition to our original budget of £28.5 million, to protect UNRWA’s vital services (for the Palestinians).

And the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn has continued to oppose anti-Semitism, while talking the languages of its proponents (sic). This sinister approach was dissected in a satirical rebuke by award winning author, Howard Jacobson, and then in an eloquent speech by former Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks in the House of Lords.

(As if to confirm their concerns and to highlight the depth of malicious debate in the Labour Party,  TUC delegate Mark Serwotka has just declared that Israel has tried to “create a story that does not exist”. His words and tone are the plagarised language of the fake ‘Protocols of Zion’ from Tsarist Russia.)

So let us just step aside and see how much each country contributes to the success of each others’ economy and society as a whole.

  • It is less than a month ago that the largest trade deal between the UK and Israel was declared. Rolls Royce is “supplying Trent 1000 engines to power a fleet of 16 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft that have been ordered by EL AL Israel Airlines”. That is a lot of work for a lot of British jobs.
  • Staying with flight, the UK’s Effective Space, a startup developing a satellite servicing system (drones), has announced an agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to provide technical and financial support.
  • In the world of finance, the cities of London and Tel Aviv have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding to bolster FinTech and cyber security cooperation between two leading global centres for digital innovation.

And so the list goes on. As a British minister stated in Parliament on 13th September: The UK-Israel Trade Working Group is making positive progress towards transitioning the EU – Israel Association Agreement, to maintain our strong trade and investment relationship with Israel.

I think it is worth concluding with extracts from a debate from the same day led by Dr. Liam Fox, the Secretary of State for international trade. To quote the salient points:

From online banking security to prescription drugs to cherry tomatoes, Israel has become an international technological and trade powerhouse. Every day, millions of Britons are benefiting from Israeli inventions and produce, even if they do not realise it.

Our trade with Israel currently stands at £3.9 billion in goods and services, with our exports up 7% in the past year. The Prime Minister met the Israeli Prime Minister in February 2017 to set up the joint trade working group, and I would like to thank the Israeli Government for their close liaison. We are dedicated to the continuity of trade and, once we leave the European Union, to having an ambitious new trade agreement that will provide even greater benefits than those we currently have.

The tech hub (see above) is there to help British businesses to get access to the innovations that come out of Israel across a range of sectors. It is worth pointing out that Israel is an extraordinarily innovative country and has more start-ups per capita than any other country on the planet. Where we can get UK businesses across a range of sectors to get access to such innovation, it is always a positive outcome.

The latest computers used in the House of Commons use Intel 7 and Intel 8 cores and above, and Shazam, Skype and FaceTime all use technology developed in Israel.

As I (Dr Fox) have already said, the key to that is the UK-Israel tech hub. This relates not only to the area of computers, which my hon. Friend has mentioned, but to FinTech, cyber-security, biomed, retail technology and the creative industries. These are all prime areas for co-operation between the United Kingdom and Israel, and we should celebrate that relationship and the benefits that it brings to both our populations.

Now if Mark Serwotka, a Corbyn ally, would have their way on Jews in Israel, how many British workers would lose their jobs. How much worse would British consumer become?

Israel’s economy is rarely a straight forward case study to analyse. All observations are usually couched with the get-out phrase about the uncertainties of the geo-political context. True, but for almost two decades – and arguably longer, the country and its commercial system has punched higher than expected.

This week, Jews around the world celebrated their new year. Israeli industry ground to a halt, except for those selling ice cream on the beaches. And yet the great stats keep surging through.

  • For the first time in some years, the fiscal debt compared to the GDP – an internationally accepted measure of an economy’s strength – is heading in the wrong direction. It may peak over 3%, but that is still far better than most of the world’s powerhouses.
  • Foreign currency reserves – at over 30% of GDP – remain close to their all-time high.
  • Unemployment has edge up to 4.3% in recent months, yet remains highly impressive for a country that has known far worse stats in living memory.

And as for the image of the ‘start up nation’, the success stories keep rolling in: –

The list of positives goes on. Yes, the downside is rarely far away. However, at this festive time of the year, it is worthwhile concentrating on the successes. Both Israelis and others can be proud, if not also thankful, for them.

It is rare that I just copy and past an article. This one just struck me as so rich in both motivation and modesty, and it is wrapped around one of my favourite themes, Jerusalem. Pls read, enjoy and pause for thought.

My compliments for the initiative shown by the author, Dvora Waysman.

At the corner of my street in Jerusalem’s Beit Hakerem neighborhood, there is a little pocket park. It has two benches, which are often occupied by the elderly or Filipino caregivers, having a break and meeting their compatriots. For anyone who doesn’t have their own garden, or a balcony with a view, it is a haven in a bustling suburb. It is always well-tended, weeded, watered and pruned, and there is always a bush or a shrub in bloom.

There is a plaque in the garden that simply reads in Hebrew: “In memory of Raquela Prywes, a nurse in Israel.” I have always been intrigued by this unknown lady, and only recently found out her story. She was born in 1924 in Palestine, as it was then, and her family had lived here for nine centuries. She grew up in Jerusalem in a close family, became a nurse and a midwife at the age of 18, and died in 1985 at the age of 61.

In 1945, she was asked to go to Atlit, a British prison camp located in the north of the country near the port of Haifa. There, survivors of the Holocaust, who had arrived on “illegal ships,” were held behind barbed wire. Among them were pregnant women, dressed in rags, who dreamed of delivering their babies in the Jewish homeland. Seeing these women, still in captivity after the unimaginable suffering they had been through under the Nazis, inspired this dedicated young woman to help them any way she could. Many of these women later told stories about the “Jewish Angel” who delivered the first babies born to Holocaust survivors in Eretz Yisrael.

When the British finally realized that Atlit could not hold all the “illegal” refugees landing on the shores, they decided to send the ships to the island of Cyprus. Due to Raquela’s outstanding nursing skills, and the compassion she had shown at the prison camp, she was asked to go along. There she delivered more than 2,500 babies to women who had escaped the Holocaust.

During the Israeli War of Independence in 1948, Prywes worked in Jerusalem at Hadassah Hospital, delivering babies day and night, as well as caring for the casualties of the intense fighting for the land of Israel. She had seen many of these soldiers in Cyprus; they had gone from the concentration camps in Europe to the refugee camps, and then into the new Israeli army.

In 1950, Raquela married Arik Brzezinski, an obstetrician who had emigrated from Poland. They lived in Jerusalem and had two sons. The same year, she was able to save a young woman who was six months pregnant and very ill with toxemia. The woman turned out to be the daughter of Golda Meir, who was to become Israel’s Prime Minister. She praised the young nurse as “the best nurse-midwife in Israel.” Tragedy struck in 1976, when their son was killed serving as a lieutenant in the IDF.

Together with her husband, she helped found the first hospital in Beersheva, which was then just a desert. There she helped deliver babies of Bedouin women, as well as Jewish immigrants from all over the world who were coming to the new Jewish State. Later, she was credited with starting several hospitals that saved hundreds of Israeli soldiers during the Six Day War in 1967.

After the sudden death of her first husband in 1961, she married a widower with two young daughters. Moshe Prywes was also a doctor, and the president of Hebrew University. They traveled around the world, learning medical techniques that they brought back to Israel to improve the services here.

Her life mirrors the establishment of Israel. She was there before its birth during the dark days of World War II, through the 1967 war and also the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Before she died, she saw her first Israeli grandchild born. She died too young, but left a legacy of devotion to the Jewish people for which we will always be indebted.

I don’t know who are the various people who come to tend her garden. I know they are volunteers, and not from the Municipality, but whether descendants, friends or just admirers of this wonderful woman I have no idea. I see them prune the rose bushes, tie up straggly plants, carefully weed between the rows. It always reminds me of a sampler that hung in our Australian kitchen when I was a child. My mother, not a great needlewoman, had carefully sewn the letters in different colored threads. They read:

“The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth.
One is nearer G-d’s heart in a garden
Than any place else on earth.”

Published by Jewish Press.com on 20th August 2018.

Usually, if Israel’s economy hits the foreign press, it has reported with a negative connotation. A recent detailed article in The Guardian newspaper from the UK is an excellent example, primed with selective details…..although I will not provide the link.

Again, usually, the bare facts are very different. Just take three examples from this week’s news.

ITEM 1: According to the UK’s Department of International Trade, 33 Israeli companies have set up shop in the UK during the past 12 months alone, joining over 300 other such businesses. It is estimated that the newcomers have already created about 610 jobs.

(It might be cheap to add, but I can only assume that this new wealth is located not in constituencies associated with the Parliamentary supporters of Jeremy Corbyn).

ITEM 2: Sodastream has a clear track record of creating employment for Palestinians and Bedouin, despite the claims of Israel’s opponents. It has been announced that PepsiCo has just bought the company for US$3.2 billion. I wonder if these same haters will suddenly stop drinking Pepsi products.

ITEM 3: Lana Del Rey is one of America’s most talented performing artists. She announced her intention to visit the Holy Land next month, and her statement was met with a monumental level of hate on social media. What impressed me most was her response.

I believe music is universal and should be used to bring us together. … Performing in Tel Aviv is not a political statement or a commitment to the politics there just like singing here in California doesn’t mean my views are in alignment w my current governments opinions or sometimes inhuman actions.

Del Rey is one of scores of artists this summer who are performing in Israel. They have fans from across the demographic, and that is what she is recognising.

It is this openness that is one of the fundamental strengths of Israel’s economy. It is there for all others, whatever their commercial make up. Those who wish to ignore it and to reject it are the ones who will lose out.

I was just beginning to reflect on another busy week. The usual question popped up: “What have I achieved?”, and then my mind stated racing off into a fascinating chain of thoughts. Let me explain.

In my work as a business coach and mentor, I have been tackling some fascinating new projects. Here are just three examples:

  • A former Broadway dancer, who has set up a dance school for young children in Jerusalem.
  • A 20+ something with little formal education, sitting in a co-workspace in Jerusalem, who has worked out a disruptive technology for the payments industry.
  • An educator, who is determined to create a children’s museum, from scratch.

And so I can continue. These really are very brave people, supported by minimal commercial experience. Watching them climbing over or going round obstacles as they are thrown at them, it has been a pleasure to work with them up to now, and so may the experience continue.

However, I realised that my “weekly personal recap” was seeking out something more. Not just a flash of inspiration, but something longer lasting.

Some people find that extra “uumph” by watching a TV programme such as the “Biggest Loser”. Jay Shetty’s films are never to be dismissed lightly. And the internet is full of amazing videos, such as the father who runs a long race pushing his physically challenged child in a pram. Fifty metres from the end, the child stops his dad, manages to stand up, and in the most awkward manner shoves himself over the finishing line. I will not forget that one too quickly.

Still, what is it that I do that I am really thrilled about and keeps me going during the day? And then I realised what it was, a most nonchalant of actions.

Most mornings, first thing, I usually find myself in Synagogue. For years, I had observed as people had put sums of money into a charity box, usually at a set money in the prayers. Yes, it’s great to help others, but I had felt that this specific approach did not appeal to me, for whatever reason.

This changed about a year ago, although I am not sure why. Religiously, most days, I now drop an insignificant amount into the opening at the top of the wooden box. I get a buzz out of it, every time. I know that, combined with the efforts of others, I am now helping somebody, somewhere, somehow.

And how does that relate to my work? Because that is what my mentoring and coaching is all about. The success of the case studies above are not dependent soley on me. Hopefully, I am one part of a wider circle of resources. When they come together, a unique dance studio is formed, an amazing software is available and kids will benefit from a fascinating educational experience.

Personally, I am putting what may seem an “insignificant amount” of my experience into the organisations of business owners, but it changes their lives. And the foundation for this? That little act every morning of picking up a few coins and placing them in a wooden container. I now understand what it generates for me for the rest of the day.

So what is it that inspires you this week….and every week?

 

Last week, I was reading a blog that implied that Jeff Bezos of Amazon has dispensed with powerpoint presentations in his company. The reason is that clever images fail to describe on-going stories nor do they bring home the “wow factors”. Apparently, slides have been replaced by old-fashioned 4-6 page typed out working papers.

I recalled this as I was sitting in the Google Campus in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. Eight hopefuls from the world of Cleantech were pitching. The prize was a trip for the winners to Scotland, prize money, and the opportunity to network with international investors. (And yes, one of the hopefuls was a long-time mentoring client of mine).

I should add that the lucky eight had already passed one round of selections. So I expected a high standard. And how I was disappointed. Apart from one team and my acquaintance, none of the participants brought home the presentations to those sitting in the audience.

Was that so bad? That is not just an opportunity gone begging. Think how much time (and money?) had been invested by each company on their ten ten slides. There was a range of classic mistakes: –

  • Presenters wasted time by reading long texts, from boring slides.
  • Slides did not support the verbal message.
  • Slides had so much information, the audience could not understand the message.
  • Presenters were so devoted to their slides that they barely looked at their audience.
  • Presenters had not rehearsed! (This point really flummoxed me.)

I could go on. However, there was one humongous mistake, common to all. While, I understand that the slides had to keep to a certain flow or path, none of them had a takeaway. Let me explain.

You invest vast amounts of time, money and effort into creating the slides. Most people even practice what they are to deliver. The listener quickly gets it that you are involved in something fascinating. Good for you, but……so what? What is in it for them; the investor, the buyer, the decision maker?

For whatever reason, all eight spokespersons spoke about themselves, their company and their innovation. They did not address the potential needs of their audience!

Which prompts me to raise the question, invoked by Bezos: Why did the contestants need such sophisticated powerpoint presentations in the first place?

It has been an awful night. At least 80 rockets have been launched into southern Israel since midnight. As a friend of mine posted on Facebook:

We were woken repeatedly during the night by sirens and audible rocket attacks from Hamas in Gaza.
The Rocket app recorded over 125 rocket and mortar attacks on Israel last night.
Hundreds of thousands of people spent the night in a shelter or safe room (if they have one – we don’t).
Did anyone hear about this on a foreign news station?
Seriously.
Anyone?

What a way to live! Would you accept that in your backyard? Will Israel go into Gaza? I have no idea, but this is not just a challenge to the country, this terrorism is a direct threat to Prime Minister Netanyahu. He has cultivated a reputation as Mr. Security. In other words, the country can depend on him.

This somewhat cynical consideration is incredibly pertinent, because just two days ago Israel’s High Court of Justice allowed the government just three more months to implement the new draft law. In effect, this would force ultra orthodox Jews to face conscription, which their political leaders see as a double red line, which should not be even considered.

Now, as Israel’s government is a coalition, dependent on these same parties, this means that the government is likely to fall, maybe before the end of the summer recess. In theory, this would suit Netanyahu just fine. Sometime towards the end of the year, he may face calls for prosecution. The noise of the elections should preempt and then dampen the clamour for his withdrawal from public office.

It should be noted that in poll after poll, Netanyahu is riding high. And it is assumed that after any such early elections, he will again ask the ultraorthodox to support his new government, assuming he is asked by the President to form it. (I shall spare yet another cynical comment).

It is incredible to comprehend that none of the multiples of opposition parties have thrown up a leader of strength and moral worthiness, who can challenge the incumbent Prime Minister. Certainly, the sharp words of the Druze community over the past few weeks have left him slightly wounded. A poor performance against Hamas this summer could also dent his popularity. And that is it.

One thing is clear to me. However Israel does respond to Hamas, it could eventually be seen in the context of a future general election. What a sad way to run a beautiful country.

 

True story. Happened to me last week.

I was asked by the Keep Olim organization to give a talk at the MATI premises in Jerusalem. What could I, as an experienced business coach and mentor, impart to new immigrants in Israel, looking to set up a new business.

Imagine the scene. Several of the participants turned up early. They entered the room, said their hellos to me and then promptly found a seat. The body language of many of them exhibited a “do not disturb sign”, as they took out their mobile phones, which I assume they had not looked at for at least an excruciating five minutes.

Resorting to some old fashioned techniques of group dynamic, I quickly arranged people into couples, and encouraged them to speak to each other. (One person struggled to abandon his precious phone, even if he might benefit from a new commercial encounter).

After seven minutes, I created new partnerships, although not without some objections. Apparently, I had not given the first set of teams enough time to listen to each other. Of course, I did point out that they could have done this beforehand.

Sad. In a society dominated by the language and technology of millennials, somehow we do not find the time or the ability to listen to the wisdom of those very people sitting next to us – at work or in the home. This point was rammed home in an article by the former Chief Rabbi of England, Lord Jonathan Sacks.

Writing about the Book of Deuteronomy, Sacks observes how the word “Hear” is mentioned 92 times. In that context, I would add that ironically the book is called Devarim in Hebrew, which means “words”. Sacks adds:

Listening to another human being, let alone God, is an act of opening ourselves up to a mind radically other than our own. This takes courage. To listen is to make myself vulnerable…..But, it’s the people not like us who make us grow.

Last week, our eldest son approached my wife and I for some business advice. He really listened, but went in a different direction. Intriguingly, a few hours after I read the comments of Sacks, he received similar words of wisdom from somebody else (in my presence). To give him credit, he has begun to act on them, and I believe that could make a vital difference in what he is trying to achieve.

 

 

By all accounts, Israel’s international credit rating is about to jump a level to AA. That is a major vote of confidence in the economic policy makers in the Holy Land. There are only a dozen other countries with a better score. In theory, the effect is that the state of Israel will be able to raise cheaper money to invest in infrastructure projects.

So, why am I not elated?

Building a strong, inclusive society is not a set of acts dependent for justification, based on national statistics. Here are two examples of what I mean. Just before breaking for the summer recess, the Israeli Parliament, the Kenesset, passed two controversial laws. The first is the National Law, which seems to lessen the concept that minority groupings have equality in the face of the law. Most commentators agree that the whole show was concocted by Netanyahu in order to shore up the electoral vote on his right wing, as a general election seems to be in the offering.

The Druze community in particular has issued its protests, so far without any effect. Proponents of the law have argued that the law does not change any status quo. Really? So why legislate in the first place? After all, I know that I am Jewish and Zionist, and no “national” legislation is going to enforce those views in me, or in anyone else for that matter.

(For the record, one commentator recalled that the Prime Minister’s life had been saved by a Druze, following an accident in a training mission decades ago. Similarly, I went shopping today, when a bottle slipped from my hand, cutting me sharply. I was kindly helped by an extra attentive member of staff, who definitely was not a follower of Judaism).

In the second instance, the new surrogacy law, deliberately discriminates against single-sex parents. It was pummeled through the Kenesset at the request of the Prime Minister’s ultraorthodox coalition partners. Within days, the streets were full of tens of thousands, voicing their opposition to the act. And suddenly, believe it or not, Mrs. Netanyahu has claimed that the LGBT community is in her husband’s heart. Personally, I am not convinced.

These laws are not for the benefit of the country as a whole. They are targeting specific sectors in order to garner votes. This motive makes them suspect, if not down-right bad. I would argue segregationist.

Last week, a newspaper article noted that the price index had risen about 20% since 2003. However, wages in the high-tech sector, the core of Israel’s new growth and with 15% of the workforce, have risen 60%. It is yet another example of how two economies are developing in the country, and that means a potential sharp division in society.

A couple of hours ago, my son asked me if I had heard about Israel’s new credit rating in the money markets. He was pleased and proud. Rightly so. And then I asked him who he thought would benefit from this extra wealth. He was stuck for an answer. I suggested that he start looking at those elements who support the current crop of ruling politicians.

 

 

 

 

I have just come across this blog or advert: How to learn a language in 20 minutes a day!

With an industrial revolution taking place in communications, there are so many ways to link up with people and talk to them, and do so with ever greater speed. Is Facebook already passed its prime? How did we survive until now without WhatsApp? etc etc. Ways are now available for the blind to see. And now I am being asked to learn an additional language?

If I think about it, we are taught to communicate within moments of emerging into the world. The doctor gently slaps the baby to get a reaction. The new born cries, and the circle of life can commence.

Fast forward to the home. How many times a day are there basic misunderstandings? And at work, the list of poor interactions can be added to near daily by all of us. Let me take one example; preparing a presentation, maybe for an investor.

There are million of blogs out there explaining that presentations need to be brief and dynamic. They need to have a “wow factor”, usually with a personal edge. Above all, they should show what’s in it for the investor, rather why the technology is so brilliant. And for all that guidance, as a business mentor and coach I am inundated with poor work.

Last week, I was given a very specific brief; to edit the English of a presentation. When it was pointed out that the messaging was poor, the response was that as they are a start up, they are not expected to have a killer set of slides.

In my view, nothing could be further from the truth. After all, at home you try to express things clearly to your partner or parents or children. When addressing a colleague, you look to ensure that they have understood. So why cut corners in a vital presentation, directed at investors or otherwise?

There are few really good platforms that help you to perfect your “one sentence pitch“, and then go on to help you create some killer slides. And it is rare that you come across a commercial that makes you choke, and thus you are drawn to the product or service. Why? Because it ain’t that easy!

There is a double lesson here. For all our deep and extended experience in communicating with others, we take the skill for granted. And to achieve the right results, we should look to invest resources, like it or not …… or else we need to be slapped like a child?

 

 

This week saw the news of three significant investments in Israeli technology by multinationals. However, the international community treated the information as worthless. Why?

  • GE Healthcare, Medtronic and Change Healthcare are to receive around US$5.5 million dollars each to expand their R&D efforts in the Holy Land. They all already employ hundreds in Israel.
  • U.S. sales and marketing software company Salesforce has signed an agreement to acquire Datorama, an Israeli cloud-based artificial intelligence marketing platform. in a deal worth around US$800 million.
  • Lockheed Martin and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to evaluate potential markets  for Rafael’s Smart, Precise Impact missile guidance kits.

Each of these commercial deals will have strong positive knock on effects globally, too complex to relate in detail here. Meanwhile, the international media has focused on Israel’s new nationality law.

Now, I have my own reservations about this law. What it actually does or change is still not clear, which is a clear indication why it is probably a bad act of Parliamentary business. It is certainly seen as an election move by the Prime Minister to shore up his proverbial right wing, as elections appear to be looming.

It is easy to see why the foreign press has focused on the issue. Israel has been ‘fair game’ for decades.

And just as easily as the journalists ignored some positive commercial news, they also “forgot” to write about the thousands of Syrian refugees who benefited from Israeli charity this week. Those refugees are ‘fair game’ for the Assad regime. Conversely, they are fair game to be ignored by the governments of the same critical journalists.

Meanwhile, Israel’s opponents appear holy than thou….to themselves.

Moscow’s month of football mania is over. France won. Much back slapping for Putin, even if he left important guests drenched in the rain. And the bloggers are still occupied with finding ways to link this sporting orgy to clever messages.

So permit me to join this game for a couple of minutes, as a business coach and mentor.

England’s latest hero is Harry Kane. Finally, the country has at least one player who can actually put the ball into the net. A “model student” at school, who excelled at several sports, he has worked his way up through a series of junior sides. However, what all his professional admirers have pointed out is his burning desire to put in the hours – to practice and to practice some more until he gets it right.

Intrigued by this determination, I looked at some other heroes of the tournament. For example, Luke Modric, Coatia’s brilliant captain, grew up during the cruel war in the Balkans in the early 1990s. Football provided a way to escape from – in more ways than one – the horrors of battlefields. His first shin guards were made of wood. To be blunt, not even a round of bullets aimed at his family could stop him progress.

And the French striker, Kylian Mbappe, is the son of immigrants from Africa. Barely four years ago, he was still sharpening his skills on gravel pitches just outside Paris. Yesterday, he was probably the most skillful person on the most important stage for world football.

I was able to bring together my thoughts on these players and others, when I was meeting with a client in my office in Jerusalem. He has been pondering a wonderfully creative idea that can be nurtured from the garage to, hopefully, a much wider business operation. He has already validated the concept commercially.

And now comes the challenge. He has to apply his passion – and he loves his subject – to a business model. That means much hard work; checking multiple suppliers, learning production processes, investigating facilities, creating a pricing structure based on a clear profit, and so much more.

My point is that all these aspects are very doable, but may not be easy for each individual. For example, as a modest person, he does not like bothering others to obtain information. He has to be encouraged to call outsiders. Similarly, making a large profit is an anathema to him.

This contrasts sharply with out three footballing heroes. Each one grew up with their own hang-ups. Who am I to assess them here? What is clear is that they have been able to put them aside in the name of their dreams and their passion. That is what their various coaches taught them along the way to their successes.

Bottom line. You may have skills, sporting or in business. However, you have to learn how to apply them. This takes time, patience, pain – over and over again. It is important to realise this as early on in the process as possible.

 

In the start up nation, you are allowed to assume that the Israeli economy revolves around the high-tech.

Certainly, whenever a news item features commerce and trade from the Holy Land, it does seem to revolve around innovation and entrepreneurship. Just look how CNN featured the Israeli efforts on the rescue of the boys in Thailand.

Going through this weekends’ newspapers, I realised just how diverse the Israeli economy has become and just how much there is for others around the globe to benefit from its resourcefulness.

For example, staying with the tech theme, and as it is the last day of the World Cup in Russia, let’s consider VAR; Video Assistant Referee. Israel has become a key player in the field, pardon the pun. For example, this year, Invertex was bought by Nike. Two years ago, Replay, which specialises in D3 platform, was sold for US$175 million to Intel.

According to one report, there are 177 Israeli start ups associated with sport technology, having raised over US$650 million in a decade. Nine have achieved exits, resulting in close to a further billion dollars. Revenues are up 38% this year.

In a completely different sphere, we are increasingly aware how Palestinians are adept at using Israeli resources. For example, despite calls for boycotts such events, they always make a splash at the Agritech exhibition in Tel Aviv. The Al Baidaa agricultural trading company is run by the well-connected Al-Masri family. It is the key behind the growth in date plantations in the Jordan Valley region, which is expected to see a doubling of production by 2023.

So far, around 10% of the produce goes oversees, primarily to Europe. In the past, security measures have seen shipments delayed. However, all parties are now finding ways together to overcome these handicaps. It is also worth noting that most Palestinian commercial successes are to be found in the West Bank, tucked away from the rule of Hamas in Gaza.

On a structural level, there is one positive potential change in the offering. The Prime Minister’s role in the suspected corruption case known as File 4000 has highlighted how for the past decade Israeli business leaders have tried to secure fame, fortune and safety by dominating an aspect of the media. Two examples include the fallen tycoons Eliezer Fishman and Nochi Dankner, former owners of newspapers.

The links between Netanyahu and Shaul Elovitch, who had the controlling interest in the national phone company, Bezeq, are just an extension of this theme. The two have been friends for years. The Ministry of Communication was run by a confidant of Netanyahu, just as Bezeq’s commercial reach was being secured. All this was going on at a time, when the Prime minister retained the communications portfolio.

Is it any wonder that much of the term of the current government has been spent loosening the controls over its authority by the courts and civil service. Is that period of abuse coming to an end? I would like to think so, for the benefit of 8 million citizens (less the few oligarchs at the top).

 

We all have those hot nights, when we cannot fall asleep. We look for something meaningful to do. We five minutes ago, I just saw two contrasting videos of Facebook that I want to share.

I was struck by the beauty and simplicity of a most effective video from Koolulam. This is a group that brings masses of people together through song, whatever their background. Their name is a play on the word inclusiveness.

This time, Koolulam arranged for members of Jerusalem’s three leading religious communities to perform in the ancient City of David, located just inside the Old City of Jerusalem. The chosen song was originally written by Bob Marley.

Just click on this link, watch and take it in. Note also the special lighting effects bouncing off those very ancient and symbolic walls.

At the heart of the name Jerusalem is the word “shalom” or peace. Next time somebody tells you that the city is not open to all, 24/7. just think about what you have seen.

And then sadly, almost the very next posting I saw revealed the ecological disaster that is evolving in the south of Israel. It may not be terror in the classic sense of the word, but it is designed to frighten, destroy and maim the innocent.

It is time for the world to show that it cares and to tell the perpetrators that they will be punished. Why? Not just because such acts are abhorrent.

They are also futile. And how do I know that? Because only resilient countries – states that are built on core values of mutual love, hope and respect – can produce videos like those of Koolulam.

Israel’s economy has been given a big “thumbs up” just recently. Matthew Michael, head of EMD and Commodities at Shroders Investment, one the UK’s largest investment houses, has paid a visit to the Holy Land. This was not his first trip here, as his team are trying to show a visible presence in the country.

Shroders operates in over 20 countries. And as Michael discussed in an interview with the Yediot Ahronot newspaper, Israel is considered the 4th least risk problematic country in Schroders index of 80. Some mighty compliment. What I found interesting was Michael’s assessment that Israel is well protected against unforeseen shocks to the world banking system.

That is all very encouraging. And the economy is still growing by over 3% a year, as unemployment remains at a record low. So where’s the proverbial “but”? And there is one, if not two or three.

Let us start with what interests Shroders, the banking system. Israel has been blessed with several strong and defining Governors of its central bank over the past two decades. None more so than the incumbent, Karnit Flug. Unfortunately, as her first term of office draws to an end, she has been forced to fall on her sword. Having neither the approval of the Minister of Finance nor the Prime Minister (for different reasons), she has asked that her contract not be renewed.

What is the concern? The role of the Governor of a central bank is to be an independent voice, protecting the money supply of a country. This calls for the political echelons to act with responsibility, and not just appoint a ‘silent mirror image of themselves’. Given the behavior of the aforementioned gentlemen, that is unlikely to happen with Flug’s departure. And in that case, if the new person is to be a “yes man” (or woman), a new large question mark will open up against Israel’s ability to raise money on the international markets.

Next is that ever worrying and constantly ignored issue of wealth distribution. With a huge amount of irony considering the religious nature of the country, Israel has the highest ratio in the OECD of salaries in the ninth decile (the 10% of salary earners below the top 10%) to salaries in the bottom decile (the bottom 10%). 

The country scored 7.22. The average for this ratio in the OECD was 3.22. In second place after Israel was the US, with 5.05, following by Costa Rica, with 5. In other words, the rich are getting richer more quickly, as the rest of us fight for the scraps on offer.

In my view, this is unacceptable as well as unsustainable. Further, it gives a much deeper perspective as to why so many government ministers and their associates are being investigated at this time for misuse of public funds and authority. And I deliberately include in that listing the files against the Prime Minister and also his wife.

If there is a message here, it is very clear. Wonderful stats and even a seemingly solid infrastructure takes years to create. However, they can be destroyed far, far more rapidly. They can only be retained and protected through continuous responsible measures. Flug and the OECD have delivered their warnings.

 

BDS is an international movement, dedicated to creating an economic and cultural boycott of Israel in support of the Palestinians. A recent report of their successes noted that:

A planned soccer match between Argentina and Israel was canceled after the Argentinian team received threats to themselves and their families…….Meanwhile, In May Netta Barzilai’s song “Toy” earned Israel the right to host the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. Calls to boycott the upcoming event began immediately, particularly in Iceland, Ireland, Sweden and Britain…..

Elsewhere internationally, local efforts to boycott Israel accelerated dramatically. In Ireland the Galway City Council voted to boycott Israel, while in Spain there is a renewed wave of BDS moves. In a first, the state of Navarre condemned Israel and passed a resolution calling on the Spanish government to support the international BDS movement. This followed similar calls in the cities of Valencia, Oviedo, and Pamplona. Oviedo immediately canceled a performance by an Israeli orchestra and ballet company saying, “Israeli organizations are not wanted.” Overall, some 90 Spanish communities have voted to support BDS.

And while these politicians were waving their speeches in the air, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have fled their homes and have made their way to the border with Jordan and Israel. The only significant aid for them has been supplied by Israelis, primarily from the area, which these same politicians call the “occupied Golan Heights”.

Israeli Flying Aid secured most of the 300 tents, 13 tons of food, 15 tons of baby formula, three pallets of medical supplies, and 30 tons of clothes and shoes sent ….to Syrian civilians fleeing Bashar Assad’s latest offensive against rebel holdouts in the Daraa region of southwest Syria.

Ironically, these people and their numbers no longer capture international headlines. In contrast, 12 boys and their football coach, miraculously surviving in a underground cave in the middle of Thailand, are far more news worthy. One of the first rescue teams to find them came from the UK.

And how was that accomplished? The trackers were primarily dependent on an emergency mobile communications technology, developed by the Israeli company Maxtech Networks.  As their CEO observed, since Maxtech’s role in the rescue attempt hit the news, the company has been inundated by enquires from all over the world. The website has almost crashed.

And reflecting on the contribution of BDS to these stories? Well if people had listened to the campaign’s advocates, the answer would have been death, hunger and illness. Well, that is what you expect from a campaign, based on hate and hypocrisy.

 

Somewhere amongst a very stressful week, I came across three very insightful postings from the web. Together, they form a powerful message.

Let me start off with sport. Football’s World Cup in Russia is but one of a myriad of great events these days. For example, the Brits are lining up for their annual two week tennis binge at Wimbledon in south west London. It is a wonderful event. If you pardon the phrase, the buzz of the crowds can be heard even during the silence of the points as they are played….,

…except for Lee Duck-hee. This 20 year old South Korean, deaf from birth, is a professional player and has been trying to qualify for the tournament.  I find it astounding that he has found a method to overcome the lack of hearing so key for others in their 100% fight on the court. Can you imagine trying to play the game without listening to the sound of how the ball has been it or if it caught the net? That requires an extra level of determination.

Somewhat staying with sports, I came across a post from motivational speaker David Flood. He described how his physically challenged son took part in an ice hockey game and what he learnt from the moment when his son actually scored. I will not spoil the whole story , but he signs off by demanding that we look inside ourselves.

“Your life is not about you”, Flood reminds us. It is how we interact we all – yes, all – those around us and what we can learn from them.

My final item leads me into the world of high-tech. We are used to hearing stories of people starting out in garages or dropping out of university before they reap their millions. However the founder of Flickr and Slack, Stewart Butterfield, has a very unique background.

(He) spent the first five years of his life living on a commune in remote Canada after his father fled the US to avoid serving in the Vietnam War. The young Mr Butterfield and his parents lived in a log cabin in a forest in British Columbia, and for three years they had no running water or electricity.

Think that unusual? Butterfield originally contemplated a career as a professor of philosophy. And today, his personal fortune is estimated at around US$650 million. Clearly, living in the wilds of Canada do not act as a boundary to becoming one of the world’s wealthiest people.

I am a business coach and mentor. My office is in Jerusalem, Israel, a region where miracles are supposed to be ever present. Somehow, while these characters may have prayed, I do not believe they relied purely on an exterior force. They asked what else they could do of themselves in order to succeed.

So what will you contemplate about your future this weekend?

I always get tense when booking my flights on line. I feel that I am waiting ‘to be had’ by some hidden clause and then duly ripped off.

This past Saturday night, I concurrently checked out the prices of four airlines, flying from Israel to the UK. El Al was the clear winner, and so I duly set about ordering a ticket for myself and my good lady. All was fine, when at the last moment I realised that I had made a mistake. As I could not go back one step, I was thus forced to start the process from the beginning.

I zipped through the pages again, until I reached the verification of the prices. Within 120 seconds, the cost of the return trip had miraculously jumped by around US$60. (Well, as somebody once mentioned, we are in the Holy Land.)

The expletives were not slow to emerge. Strangely enough, an hour previously, I had read an article that noted how El Al was ranked 34th out of 42 airlines for operational punctuality. Their CEO is demanding better performance from his staff.

Ironic, I thought to myself: At least my national airline is pretty damn prompt at asking for extra money from me. So, if the company is not worried about its pricing policy, I duly gave them some free publicity and blogged what happened to me on Facebook. That means that not only my friends heard about the story, so did the friends of the numerous people who added a like or comment.

At my daughter’s suggestion, I also let El Al know what was going on via their FB page. Who knows if they will respond, or how quickly?

However, permit me to throw on my hat as a business mentor and coach. There is a much more important lesson here. As a friend pointed out, the price hike was caused by the use of an aggressive algorithm, which many / most / all airlines use.

I wonder how much extra traffic El Al could draw to its website if it actively practiced and advertised a policy of not using such algorithms. In other words, their clientele would feel safer and better protected!

That would position El Al a large cut above their competitors in the skies. It would show that El Al genuinely cared about its customers. As their passengers are always told at the end of each flight, “we know you have a choice”.

The question is does the management of El Al understand the true meaning of that statement?

PS: For the record, I stuck with El Al, booking to return on a different flight which cost the original price I had intended to pay. However, it is inconvenient.

 

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