Feb. 12, 2009
A group of American university professors is calling for an academic and cultural boycott of Israel, marking the first time that a national academic boycott movement has come out of the United States.
Anti-Israel groups in Great Britain have attempted academic boycotts against Israel several times, but the American movement took Israeli professors by surprise. The campaign was founded by 15 academics, mostly from California.
David Lloyd, a professor at the University of Southern California, told Israel’s Ha’aretz that the initiative was “impelled by Israel’s latest brutal assault on Gaza and by our determination to say enough is enough.”
Lloyd also said pro-Israel lobbying groups exert too much control over US politics and the media and have instigated a “campaign of intimidation” against academics who criticize Israel’s policies. Officially called the US Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel, the group released a statement saying that it opposed the “censorship and silencing of the Palestine question in US universities, as well as US society at large” and called for “non-violent punitive measures” against Israel.
Lloyd also stated, albeit incorrectly, that “Hamas has sought direct negotiations with Israel, a pursuit that constitutes de facto recognition of Israel, and has openly discussed abandoning its call for the destruction of the State of Israel conditional on reciprocal guarantees from Israel.”
Israeli academics downplayed the boycott, but Jonathan Rynhold, a professor at Bar Ilan, said the ultimate goal of the boycott is to blur “the distinction between criticism of Israeli policies and criticism of Israel’s existence. Their game is to move the liberals, who accept Israel’s right to exist ... and turn them into radical left-wing critics [who believe] Israel is racist in its core and everything it does is wrong.”
Feb 12, 2009
Anti-Semitic Incidents Up Worldwide during Israel’s War with Gaza
Feb. 12, 2009
The number and severity of anti-Semitic acts skyrocketed during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza this year. The Jewish Agency for Israel’s Annual Report on Anti-Semitism said 250 incidents were reported in December to January compared with 80 during the same period in the previous year.
While many European governments uncharacteristically sided with Israel this time, most of the recent attacks took place in Western Europe and were perpetrated by local Moslems, the report said. There were approximately 100 incidents in both France and in Great Britain, including violent assault on Jews and Israelis.
“We shall continue our endeavors to curb this unpleasant phenomenon by addressing our observations and proposals to leaders of the world and demanding that they implement effective measures to counter anti-Semitism, as well as promoting our own educational programs through our emissaries worldwide,” said Hagai Meirom, Jewish Agency Treasurer.
Isaac Herzog, Israel Minister for Welfare and Social Services, expressed his concern at the rise in extremist Moslem groups.
“We are witnessing the growth of Islamic and extreme left-wing groups who are taking center stage in the arena of anti-Semitism in general, and anti-Semitic acts against Jews, in particular,” he said.
The overall number of anti-Semitic incidents fell by 15 to 20 percent in 2008 compared to 2007.
The number and severity of anti-Semitic acts skyrocketed during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza this year. The Jewish Agency for Israel’s Annual Report on Anti-Semitism said 250 incidents were reported in December to January compared with 80 during the same period in the previous year.
While many European governments uncharacteristically sided with Israel this time, most of the recent attacks took place in Western Europe and were perpetrated by local Moslems, the report said. There were approximately 100 incidents in both France and in Great Britain, including violent assault on Jews and Israelis.
“We shall continue our endeavors to curb this unpleasant phenomenon by addressing our observations and proposals to leaders of the world and demanding that they implement effective measures to counter anti-Semitism, as well as promoting our own educational programs through our emissaries worldwide,” said Hagai Meirom, Jewish Agency Treasurer.
Isaac Herzog, Israel Minister for Welfare and Social Services, expressed his concern at the rise in extremist Moslem groups.
“We are witnessing the growth of Islamic and extreme left-wing groups who are taking center stage in the arena of anti-Semitism in general, and anti-Semitic acts against Jews, in particular,” he said.
The overall number of anti-Semitic incidents fell by 15 to 20 percent in 2008 compared to 2007.
Israeli Economy Slowing Down, but Banks Not in Crisis
Long-term prospects more positive in Israel than other western nations
Feb. 12, 2009
The global financial crisis took awhile to cross the continents, but its tentacles have at last reached the Israeli economy forcing the Bank of Israel to revise its 2009 forecast to reflect a .2-percent decline rather than 1.5-percent increase.
The Israeli economy has more easily adapted to hostility than to these external factors. In 2006, the 40-day war with Hizbollah only briefly interrupted an economic boom. But this growth spurt came to a halt in the third quarter of 2008 as the global recession entered the scene.
“The effects of the global financial crisis on real economic activity in Israel are evident,” the Bank of Israel said in a report. “World trade, which exerts a major influence on domestic activity, has dropped, and is expected to fall further.”
The Bank of Israel is forecasting a 6.9 percent drop in exports and a 6.4 percent fall in imports in 2009. Foreign exports make up 45 percent of Israel’s GDP.
According to government figures, the Israeli economy expanded by 4.1 percent in 2008 to a record $190 billion capping off four years of higher than 5 percent annual growth. The slowdown hit Israel when demand for exports plummeted. Foreign companies downscaled their investment projects and consumers reduced spending.
“Israel’s economy is oriented toward export markets and other international activity,” the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange said in its annual report. “It is expected that the global crisis will adversely affect exporting firms as well as Israeli entrepreneurs abroad.”
Even so, Israel’s economy is expected to weather the situation better than many other developed nations.
“It’s going to be pretty gloomy, but it’s not like the United States or Germany,” said economist Jonathan Katz at HSBC. “It will be more of a slowdown than a recession.”
Also working in Israel’s favor is a conservative and stable banking system that is not in crisis.
“Happily for us, Israel’s economy hasn’t caught the three American diseases--consumer and private credit greater than 50 percent of GDP, a bursting real estate bubble, and a bankrupt financial system because of the first two diseases (and other causes)” wrote Ha’aretz financial reporter Guy Ronik. “Americans spent the last decade living well beyond their means. Israelis saved.”
Another factor in slowing the crisis’ arrival in Israel has been the Bank of Israel’s steady hacking of interest rates, down to 1 percent in January from 2.5 percent in November. In fact, investment bank UBS analyst Reinhard Cluse maintains his long-term forecast for 2010 of 2.7 percent growth. UBS said it expects a moderate recovery as early as the second half of the year.
“Following years of prudent fiscal policy, Israel is one of the few countries in (Europe Middle East Asia) where the government now has substantial scope for fiscal stimulus,” Cluse wrote. “After a balanced budget in 2007 and a deficit of 2.1 percent of GDP in 2008, we expect the deficit to rise to 4 percent of GDP or even higher in 2009, thus helping to prevent a more serious decline in growth.”
Feb. 12, 2009
The global financial crisis took awhile to cross the continents, but its tentacles have at last reached the Israeli economy forcing the Bank of Israel to revise its 2009 forecast to reflect a .2-percent decline rather than 1.5-percent increase.
The Israeli economy has more easily adapted to hostility than to these external factors. In 2006, the 40-day war with Hizbollah only briefly interrupted an economic boom. But this growth spurt came to a halt in the third quarter of 2008 as the global recession entered the scene.
“The effects of the global financial crisis on real economic activity in Israel are evident,” the Bank of Israel said in a report. “World trade, which exerts a major influence on domestic activity, has dropped, and is expected to fall further.”
The Bank of Israel is forecasting a 6.9 percent drop in exports and a 6.4 percent fall in imports in 2009. Foreign exports make up 45 percent of Israel’s GDP.
According to government figures, the Israeli economy expanded by 4.1 percent in 2008 to a record $190 billion capping off four years of higher than 5 percent annual growth. The slowdown hit Israel when demand for exports plummeted. Foreign companies downscaled their investment projects and consumers reduced spending.
“Israel’s economy is oriented toward export markets and other international activity,” the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange said in its annual report. “It is expected that the global crisis will adversely affect exporting firms as well as Israeli entrepreneurs abroad.”
Even so, Israel’s economy is expected to weather the situation better than many other developed nations.
“It’s going to be pretty gloomy, but it’s not like the United States or Germany,” said economist Jonathan Katz at HSBC. “It will be more of a slowdown than a recession.”
Also working in Israel’s favor is a conservative and stable banking system that is not in crisis.
“Happily for us, Israel’s economy hasn’t caught the three American diseases--consumer and private credit greater than 50 percent of GDP, a bursting real estate bubble, and a bankrupt financial system because of the first two diseases (and other causes)” wrote Ha’aretz financial reporter Guy Ronik. “Americans spent the last decade living well beyond their means. Israelis saved.”
Another factor in slowing the crisis’ arrival in Israel has been the Bank of Israel’s steady hacking of interest rates, down to 1 percent in January from 2.5 percent in November. In fact, investment bank UBS analyst Reinhard Cluse maintains his long-term forecast for 2010 of 2.7 percent growth. UBS said it expects a moderate recovery as early as the second half of the year.
“Following years of prudent fiscal policy, Israel is one of the few countries in (Europe Middle East Asia) where the government now has substantial scope for fiscal stimulus,” Cluse wrote. “After a balanced budget in 2007 and a deficit of 2.1 percent of GDP in 2008, we expect the deficit to rise to 4 percent of GDP or even higher in 2009, thus helping to prevent a more serious decline in growth.”
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