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The ballot count is still incomplete, but the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has already delivered an uncomfortable reaction. Sharp declines were recorded in morning trading as the count reached 66.2% of votes, putting a distinctly sour market backdrop behind the emerging election picture. For Benjamin Netanyahu, it is hardly the reception he would want: the phrase “TASE votes against … [Read more...] about TASE Votes Against Netanyahu

The shekel has delivered its own election-night commentary, and it is an uncomfortable one for Benjamin Netanyahu. The currency strengthened during Election Day, then surrendered those gains after exit polls appeared and actual ballot counts began coming in. Calling that a “vote against Netanyahu” is a political reading of the market, of course, rather than something an … [Read more...] about The Shekel Votes Against Netanyahu

Today I voted for Naftali Bennett. I did it because Israel needs a change of government, a serious reckoning with the failures of October 7, and leadership capable of bringing people together around the work of running the country. I do not expect a politician to agree with me on everything. I do expect him to accept responsibility and understand that the state is bigger than … [Read more...] about Why I Voted for Naftali Bennett Today

Opinion: Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to share an image depicting a nuclear attack on Tel Aviv reeks of desperation. A prime minister has every reason to explain a grave security threat to the public. But placing an image of national annihilation beside an argument that domestic controversies are essentially irrelevant serves a very different political purpose: it asks … [Read more...] about Netanyahu Reeks of Desperation

The most troubling part of Benjamin Netanyahu’s suggestion that Israel prepare to use cryptocurrency to get around possible banking sanctions is the assumption behind it: that international financial isolation can be managed by finding another way to send money. Israel’s prosperity rests on something considerably more complicated. It depends on customers who buy Israeli … [Read more...] about Netanyahu Cannot Replace Israel’s Global Economic Ties With Crypto

Israeli cloud cybersecurity startup Upwind Security is at the center of conflicting reports over a possible multibillion-dollar acquisition approach from Datadog. The Information reported on October 22 that Datadog had offered nearly $4 billion for the company, while Upwind was finalizing a $300 million financing at a valuation of approximately $3.8 billion. CTech subsequently … [Read more...] about Upwind Draws Conflicting Reports Over Nearly $4 Billion Datadog Offer

Israel’s election on October 27 should be about more than which parties can assemble the next coalition. It should answer a question that has hung over the country for far too long: can Israel still hold its most powerful leader accountable? This will be the first national election since the October 7, 2023 attack, and that alone gives it a significance no campaign slogan can … [Read more...] about Israel’s Election: Netanyahu Has to Go, and the Country Has to Move Forward

The most consequential development of the weekend for Israel happened about 1,000 kilometres away, in the Hejaz. Saudi Arabia shut its East-West pipeline on Friday after a drone attack on the line and its pumping stations, and by Sunday the closure had worked its way into crude prices. Everything else on the Israeli agenda, the election, Gaza, Lebanon, sat underneath … [Read more...] about Israel Digest, September 12-14: Saudi Pipeline Shutdown Lifts Brent Past $107, Likud Moves to Bar Arab Parties

The Altalena has been found. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu announced on Monday that the wreck of the Irgun arms ship was located at 12:30 a.m. at a depth of 503 meters off the Israeli coast, during what their joint statement described as a complex naval search operation. The ministers said the vessel is still intact, and … [Read more...] about Altalena Wreck Located at 503 Meters Off Israel’s Coast, 78 Years After Ben-Gurion Ordered It Sunk

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar will ask the cabinet to do what every Israeli government since 1948 has refused to do: state, in the name of the State of Israel, that what the Ottoman Empire did to the Armenians between 1915 and 1923 was genocide. The resolution frames recognition as a moral and historical duty and condemns any attempt to deny, minimize, or distort the record. … [Read more...] about Israel’s Recognition of the Armenian Genocide Is Long Overdue

Donald Trump signed his Iran memorandum of understanding in mid-June and told the ships of the world to start their engines. A genuine peace dividend would have announced itself first in two places: the shekel and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Neither is behaving like it believes him. What the memorandum actually promises The MoU — signed at Versailles by Trump, Iranian … [Read more...] about The Shekel and the TASE Refuse to Believe Trump’s Iran Memorandum and Bibi

The shekel is trading just above NIS 2.80 to the dollar, its strongest in years. On the eve of the October 2023 war the rate hovered near NIS 3.8. The currency has gained more than a quarter against the dollar since, and the move shows no sign of reversing. Exporters call it a threat. The Bank of Israel treats it as an inflation problem. One label rarely reaches the Israeli … [Read more...] about The Dutch Disease Israel Doesn’t Call by Name