Good News

Aroma Goes Global

{image_1}Move over Starbucks! There's a new competitor on the block. Israel's popular Aroma coffee chain is exporting its special brand of Israeli coffee culture to cities around the world. “We just opened a third branch in Toronto, Canada and opened a third in New York. We are expanding in Europe. We have branches in Romania, Cyprus… and the next is in Kazakhstan,” Gil Kiriyati, Aroma's COO tells ISRAEL21c.

New Medical School in Safed

Bar-Ilan University, Israel’s second-largest university, is expanding its reputation as a leading research institute by building a medical school in Safed, north of the Sea of Galilee.

Investors Should Focus on Israel

BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH has advised international investors to temporarily avoid speculation in Dubai and focus on the Israeli stock market. The report, “Play Defense,” earmarks Israel’s banks and telecom companies as particularly promising businesses. “Israel should go back under investors’ attention,” Haim Israel, head of Research with Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Israel, told The Media Line.

An Eye from Zion

“AT FIRST, I THOUGHT I'D DIE.”That's what an ex-Mossad [Israeli intelligence] chief said about his first “operation.” Yoram Hessel, now the director of Eye from Zion, wasn't talking about a secret operation for the Israel government. He was referring to sight-restoring cataract surgery that he had witnessed firsthand.

Investing Millions in Jerusalem

THE ISRAELI TOURISM MINISTRY is putting money behind their words with plans to invest 15 million shekels (US $4 million) in Jerusalem during 2010. According to a press release, the funds will go towards tourism infrastructure and tourism event promotion “in order to encourage domestic and incoming tourism…This is in line with the new work plan presented by the Tourism Minister which positions Israel as the Holy Land with Jerusalem at its center.”

Tax Exemptions for Israeli Food

{image_1}GOOD NEWS for Israeli food manufacturers: As of January 1, 2010, food products exported to Europe have been tax exempt. The products include chocolate, pastries, waffles, pasta, coffee, fruit juice concentrates, marshmallow, fresh salads, and more. As a result, the prices of Israeli products in European markets could be reduced, increasing their competitiveness. So far, the exports of Israeli processed foods have been exported to Europe under restrictions of high levies, preventing their exports in some cases.

Tops in Technology

FIVE ISRAELI FIRMS have been chosen as examples of companies whose clean technology investments are shaping tomorrow’s world. The Cleantech Group together with the British newspaper The Guardian announced the Global Cleantech 100—the first ever awards to highlight the most promising clean technology startup companies around the world. The five companies made Israel the only country in the Middle East to have firms nominated and placed the country in fourth place overall in its total number of companies, coming after the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Back to the Wall

 WHILE ON A TOUR IN ISRAEL, a tourist from the Philippines, Ruth Castro (71), found out that her house had been totally demolished by a typhoon—including a much-loved grand piano. Was she devastated? Not the least bit. The unflappable pilgrim was convinced that her “cup runneth over.” Where did she run to thank Jesus for sending her on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land at such a perilous hour, saving her from certain death? 

Don’t Boycott—BUYcott

UNOFFICIAL BOYCOTTS OF ISRAELI PRODUCTS or Israeli culture are a global issue, but if one Canadian group has its way, each new boycott will have the opposite effect. The Buycott Israel initiative, launched by the Canada–Israel Committee and their partners, is attempting to submit notices wherever a boycott of Israel is occurring, through the Internet and a global email list, so people can support Israel by purchasing the boycotted product.

September Rainfall, Most in 50 Years