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- Written by Ministry of Tourism
The Tourism Ministry allocates NIS 25 million for new directive
Jerusalem, January 30, 2019 - About 200 entrepreneurs today (Wednesday) attended the first conference of its kind, held by the Ministry of Tourism in cooperation with the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality in Tel Aviv, dedicated to a new government directive that offers grants of 10% of the total investment to entrepreneurs converting office buildings in Tel Aviv to hotels. The ministry will allocate NIS 25 million for the directive.
There has been a very significant increase in the number of rooms being converted into hotel rooms: 2015 - 163; 2016 – 198; 2017 – 524 and 2018 – 1088.
Tourism Minister Yariv Levin: “The record levels in incoming tourism provide a business opportunity for entrepreneurs to enter the hotel industry. In recent years, we have spearheaded a series of steps at the Ministry of Tourism in order to simplify planning and building procedures and to increase economic viability. We are seeing a real momentum in hotel construction and I call on other entrepreneurs to join the industry.”
Tourism Ministry Director-General Amir Halevi, who opened the conference, said: “Every year, we break new records in the number of incoming tourists to Israel. This unprecedented success is the direct result of long-term procedures initiated by the ministry and renewed thinking and strategy, specifically suited to the challenges of Israel as a tourism destination. 2018 finished with an all-time record of more than 4.1 million tourists. Apart from the economic benefits to the state and Israel’s positioning as an attractive tourism destination, it is important to understand that we are talking about a new era that brings new challenges. We are ready and prepared to deal with these new challenges.
The tremendous momentum requires us to adjust and to provide tourists with a wide range of accommodation options, which will in turn lead to lower prices. Therefore, together with the Tel Aviv municipality, we are creating a new reality and, for the first time, we are offering grants for entrepreneurs wishing to convert offices to hotels. This is nothing less than a revolutionary process that leverages potential by creating incentives. We at the Ministry of Tourism will continue to promote these changes, reducing regulation and removing barriers so that we can continue to break more records.”
Tel Aviv-Jaffa city engineer Oded Gvuli, said at the conference: “The all-time high in tourism has created a new reality that presents challenges. In a situation where demand outstrips supply, we are ready to act to change regulations and offer grants. As Tel Aviv city engineer, I consider with the utmost importance the issue of permits and conversion of buildings to hotels. These are processes that will have positive impact on the hotel industry and the tourism industry. I call on entrepreneurs to take advantage of the opportunity, submit applications and together we will increase the hotel supply.”
Senior Deputy Director-General, Infrastructure Development and Investments, Tourism Ministry Doron Aharon said at the conference: “Since 2010 through to today, the Tourism Ministry’s Investment Administration has approved grants to construct over 20,000 hotel rooms. Last year, we broke records with grants for 4,000 hotel rooms.
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When the Ministry of Tourism examines the developers' requests, they examine several parameters, including the business plan, the tourist experience, the location of the project and the seriousness of the entrepreneurs.
In today's tourism, we already know that the most important factor in the success of a hotel is the tourist experience. This refers to the community of guests, not to a single guest, and adapting the architectural environment to the needs of this community.
A month and a half ago, the Tourism Ministry held a ground-breaking conference on hotel investment attended by about 250 entrepreneurs and hotel industry professionals, of whom more than 100 were international entrepreneurs and organizations. The conference created a platform for cooperation between foreign investors and local property owners. The conference presented occupancy and price data in Tel Aviv from 2012 to 2016, with hotel prices never dropping below $175 per night and hotel occupancy never below 65%, even during Operation Protective Edge and times of crisis. The business environment in Tel Aviv is stable, able to withstand challenging events, overcome crises and move forward. In Tel Aviv, supply is still lower than demand, so prices are still high. "
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- Written by Silvia G Golan & Stella Szpira
Coming this Month: Israel's Largest Agricultural Produce Marketing Event - Fresh AgroMashov
The event will take place this year for the 28th time, and bring farmers and growers of fresh produce together with buyers, wholesalers, exporters and importers of fresh produce, as well as local and international marketers. Thousands of participants are expected to attend the summit and exhibition this year
June 26th and 27th 2018, Pavilion 1, Tel Aviv Convention Center
The Fresh AgroMashov 2018 International Exhibition, initiated by the Mashov Group, will take place for the 28th consecutive time this year, on June 26th and 27th 2018 at Pavilion 1 at the Tel Aviv Convention Center. The exhibition and its conferences will take place along with the CleanTech conferences and exhibition, also organized by Mashov.
Fresh AgroMashov is Israel's largest event for the marketing of agricultural produce, focusing on marketing opportunities and profits for farmers, and branding agricultural produce to increase brand image and profitability.
The exhibition will deal with important issues of food safety, public health, the general public's ability to discern between good and bad in fresh produce, as well as remnants of pesticides in food. It is a major arena in the industry and exclusive in Israel, where growers of fresh produce meet buyers, wholesalers, exporters, and importers of fresh produce as well as local and international marketers. Many thousands of participants are expected from a wide array of fields and sectors in the industry.
Among the companies that will present groundbreaking innovations at AgroMashov 2018: Adama Agan will present its ’moth ropes’ – the efficient and environmental alternative to chemical pesticides in orchards and vineyards; SupPlant will present a successful solution based on IoT (Internet of Things), allowing growers to know everything about their crops in real time; Yuval Tomatoes from Shekef Village will present a tomato containing up to three times the amount of lycopene a regular tomato provides; seed companies will present new strains and developments, Kidma from Idan Village at the Arava will present, and many more.
Simultaneously with the exhibition, there will also be two professional conferences – one in the sector of field crops – comprising 80% of the agricultural growth areas in Israel, and the second in the area of dates and their marketing – which is greatly successful in Israel and around the world. Both conferences will take place on June 26th. Participation by advance registration.
Participation in the Exhibition and Conference is for a fee. For details and registration, please visit:
About the Mashov Group
The Mashov Group has been active for over 30 years, with experience in the organization of international exhibitions and conferences, and a local and international reputation. Every year, the Group organizes the international agricultural exhibition Fresh AgroMashov as well as the International Conference for Clean Technologies, CleanTech.
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- Written by GPG
Very little has been written in the foreign press about the kite terrorism from Gaza which began two months ago and has burned almost 2,500 acres of agricultural lands and caused tens of millions of shekels in damage. When it has been written about, there have been sarcastic comparisons between "Palestinian kites" and "Israeli F-35s" in order to underscore the seeming lack of symmetry between the two sides and lessen the importance of the new wave of terrorism affecting the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip – that of kite-borne firebombs.
The Government Press Office, today (Thursday, 7 June 2018), held a tour that sought to balance the picture and increase global awareness of the phenomenon, which is aimed entirely at civilians. Over 30 foreign journalists participated in the tour including from German, Spanish, Turkish, Chinese and Japanese press agencies as well as Bloomberg and AP. Radio stations and journalists from – inter alia – Switzerland, Bulgaria, Brazil, Russia and South Korea also participated.
The tour began in the burnt, still-smoking fields several hundred meters from Kibbutz Or Haner where Fire and Rescue Service Spokesperson Yoram Levy briefed the journalists on the Fire and Rescue Service's deployment to meet the threat posed by the new reality. At the service's regional command center in Sderot, tour participants were briefed on the scope of the challenge in real time.
The tour continued to Kibbutz Nahal Oz, to a blackened, ash-covered hill overlooking the Shuja'iyya neighborhood a scant two kilometers away. Kibbutz spokesperson and veteran farmer, of over 40 years, Danny Rahamim (64), briefed the journalists on how farmers and residents are dealing with the phenomenon which threatens their livelihoods. "We will not budge from here. We will continue to work the land down to the last meter and we are also optimistic that it will be possible to achieve peace and stability," he said. As he finished his remarks, two firefighters brought a Palestinian kite that had been captured nearby and showed how such a primitive, simple and inexpensive device could cause so much damage.
The commander of the IDF kite unit, Col. Nadav Livne discussed the IDF's perspective and said that UAVs were quickly adapted to enable them to hunt kites. Between 450-500 kites have already been intercepted by the high-durability UAVs, which can attain speeds of over 150 kilometers per hour. A demonstration was held in which a UAV took off, accelerated and maneuvered. According to Col. Livne, reservists who specialize in flying UAVs have been mobilized and have succeeded in reducing the number of fires over the past week.
GPO Director Nitzan Chen said that in the framework of the struggle over content and headlines, the GPO would expand its public diplomacy efforts vis-à-vis the foreign press in Israel, part of which is trying to downplay the significance of the firing and the attacks on communities in the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip, and portray the struggle as being between David and Goliath.
Photo credits: Maria Elkin (GPO)
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- Written by Silvia
100 Years of Knowledge Hebrew University Celebrates its 100th Cornerstone Anniversary
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) is proud to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1918. The festivities coincide with HUJI’s 2018 Board of Governors meetings on June 8-13.
Not long after the end of World War I, the British Empire granted permission to create a Hebrew University in Jerusalem. On July 24, 1918, Lord Edmund Allenby, Zeev Jabotinsky, Chaim Weizmann, and James Rothschild, along with 6,000 other dignitaries—both Jewish and non-Jewish, from Israel and abroad—gathered atop Mount Scopus to lay the cornerstones for Hebrew University. They placed 12 stones, corresponding to the 12 Tribes of Israel, firmly in the ground and the rest, as they say, is 100 years of history, innovation, growth and vision.
Highlights:
v Cedar & Son at the Jerusalem Cinematheque
Saturday, June 9 at 9 pm
An inter-generational dialogue between HUJI prof. Haim Cedar and his award-winning filmmaker son, Joseph Cedar (Director: Norman, Footnote).
v HUJI Talks: To 100 and Beyond
Sunday, June 10 at 1015am (Dan Hotel- Mt Scopus)
Speakers include philosopher Yuval Noah Harari and medical marijuana expert Raphael Mechoulam, among others.
v President Reuven Rivlin Honors Israeli Excellence
Tuesday, June 12 at 10 am (President of Israel’s Residence)
A reception honoring HUJI Nobel, Fields and Israel Prize winners.
v Ceremony: Re-dedicating the Cornerstones
Tuesday, June 12 at 7 pm (Ferkauf Plaza, Mt. Scopus Campus)
HUJI friends from around the world, some in period dress, will enter a time capsule with blessings for the University’s next 100 years of vision and innovation. Current HUJI professors, including Sergio Della Pergola, whose grandparents attended the original 1925 cornerstone event will be in attendance, as will several families that have been studying at the Hebrew University for 3 generations—i.e., grandparents, parents and now, grandchildren.
A complete list of HUJI Anniversary events: http://hubog-2018.com/
Photo from the 1918 Cornerstone Ceremony: Credit: Hebrew University
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- Written by Prime Minister's Media Adviser
This is a momentous time. President Trump is making history. We are deeply grateful and our people will be eternally grateful for his bold decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to move the embassy there tomorrow.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, today (Sunday, 13 May 2018), at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, attended the event to welcome the US delegation to the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.
During the event, Prime Minister Netanyahu gave a letter of appreciation to US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman in gratitude for his activity on behalf of moving the embassy to Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Netanyahu:
Dear friends, from Israel, from the United States, from around the world. This is a momentous time. President Trump is making history. We are deeply grateful and our people will be eternally grateful for his bold decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to move the embassy there tomorrow.
Now, you are in the Foreign Ministry—I’m the Foreign Minister—and you’re coming at a time when Israel is a rising power in the world, you know, in cyber, in IT, in water, in judo, in singing.
You know what we say: Those who didn’t want Jerusalem in the Eurovision are going to get the Eurovision in Jerusalem. Next year in Jerusalem.
Well, that’s next year, but tomorrow will be a historic day for our people and for our state. President Trump’s decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem affirms a great and simple truth: Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for the past three thousand years. It’s been the capital of our state for the past 70 years. It will remain our capital for all time.
Thank you President Trump for your bold decision, thank you for making the alliance between Israel and the United States stronger than ever.
Now, you know how you recognize real leadership? It’s when others follow, and others are following in President Trump’s footsteps.
I thank Guatemala’s Foreign Minister, who is here, Sandra Jovel, who has joined us today. We will open your embassy two days from tomorrow. Thank you.
I thank the President of Paraguay and the incoming President of Paraguay, because they’ll open their embassy a few days after that. And other nations are in the process of doing exactly that.
That’s a state secret, and we don’t reveal our state secrets. Sometimes we reveal other’s state secrets. We’ll let you know as time comes.
I call on all countries to join the US in moving their embassies to Jerusalem. Move your embassies to Jerusalem because it’s the right thing to do. And move your embassies to Jerusalem—listen to this: Move your embassies to Jerusalem because it advances peace, and that’s because you can’t base peace on a foundation of lies. You base peace on the foundations of truth, and the truth is that not only has Jerusalem been the capital of the Jewish people for millennia and the capital of our state from its inception, the truth is that under any peace agreement you could possibly imagine, Jerusalem will remain Israel’s capital.
It took President Trump, a President Trump to enunciate this simple, basic truth. And once enunciated, that truth will propagate. So I expect—you can call me, all the ambassadors who are here and afterwards , you can whisper in my ear, we’ll fix it. But it will happen.
And to achieve peace, we have to do one other thing: We must confront the enemies of peace, and I thank President Trump for his decision to confront Iran rather than to appease it. Pulling out of the nuclear deal means that the world’s greater sponsor of terrorism, greatest sponsor of terrorism, is no longer on a glide-path to attaining an arsenal of nuclear weapons. This is good for Israel, this is good for the region, it’s good for the world.
Now, I have something to say to part of the world: With all due respect to those sitting in European capitals, we here in the capitals of the Middle East—in Jerusalem, in Riyadh and elsewhere—we’ve seen the disastrous consequences of the Iran deal. And so when President Trump decides to pull out of this deal, to walk away from it, we know that when he walks away from a bad deal, he’s doing a good thing for our region, for the United States and for the world.
And this is what I’ve just discussed with the American delegation. I welcome Deputy Secretary Sullivan, Secretary Mnuchin, Jason Greenblatt, Ambassador David Friedman, who I mentioned before, and of course a special welcome to Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka.
I’ve known Jared for 105 years, and there’s a special bond between our families, but I think the fact that you and Ivanka are here is a special, personal testament, but also a national and international statement. It is one that touches our hearts, and we are all delighted by your presence at any time, at any day, but especially on this day. Thank you.
We value all of your friendships, all of you for coming here on this historic occasion. Thank you for standing up with Israel. Thank you for standing up for the truth. Thank you for standing up for Jerusalem. Thank you for coming here from all over the world.
We are celebrating a momentous day. Happy birthday Jerusalem.
Thank you all."
Photo PM Netanyahu presenting letter of appreciation to US Ambassador David Friedman . Photo: GPO/Haim Zach
