Articles by Asaf Shalev
God Nisanov becomes latest Russian Jewish billionaire to face U.S. sanctions over Ukraine war
Another Russian Jewish oligarch and philanthropist became ensnared in Western sanctions as the United States announced on Thursday a new round of punitive measures targeting the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin over its war against Ukraine.
For a growing number of Jews in Israel, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas - Crescent City Jewish News
By ASAF SHALEV TEL AVIV (JTA) — You ask Yaeli Amir, a seven-year-old Jewish girl growing up in a rural town in Israel, what her favorite holiday is, and she won’ t name any of the almost countless Jewish ones. Instead, she’ll say, without hesitation, “Christmas!” A Christmas display at the entrance to the Tel Aviv flagship store of Tiv Ta’am, an Israeli supermarket chain known for selling food that doesn’t meet kosher dietary rules.
Sally Rooney’s boycott of Israeli publishers gets backing of 70 writers
Seventy notable writers and publishers including Rachel Kushner, Francisco Goldman and Eileen Myles have signed a letter supporting Irish novelist Sally Rooney in her refusal to have her third novel translated into Hebrew by an Israeli publisher.
Sexual harassment rampant in U.S. Reform rabbinical school, says report
Sexual harassers led the Reform movement’s rabbinical school for more than three decades, according to an explosive new report commissioned by the school. Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk, the president and then chancellor of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion from 1971 to 1996, and his successor, Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman, who served until 2000, both harassed and assaulted women at the seminary, according to the report.
Scattered by Hurricane Ida, New Orleans' Jews prepare for holiday season
Once the hospice care workers evacuated and electricity went out in New Orleans, Alan Smason and his sister had to figure out what to do about their mother. At 89 and suffering from dementia and a heart condition, she can hardly tolerate the heat of a Louisiana summer without air conditioning. An auxiliary oxygen supply is helping keep her alive.
American Jews mobilize in response to deadly building collapse in Miami
As the United States woke up to news of the building collapse in Surfside, Florida, it quickly became clear that the disaster is an American Jewish tragedy. The 12-story building in the heavily Orthodox enclave near Miami Beach collapsed just before 2 A.M. Thursday, as families slept in its 55 apartments just blocks from the beach. As of Thursday evening, almost 100 people are believed missing, and even as rescue efforts continue, officials fear that many of them are dead.
Cryptocurrency in the charity box: Jewish National Fund-USA to accept bitcoin
The group that made blue collection boxes ubiquitous in the collective Jewish American memory is now accepting donations in a format fit for the digital age: bitcoin. A charity with roots that go back to the start of modern Zionism, the Jewish National Fund-USA has set itself up to receive gifts of bitcoin and about a dozen other cryptocurrencies through a listing on a website called The Giving Block.
Jewlia Eisenberg, American musical star and Jewish radical, dies at 50
Jewlia Eisenberg, who became an unlikely musical star by creating lively tunes inspired in part by arcane poetic and intellectual traditions, has died after struggling with the effects of a rare autoimmune disease. She was 50. The frontwoman for the band Charming Hostess, Eisenberg was a fixture of the avant-garde and experimental music scenes in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York since the 1990s.
Seaside to develop new policy safeguards against unauthorized spending by council members.
Seaside City Council moved during its meeting on March 21 to rectify the unauthorized spending by council members documented by a recent forensic audit. The council directed city staff to draft policy safeguards against future financial misuse based on recommendations made in the audit report. Voting unanimously, council members also told the city attorney to begin recovering money that was spent without authorization.
After 25 years, the Fort Ord Reuse Authority is finally in a hurry to make a succession plan.
The agency charged with redeveloping the former Fort Ord is set to expire when its legal mandate ends in June 2020. A quarter-century after the military handed the 45 square miles of coastal property over for local use, the accomplishments – in terms of new housing, commercial and industrial facilities, infrastructure and habitat restoration – are limited compared to what was once envisioned.
Pebble Beach man dies after going overboard on opening night of Monterey Bay’s sailing season.
The opening evening of Monterey Bay’s sailing season on Wednesday, March 13, took a tragic turn when an experienced skipper died after being swept overboard. Rick Srigley, 77, of Pebble Beach and his crew of three were sailing a Moore 24 vessel dubbed Morpheus near the Monterey mile buoy. They encountered “heavy weather,” according to a statement released by the Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club.
A spike in censorship: Israel censored on average one news piece a day in 2018
The IDF Censor prohibited the publication of more news reports last year than in almost any other year this decade. While fewer articles were submitted for review than in previous years, the percentage of stories that were partially or fully censored was significantly higher. An Israeli soldier attempts to block the view of a photographer as soldiers body search Palestinian men in the West Bank city of Hebron on June 22, 2017.
More than 100 files from the 1800s are still classified in Israel’s archives
Israel recently published its catalogue of some 300,000 classified files, including thousands of documents from before the state was even founded. The very existence of the files had been kept a secret until recently. By Asaf Shalev The Israeli state archives in Jerusalem on September 03, 2012. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) Israel’s State Archives unceremoniously published the contents of its catalog of classified archive documents this past summer, posting them online in 363 separate spreadsheets.
Antiseptic Materials Startup Nobio Raises $3.6 Million
Nobio Ltd., an early stage startup developing a substance that adds antimicrobial properties to synthetic materials, has raised $3.6 million, it announced on Monday. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. The Israel-based startup plans to target the dental and medical device industry, offering technology to solve the infection and contamination when devices are placed in the body.
Twitter Hiring Israel Lobbyist Amid Government Criticism
Amidst a push by the Israeli government to moderate and remove content on social media that is deemed harmful and likely to incite terrorism, Twitter recently posted a job opening for a public policy manager to handle its affairs in the country. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. The position is based at Twitter’s office in Dublin, Ireland, and will be jointly responsible for public policy in Israel and the Nordic countries.
Yuval Noah Harari Snubs Israeli Consulate Over Anti-Liberal Legislation, Report Says
Yuval Noah Harari, the Israeli celebrity historian and author of bestsellers like "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind," refused an invitation to collaborate with the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles, citing recent decisions by the Israeli government impacting the rights of gay couples and ethnic minorities, according to a report in Israeli news site Ynet. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.
Cayman Islands Is Israel’s Third Largest Source of Foreign Investment
The third most common source of foreign investment in Israel is the Cayman Islands, according to the Israeli government’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. Entities registered in the caribbean territory provided $6 billion, or 6.6% of all foreign funding, to Israel ventures in 2016, the most recent year for which data is available. The only countries that beat the Cayman Islands were the U.S. with 16.8% and the Netherlands with 12%.
Netanyahu May Have to Choose Between Trump and China
Chinese investors have a voracious appetite for foreign investments with a particular interest in the technology sector. Measuring the extent of spending is impossible because many of the deals are private and because of efforts to mask the identities of the Chinese investors. But with the Chinese government directly controlling a large portion of the country’s companies, it has been clear that Beijing is accumulating significant foreign assets.
How religion and identity politics were harnessed to create an unstoppable political force in Israel
'The Unorthodox,' which opens this year’s Jerusalem Film Festival, looks at the birth of Shas – the religious party that is a political kingmaker and the swing vote on any peace deal
Wix.com Reports Higher Revenue and Improved Yearly Forecast
Wix.com Ltd., a Tel Aviv company that offers website building tools to small businesses, reported on Wednesday higher revenue in the second quarter and adjusted its revenue forecast up for the year. Revenue reached 146.1 million, up 41%, on non-GAAP accounting. The company also posted a quarterly profit of 29 cents per share, compared to a loss of 2 cents in the same quarter last year.
Johnson & Johnson Invests in Israeli Startup Developing Orthopedic Brace
A group of investors led by Johnson & Johnson have provided $3 million in funding to OrthoSpin Ltd., an Israel-based startup developing an auto-adjusting orthopedic brace, according to an announcement released Monday. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. The electric brace is being designed to help with bone lengthening, setting complex fractures, and correcting deformities.
Third Chinese City to Open Economic Mission in Israel
Next month, Xiamen, a port city on China’s southeast coast, will open a trade mission to Israel, becoming the third Chinese city to do so this year. The other two are Beijing and Dongguan, an industrial center in southern China. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. All three initiatives are designed to help facilitate business ties between Chinese companies and Israeli entrepreneurs offering technological innovation.
Israel’s Online Fraud Industry Targeted in Rash of Foreign Enforcement Actions
The U.S. government is seeking a $75 million judgment in a federal court in Florida against an online marketer who allegedly helped Israeli companies defraud victims in the U.S. and elsewhere of their money using misleading web schemes. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. In hundreds of detailed pages filed with the court on July 12, the U.S. Commodities and Futures Trading Commission alleges that Michael Shah and his company Zilmil Inc.
Real Estate Tech Startup Reali Raises $20 Million
Reali Inc., a real estate technology startup that replaces commission-charging realtors with software, announced on Wednesday a $20 million Series B. The technology developed by Reali uses artificial intelligence to streamline the process of buying or selling real estate. Zeev Ventures led the funding round and Signia Venture Partners and other investors joined as well. The investment raises Reali’s total equity funding to $30 million.
Alibaba's Joseph Tsai Visits Israel for Lacrosse Championship
Alibaba co-founder Joseph Tsai is visiting Israel for the first time, but it is not the country’s reputation for technological innovation that brought him here. At least, it’s not the primary reason that a top executive at China’s largest e-commerce company is in the country right now on a ten-day trip. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.
NewStem, Which Screens Patients for Resistance to Chemotherapy, Raises $2 Million
NewStem Ltd., a Jerusalem startup developing technology to predict resistance to chemotherapy in cancer patients, has raised $2 million in a deal that values the company at $10 million, according to an announcement released on Monday. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. The funding, which will increase to $4 million if NewStem hits certain milestones over the next 18 months, comes from Leap Tide Capital Management LLC., a Maryland-based hedge fund.
Startup Raises $8.4 Million to Debug Automotive Code
Aurora Labs Ltd., a Tel Aviv startup developing debugging tools for automotive software, announced on Wednesday an $8.4-million funding round. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. Aurora Labs’ software is designed to detect software errors in cars and implement repairs and updates automatically. The company said that demand for its service will go up in tandem with the increasing incorporation of computers and software into cars.
Telit Facing Lawsuit From Liquidators of Former Business Partner
Telit Communications PLC told investors Monday that it is being sued by the liquidators of an Italian company in connection with past business deals between the two firms. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. Telit, a maker of wireless chips, saw its share price drop by as much as 5% on the London Stock Exchange following the announcement. By Wednesday afternoon, the share had partially rebounded.
Next Insurance, a Carrier for Small Businesses, Raises $83 Million
Next Insurance Inc., a Silicon Valley startup that offers customized coverage to small businesses, has raised an $83-million Series B. The funding round was led by Redpoint Ventures, a large California fund whose managing director, Elliot Geidt, will join the board of the Next as part of the deal. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.
Updates on Consumer Protection Laws | Lexology
On August 6, 2018, the Consumer Protection Regulations pertaining to the disclosure of material information about the provision of an asset or service will come into effect. The regulations were enacted following an amendment to the Prohibition of Discrimination in Products, Services and Entry into Places of Entertainment and Public Places Law, which addressed discrimination based on place of residence.
Vincent Tchenguiz’s Consensus Business Group Invests $6 million in Israeli Venture Fund
Consensus Business Group Ltd., a London-based private equity firm, has committed $6 million to a new fund from Israel-based State of Mind Ventures, the companies announced last week. Collaboration between the two goes back to 2016 when CBG announced a $6-million investment in SOMV’s original venture capital fund. Led by Iranian-British businessman Vincent Tchenguiz, CBG invests in real estate, tech, energy, media and other industries.
Gene Discovery Startup Announces Breakthrough on Drought-Tolerant Crops
A team of biotech entrepreneurs in Israel believes that the area around the Dead Sea holds the key to extending the life of crops during times of drought. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. They say that they have identified about a few dozen drought-resistance genes in samples extracted from the region’s famously desiccated soil and from its rare stores of fresh water.
Gift Card Startup Secures Backing of Chinese Cryptocurrency Investor
Sonic Zhang, an entrepreneur from China, has committed to spending 25,000 ether, which is currently valued at about $12 million, to support Zeex, an offshoot of the Israeli gift card startup Zeek Mobile Ltd. Zeex announced Zhang’s support Wednesday, saying he would become an early participant in Zeex’s upcoming cryptocurrency crowdsale.
Spy Firm Black Cube Adds Former Israeli Police Chief to Advisory Board
Brief Spy Firm Black Cube Adds Former Israeli Police Chief to Advisory Board Yohanan Danino served as Israel’s top cop in 2011-2015 and is known for establishing Lahav 433, a police unit devoted to high-level fraud and corruption cases Asaf Shalev 14:1805.07.18 Black Cube, the Israeli private intelligence firms whose activities have been the subject of several recent exposes, has added a former Israeli police chief to its advisory board, according to the company’s website. Yohanan Danino...
Intel Mulling $9 Billion Investment in Israel, Minister Says
Intel is considering making a new investment of $9 billion in Israel, the country’s Economy Minister said Tuesday while addressing an accountants’ trade conference in the Israeli resort town of Eilat. Intel reacted to the statement saying that “there is no concrete investment being considered right now in Israel.” For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.
Hyundai Invests in Autonomous Vehicle Chipset Developer Autotalks
Hyundai said Tuesday that it has invested in Autotalks Ltd., an Israel-based developer of communication chipsets for autonomous driving. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. The South Korean automaker did not announce the terms of the deal, but a spokesman for Autotalks told Calcalist that the investment is in the single-digit millions of dollars.
Baidu Teams Up with Intel’s Mobileye to Make Self-Driving Cars Safer
Baidu and Intel subsidiary Mobileye are collaborating to develop road safety protocols for autonomous vehicles in the Chinese market. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. Baidu announced Tuesday it was adding Mobileye as a technology provider to its Apollo autonomous driving platform. Mobileye joins 115 companies that have signed on Baidu’s Apollo program since it was launched last year.
Kenyan Telecom Company to Replace 800 Diesel Generators with Fuel Cells
In rural Kenya, 800 cell towers will soon be powered by fuel cell technology instead of diesel generators. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. Adrian Group Kenya Ltd., a telecommunications company, has inked a deal for the job with Gencell Ltd., an Israel-based startup recently profiled by Calcalist.
Playtech Shares Tumble on Revenue Warning
Gambling software developer Playtech Plc saw its shared tumble by nearly 30% on Monday after lowering its annual revenue expectation due to increased market competition in Asia. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. Shares of the London-listed company dropped to 5.30 British pounds, their lowest price in more than four years.
Using Blockchain as a Language for Autonomous Drones
For drones to run errands for us one day, they have to be able to fly and navigate autonomously, pick up and carry loads, and conserve enough battery power to make such trips practical. But that’s just the beginning. For true autonomy, drones will have to learn how to locate repair centers and charging stations, negotiate transactions, and spend or receive money. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.
Bezeq Names New CEO Amid Criminal Investigation Involving Netanyahu
Bezeq has appointed David Mizrahi as its next CEO, the Israeli telecom utility, whose controlling stakeholder is embroiled in a criminal investigation involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, announced on Sunday. Mr. Mizrahi will become the first to formally occupy the position after the departure in February of Stella Handler, who has also been named in the probe. He previously worked for the company from 2001-2016, climbing the ranks to serve as chief financial officer and deputy CEO.
Facebook Executive Describes Monumental Task of Detecting and Removing Terrorism Content
A director of counterterrorism policy at Facebook briefed Israeli and American homeland security officials about the company’s efforts to combat extremist speech on Wednesday as part of a three-day conference in Jerusalem. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. Speaking at the first International Homeland Security Forum, Erin Marie Saltman discussed the social network’s first-ever Community Standards Enforcement Report, which was released last month.
Two Cybersecurity Companies with Links to Israel Placed on U.S. Blacklist
The U.S. Treasury placed sanctions Monday on a number of individuals and companies, including two with links to Israel, that are accused of providing Russia’s intelligence agency, the FSB, with offensive cyber technology. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. The Israeli-linked companies, Embedi and ERPScan B.V., deny having worked for Moscow and neither is licensed by Israel’s Defense Export Control Agency, the Israeli Ministry of Defense told Calcalist.
Startup With Israeli Intelligence Bona Fides Offers Defense Against Fake News
After years of experience mounting digital influence campaign in business and politics, a handful of Israeli entrepreneurs switched sides and founded Cyabra Strategy Ltd., a startup promising to help politicians and brands defend themselves from digital attacks involving fake news and disinformation. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.
Israeli Non-profit Organizations (‘Amutot’), Public Benefit Companies and Everything in Between | Lexology
When founding an Israeli non-profit organization (of the type included in the ‘third sector’), the Israeli law currently enables two main operating configurations: a non-profit organization (called in Hebrew an ‘amutah’ or ‘amutot’ in plural) or a public benefit company (PBC). The main dilemma facing volunteers in organizations that have not yet been incorporated is deciding which of these two statutory formats is appropriate considering the nature of the organization’s activities.
Startup Unveils Ammonia-Based Fuel Cell To Power Off-Grid Communities
More than one billion people around the world lack access to an electric grid. For cooking, lighting, and powering their mobile phones, many in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa rely on diesel generators and kerosene lamps, which are costly, have health and safety risks and pollute the air. In recent years, alternative energy companies have looked at these off-grid communities as a potential market.
Gett Raises $80 Million at $1.4-Billion Valuation
Gett, an Israel-based developer of a taxi-hailing app, announced Thursday an $80-million funding round from Volkswagen and other previous investors in a deal that takes the company’s valuation to $1.4 billion. The investment of cash brings Gett’s total equity funding to about $700 million. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.
World Bank Backs Palestinian Tech with $16 Million in Grants
The World Bank approved last week $16 million in funding for the Palestinian Authority and a Gaza nonprofit to support the growth of the fledgling tech economy in the West Bank and Gaza. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here . The proliferation of digital businesses could offer new job opportunities in a region suffering from high unemployment, particularly among young workers, the World Bank said in a statement.
Startup Says It’s First to Copy Spider’s Silk Spinning Process
As territorial and cannibalistic creatures, Spiders have defied our attempts to domesticate them for the purpose of harvesting their silk. But because a strand of spider silk is as much as six times stronger than steel and five times lighter, scientists have long searched for ways to replicate or mimic the production of this natural protein fiber. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.
Mindspace Expands to the Netherlands with Acquisition of Local Coworking Company KleinKantoor
Mindspace Ltd., an Israel-based provider of shared office space, has acquiring KleinKantoor B.V., which operates seven coworking locations in the Netherlands, Mindspace CEO Dam Zakai told Calcalist. For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. Sara Martin Nazorra, who runs marketing for KleinKantoor, confirmed the deal, saying she is transitioning the role of marketing manager for Mindspace.
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