20090116 15:30:00 redazione-IT
SOME SHORT INFORMATION ON THE RELATIONS BETWEEN ITALY AND ISRAEL
The Economic Relations between Italy and Israel
In the year 2000, the commercial exchange between Italy and Israel amounted to about US$ 2,5 billion. We include here below a list of some major investments:
[b]"Generali"[/b] – Insurers represented in the Israelies insurance market through "Migdal" and in the financial one through a share in "Banca Leumi-le").
[b]"Telecom"[/b] owns the majority of the Israeli telephonic society "Golden Lines" and has shares in two investment trusts: the "Jerusalem Global Ventures" and the "Gemini Venture Fund").
[b]"Bassetti" is big textile company that distributes in Europe the textile products of the Israeli "Kitan Ltd".[/b]
[b]"Fiat Hitachi"[/b], [b]"Fiat Iveco"[/b] and [b]"Fincantieri"[/b] receive supplies from the Israeli "Ashot Ashkelon Ltd."
[b]"Gitto Carmelo e figli srl"[/b] is building company that has won, through a joint venture with an Israeli company, the contract to build the tunnel between Gerusalem and Hebron, reserved to the Israeliess and denied to the Palestinian People.
[b]"Italgas"[/b] has won a preselection for a network of gas pipeline that aim at reducing the Israeli dependency on oil.
Last autumn, a group of Israelies progressists produced a document calling for a boycott of the Israeli economy, a a mean that was very effective against the South African apartheid. At the same moment when the Sharon Government and his wide economic, political and diplomatic supporting net have declared the "endless war" against the Palestinian People, the appeal for the international boycott is a qualified international pressure mean to force the Israelies authorities to stop the military and colonial occupation of Palestine.
Many European associations have adhered to this appeal through different forms of boycott. But in the case of Israel, many different factors and objective conditions have to be considered in order to make this an effective tool.
Many economic analyses have shown that the consequences of the Palestinian Intifada have influenced some sectors of the Israelies economy. The sectors of the traditional Israeli economy (agriculture, building, tourism) have since dropped their contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The block of the Palestinian workforce besieged in its towns or in the refugees camps; the insecurity in the colonial settlements and in the major cities, have caused the decrease of the building and agriculture activities and a 54% drop in the tourism in the Israelies cities and in the Palestinian ones under the Israeli military control.
The total foreign investments in Israel have decreased from US$ 5,82 billion in 2000 to US$ 2,54 billion in the first six months of 2001. The Direct Foreign Investments (DFI) characterized by the acquisition of at least 5% of an Israeli company or firm, have decreased of 26%. The decrease of the foreign investments in the Stock Exchange of Tel Aviv during the first six months of 2001 is also very indicative (around US$ 1 billion has been withdrawn).
According to the Isrealian economists, the reasons for the crisis of the Israeli economy are related to the collapse of the Nasdaq and the stagnation of the main capitalist world economies, particularly USA, with which Israel is strongly connected.
Infact, the high technologies and the biotechnologies represent 54% of the Israeli export. About 90 Israelies companies are quoted in the Nasdaq of New York (this number reaches 200 if we consider the stocks on Wall Street). In the 90s, the Israeli economy had deeply transformed itself in view of the boom of the new economy. In the first nine months of 2000, the Israeli growth had been of 7,8%. In the fourth trimester, during the second Palestinian Intifada, sectors as tourism and building were strongly hit and the growth decreased to 5,9%.
Between the end of 2000 and the beginning of 2001, the colapse of Nasdaq – the tecnological stock exchange of New York – has strongly influenced this new Israeli economic model that has deepened the social inequalities within the country.
Notwithstanding these two negative indicators, the rating agency "Moody’s" published an interesting evaluation of the Israeli public debt and rated it as "A2" since, according to them, "the Israeli economic is ever less vulnerable to the regional geopolitical factors". It appears that the conflict against Palestinian people has, from one side only slightly depreciated the "shekel", the national value; but on the other side the foreign direct investments and the financial investment in the Tel Aviv exchange have drastically decreased.
The Intifada and the Nasdaq collapse have bluntly modified the boom of the Israelies exports. In the year 2000, the exports growth rate was 22,7%. If we split up this data, we can see the dualism of the Israeli economy. The export of the electronic components had grown of 150% compared to the previous year, the expert of telecommunications and control systems of 30,3% (these two sectors represented 46% of the total Israeli exports); the medium technology products in chemistry and mechanics had grown of 18,2% and 11,1%, while the traditional sectors as agriculture and textile had only grown of 1 and 1,2%. This makes it clear that the boycott of these two sectors of the Israeli economy has a rather symbolic value. This does not make it less important.
Israel counted on the touristic boom. In the year 2000, 2,67 million tourists had arrived in the country. They expected 3 million tourists in 2001 but they only received 1,2 million tourists (54% less than the previous year). This, again, shows that a boycott of tourism would have a rather symbolic character.
SOME SHORT INFORMATION ON THE RELATIONS BETWEEN ITALY AND ISRAEL
The Economic Relations between Italy and Israel
In the year 2000, the commercial exchange between Italy and Israel amounted to about US$ 2,5 billion. We include here below a list of some major investments:
*
"Generali" – Insurers represented in the Israelies insurance market through "Migdal" and in the financial one through a share in "Banca Leumi-le").
*
"Telecom" owns the majority of the Israeli telephonic society "Golden Lines" and has shares in two investment trusts: the "Jerusalem Global Ventures" and the "Gemini Venture Fund").
*
"Bassetti" is big textile company that distributes in Europe the textile products of the Israeli "Kitan Ltd".
*
"Fiat Hitachi", "Fiat Iveco" and "Fincantieri" receive supplies from the Israeli "Ashot Ashkelon Ltd."
*
"Gitto Carmelo e figli srl" is building company that has won, through a joint venture with an Israeli company, the contract to build the tunnel between Gerusalem and Hebron, reserved to the Israeliess and denied to the Palestinian People.
*
"Italgas" has won a preselection for a network of gas pipeline that aim at reducing the Israeli dependency on oil.
On 13 June 2000, in Bologna, the Italian Ministers of Industry and Commerce Enrico Letta (from the Ulivo) and israeli Minister Ran Cohen have signed a bilateral agreement for the cooperation between the two countries in the following sectors: health, hospitals, medicine, biotechnology, agriculture, food science, new energy sources, natural resources, application of information technology in the research, space; that is to say, the strategic sectors of the new economic model of Israel. The Italian bill for the realization of this agreement foresees an allocation of euro 1 million for the period 2001-2003 from the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
First of all, the block of the agreement and the related allocation must be requested.
The Collaboration in the Scientific and Strategic Fields
In 1999, Israel has signed cooperation agreements with the European Union (EU) in order to participate in the fifth framework programme of research and technological development. Israelies companies and research centres participate in about 200 projects already approved with an economic gain of about US$ 55 million against a contribution of about US$ 32 million.
First of all, we should make pressure on the EU to block any programme of technological collaboration with Israel.
Israel, together with Italy and other European countries, is a founding member of the "European Laboratory of Molecular Biology" in Heidelberg, established in 1973. The laboratory works on researches connected with biotechnologies. 35% of the researches are involved in the socalled "sciences of life" and they use 45% of the funds assigned to the academic research. The Israeli researches on biotechnologies are directly supported by the Government that has established a specific "National Biotechnology Steering Committee". The biotechnologies represent one of the five Israelies strategic sectors together with the micro-electronics, advanced materials, opto-electronics and information technologies.
First of all, we should identify the collaboration and commercialization of these Israelies products in the biotechnologies and pharmaceutical markets and request their immediate suspension.
Israelies biotechnological products and their producers
Pharmaceutical biotechnologies:
Product Firm
REBIF InterPharm Laboratories Ltd.
Lotamax and Alrex Pharmos
Copaxone Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.
Orgenics
Healthcare Technol.-Savyon D.
D-Pharma Ltd.
Agro-Food Biotechnologies:
Product Firm
Seeds and Plants Hazera Ltd.
Y.L.C. Virus and heat Resistant tomatoes Zeraim-Gedera
Other Israelies Companies in Italy:
"HAZERA GENETICS Ltd". In Italy the name is COIS 94 (transgenic seeds)
"EFRAT Future Technology Ltd." (advanced systems for telephonic services)
"ISCAR" (motor sector)
"AL FILTERS" (motor sector)
"NAAN Irrigation Systems" (irrigations systems) "NAAN ITALIA SrL" was established in 1999 and 75% is owned by Israel.
"IMI" (Israeli Military Industry)
"Rafael" (military sector)
"Elop Electro-optics industries Ltd." and "Flir Systems Israel Ltd." (military sector).
(sources; www.rafael.com.il ; www.imi-israel.com. Italy-Irael Chamber of Commerce)
The "Committee of Solidarity with the Intifada" has launched a boycott campaign of the Israelies products that are present in the Italian market, particularly two brands: "Jaffa" and "Carmel".
The brand "Jaffa" is owned and controlled by the Citrus Marketing Board of Israel (CMBI) a centrally administered body the promotes the Israelies citrus fruit all over the world. The CMBI was established in 1940 and privatized in 1990. CMBI supervises all the activities in the different markets, controls the market strategies and administers the international authorization rights for the exclusive brand "Jaffa" and it also ensures its high standard of excellence.
The brand "CARMEL" is used by "Agrexco", a statal company that controls that exports of all other products (particularly avocados and flowers). Also Palestinian products are exported as Israelies goods having a Israeli certificate of origin, imposed by Agrexco. Agrexco retains more than 40% of the earnings as its marketing share.
We would like to remind that the Art. 38 of the interim Agreement between Israel and the EU should only be applied to the " territory of the State of Israel". But Israel has annexed both East Jerusalem and the Golan and therefore, for the Israeli law, they are part of the State of Israel. The same is valid for West Bank and Gaza that, though they were not formally annexed, are practically applied the Israeli jurisdiction.
All the UN resolutions claim that neither the colonies of West Bank and Gaza, nor East Jerusalem and the Golan can be considered as part of the State of Israel and, therefore, the agreement should only be applied to the territory included within the fronteers prior to the 1967. But this is never respected.
Please, boycott Israel
Letter from Some Isrealian Hebrews to the town council of an American ciy in Michigan
This is a letter published by the Jerusalem Post, sent by a group of "Israelies Hebrews" to the town council of Ann-Arbor, a city in the Michigan State of USA.
"We have heard of an initiative by the citizens of Ann-Arbor to request the Town Council of Ann-Arbor to launch a campaign to stop any investments done in companies and trusts that have relations with Israel. We strongly support this initiative. All the undersigned are Israelies Hebrews (…).
Many Israelies Hebrews, like us, are activists for the human rights, directly involved in political activities aimed at persuading our Government to immediately stop the military occupation against the Palestinian People and the Palestinian land. Many, among us, remember the effective campaign made against South Africa. Thanks to the disinvestment campaign, the black population of South Africa does not need to face anymore the police or the army to practise his elementary political rights.We wish to thank the Town Council of Ann-Arbor that, in 1986, has approved a resolution for the total disinvestment against Apartheid. Today, many Israelies activists would be grateful if you could render an analogous humanitarian service to the Palestinian people. As an act of simple solidarity. Today, the majority of the three million Palestinians lives under a brutal Israeli military occupation. This is why we hope that you will approve the strongest possible resolution so as Ann-Arbor withdraw from any investments, transactions, pension funds that may have in companies or funds that are into business with Israel. We hope you remember how you helped South Africa and that, today, you would do the same for the millions of Palestinians that have to face the same control by an extremely power and militarized State.
The "Israeli democracy" does not exist when it has to deal with the three million Palestinians that, since generations, live under the Israeli military occupation. The Israeli military power counts on nuclear weapons, an infinite number of helicopters and tanks, and on billions of dollars lavished by the US Government. The huge Israeli arsenal is used, today, against the Palestinian people by the most racist of the military occupations. We do not want that the Palestinian people be at the mercy of a suffucating military occupation (…).
It is evident, that both the Israeliess and Palestinians that work together against this violent and racist military occupation, will be encouraged by knowning that you have responded to this appeal. Please, take the decision to disinvest from the companies and funds that are into business with Israel".
Follow 21 signatures. Among others, Rony Armon, from Tel Aviv; Rachel Giora, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Tel Aviv; Jacob Katriel, Professor at the Israeli Institute of Technology; Hanna Knaz, from the kibbuz Gan Shmuel; Anat Matar, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Tel Aviv; Allegra Pacheco, Magistrate; Tanya Reinhart, Professor of linguistics at the University of Tel Aviv; Aharon Shabtai, Poet; Gideon Spiro, Journalist of Jerusalem.
THE BOYCOTT CAMPAIGN WILL END WHEN THE ISRAELIES AUTHORITIES TERMINATE THE MILITARY OCCUPATION OF THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES AND THE WITHDRAWL FROM THE COLONIAL SETTLEMENTS ALLOWING THE BIRTH OF AN INDEPENDENT AND FULLY SOVEREIGN PALESTINIAN STATE AND THE POSSIBILITY FOR THE PALESTINIAN REFUGEES TO RETURN TO THEIR STATE
Palestine Forum – Italy
forumpalestina@libero.it
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ALTRI LINK INFORMATIVI SULLE INIZIATIVE DI BOICOTTAGGIO:
[url]http://bdsmovement.net/[/url]
[url]http://www.pacbi.org/[/url]
http://www.forumpalestina.org/
6458-how-to-boycott-the-israeli-economy-in-solidarity-with-palestine
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EmiNews 2009
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