NY Times publishes hasbara from Dwyer Gunn, piping Israel lobbyist Dan Senor’s pap about Israel as "start-up nation:"
U.S. policymakers are struggling to revive the economy, establish new industrial competencies, and remain globally competitive. Meanwhile, in a small, young, constantly embattled country across the globe, old-fashioned entrepreneurialism is alive and well. Israel, just 60 years old and with a population of 7.1 million, has emerged as a model of entrepreneurialism that countries at all stages of development have tried to replicate.
Thanks to Voskamp.
“Israel has the highest density of tech start-ups in the world. More importantly, these start-ups attract more venture capital dollars per person than any country — 2.5 times the U.S., 30 times Europe, 80 times India, and 300 times China. Israel has more companies on the tech-oriented NASDAQ than any country outside the U.S., more than all of Europe, Japan, Korea, India, and China combined. But it’s not just about start-ups. Scratch almost any major tech company — Intel, Microsoft, Google, Cisco, Motorola, and so on — and you will find that Israeli talent and technology play a major role in keeping these multinational companies on the cutting edge. ”
It’s not hasbara if it’s true.
How many of the other countries mentioned are major recipients of U.S. foreign aid and loan guarantees? How much of that vaunted venture capital comes from the U.S.? How many Israeli subsidiaries of major U.S. companies receive subsidies to make them competitive or sustainable at all?
Julian’s gonna give us all the pertinent details.
I can tell you’re not in business. Venture capitalists invest in startups that that they believe will make them money. Companies invest in Israel because it makes them money. Intel, Microsoft, Google, Cisco, Motorola have facilities in Israel because it is profitable. Egypt gets tons of foreign aid and produces almost nothing.
Business booming and life is very good in Israel.
Well of course they make money there! Like I mention below, Israel’s a veritable corporate tax shelter. The money they are “making” is actually money they are shaving off of taxes they’d have to otherwise pay if those jobs were in the US. And to add insult to injure, they don’t have to pay big taxes in the welfare state of Israel because the American taxpayer still picks up the bill to the tune of several million.
Well of course they’re built in Israel! For the same reason there are “subsidiaries” in the Cayman Islands — Israel is a one big tax evasion scheme for US industries.
The United States’ biggest export since the neocons and their Zionist buddies took Washington hostage — American jobs. And Israel has been one of the biggest profiteers.
Oh, and let’s not forget the billions of cash, and billions more in equipment and “loans” (forgiven, ostensibly) cored out of the US by Israel. And then, on top of all that, because gifts are never enough… there’s the government and industrial espionage.
And then of course, let’s not forget how cheap real estate is for Israelis! All you need to do is rent a bulldozer and phone up the IDF.
And Israel’s medieval fanatics will be right outside these tech companies’ doors, throwing stones and barring workers from entering.
potsherd,
LOL! Intel moves its plant to Israel to appease the global Zionist regime, and here’s the thanks they get for keeping the door open on Saturdays, as they would in the USA.
link to reuters.com
RE: . “Scratch almost any major tech company…and you will find that Israeli talent and technology play a major role in keeping these multinational companies on the cutting edge. ” – Julian
SEE: SEE: “The Israel Lobby Celebrates Espionage in New York”, By Grant Smith, 12/02/09
(excerpt)… In the spring of 1984 the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and American Israel Chamber of Commerce were in the midst of a pitched battle against American corporations, industry organizations, and worker’s groups. At stake was an Israel lobby bid to open up the vast US market to unrestricted Israeli exports, the first of a series of so-called “free trade” agreements (more accurately described as intergovernmental managed trade deals). 76 major US interest groups from Monsanto and Dow to the AFL-CIO fought a small group of 23 Israel lobby organizations, most with no obvious economic stakes, that pushed President Reagan to sign America’s first formal bilateral trade deal in the midst of economic calamity in Israel.
Covert lobbying assistance for this minority soon arrived in the hands of Israeli Minister of Economics Dan Halpern. According to a recently released, redacted FBI interview transcript (PDF, restored by the author) Halpern mysteriously obtained a 300-page classified US Trade Representative report prepared by the International Trade Commission and secretly delivered it to AIPAC during a 1984 coordinating meeting. Halpern later refused to divulge to the FBI how he obtained the secret report, stating it “would be impossible within the professional ethics of his diplomatic position” to identify the source. The report contained the most sensitive trade secrets and market data of the American industries fighting hardest against the trade deal. It is still considered so sensitive by the US Trade Representative that it remains classified to this day…
…Besides unleashing an unrelenting Israeli effort to obtain US intellectual property and military secrets, the US-Israel deal is the single worst performing bilateral managed trade pact. It has produced a cumulative $71 billion deficit to the US because it locks US products out of the Israeli market. The US share of trade dropped from 27% in 1985 to 12% last year. The US-Israel deal produces ongoing market access complaints from US industry groups as well as annual intellectual property violation censures by the US Trade Representative…
ENTIRE ARTICLE – link to original.antiwar.com
it’s hasbara if it’s not the whole truth
That was an utterly trivial commentary on the article, Phil.
There are MANY of your pet themes in the article, that you could have instead elaborated on, rather than just dismissed as “hasbara”.
You are not “fighting the war of ideas” in that manner.
A similar story will emerge from Palestine, as Palestinians have also had to be innovative in their context. This generation, next, maybe the next, will demonstrate the Palestinian resilience and innovation.
A hollow attack on Mr. Weiss followed by a smattering Zionist talking points, followed by a false platitude. Honest stories about Palestinians aren’t getting out now, and they don’t get out because people like you attack their authors.
It’s unfortunate that Phil and the rest of his anti Zionists are so bitter about Israel’s incredible success, but that’s no reason to take your anger out on poor Witty.
Its unfortunate that you consider a heavily militarized apartheid state that relies completely on the United States for its very existence to somehow be indicative of a “success.”
Poor Witty draws his own fire.
Julian, dude, where have you been? You’ve been missed on Mondoweiss. We’ve had to make do with yonira while you’ve been away.
Israel’s “incredible success” is not possible without the tax dollars paid by me, Chaos and Phil. We contribute $15 billion in taxpayer funds per year to the Israeli economy and we’ve rolled the country up into the Military Industrial Complex, so your economy is in better shape than ours!
Also, the USA makes certain that the IRS doesn’t tax pseudo charities like the Hebron Fund, Moskowitz settlement monies, ADL, Lev Leviev and dozens of others that would surely be subject to massive tax audits if they were . . . Muslim charities!
“Bitter about Israel’s success”? No, Julian . . . we’re bitter about the one-year anniversary of the greatest crime against humanity of our time. Operation Cast Lead.
Julian straw mans all of the atrocities and injustices and lies Israel has been responsible for to the intellectual equivalent of “why you gotta be hatin’?”
Go away moron.
I agree. It’s equally unfortunate that the Arabs the world over are so bitter about Uncle Sam’s freedoms and life style that they have launched a global war on the USA and its trusty defender pooch, Israel.
Where have I been? I have a business to run and a family. I just don’t have the time you guys have. Do any of you anti Zionists work?
The day I take orders from a loser like you, they will be closing my coffin.
15 billion? why not 100 billion while you’re making stuff up?
The Christison’s who hate Israel with every fiber of their being state: “Israel has received an average of $3 billion annually in grant aid;, until now the grant has been a mix of economic and military aid.”
link to counterpunch.org
I’ve read lower figures. It comes to about 2% of Israel’s GDP and shrinking.
The military aid comes back to US weapons manufacturers.
Pleasant fellows, those Zionists.
Richard, why aren’t you pitching to audit those companies?
Because assigning triple-A ratings at this point would be rubbing salt in a wound?
Entrepreneurship capitalized with billions in undeserved foreign aid. Why waste time writing a business plan?
Yeah, it reminds me of effective “community action.”
RE: ‘Times’ holds up Israel as ‘model’
SEE: “The Israel Lobby Celebrates Espionage in New York”, By Grant Smith, 12/02/09
(excerpt)…The recent sting operation against former NASA scientist Stewart Nozette involved an undercover FBI employee posing as Mossad agent. Meeting in the posh Mayflower hotel in Washington, the agent set up clandestine payments in exchange for highly classified information. Nozette began delivering requested classified national defense information believing it to be destined for Israel while confidentially assuring the FBI agent that he thought he was already spying for Israel. This allegedly occurred under Nozette’s prior “consulting” contract with Israel Aerospace Industries, a major military contractor. Although the US has traditionally ignored, forgiven, or quashed investigations into Israeli espionage, the cost to America’s national security and economy may now have pushed law enforcement agencies toward a tipping point. Ironically, this very week, the Israel lobby is celebrating in New York the biggest clandestine operation ever conducted against US industries and workers.
Israel Aerospace Industries was once called Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), a company launched by the legendary flight engineer and entrepreneur Adolph “Al” Schwimmer. Schwimmer was a key man in the vast underground Haganah smuggling (PDF) effort across the US trafficking in surplus WWII arms, supplies and veteran manpower for war in Palestine. He purchased heavily discounted surplus US military aircraft from the War Assets Administration but violated laws prohibiting their export use in armed conflict by creating a fake Panamanian shell corporation and flying the transport wing to Palestine to battle for the creation of Israel in 1948. None of the key American financial backers of the effort went to jail, though a handful of small operators such as Nathan Liff did eventually appear in criminal court…
ENTIRE ARTICLE – link to original.antiwar.com
With friends and citizens like these, who needs enemies? Hard for regular Americans to believe, but Pollard is a hero in many circles; they are still trying to get him out of prison despite the fact he gave up our military secrets to the USSR and China during the Cold War. What’s Marc Rich doing these days? How about the survivors of the USS Liberty? How’s Tiger Woods doing? It all depends on what is, is?
Aid to Israel is impossible to fully document. Much is by way of private and corporate donation, impossible to trace and the U.S. is just one of many nations that dole out. Germany for instance has provided billions:
link to nytimes.com
The British stump up:
link to direct.bl.uk
U.S. estimates here:
link to wrmea.com
I haven’t any figure for France but they have been generous in the past.
One should also remember that U.S. aid to Egypt is on Israel’s account – it buys Egypt’s compliance with the Israel project and therefore eases the costs of security.
All of this largess goes straight to the bottom line of Israeli companies. It lowers taxes and labor rates by providing social security etc which competing countries have to fund from revenue.