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FEBRUARY 17, 2022 | The Jewish Home
carrying out attacks against Israelis in exchange for money from Hamas. Shikli is reportedly the head of Hamas’ foreign liaison unit within Hamas. He is wanted by Interpol on terrorism charges. Arutz Sheva quoted Shai Glick, CEO of Btsalmo, as saying, “Terror is raising its head. The countries in the world have an obligation to act with an iron hand against terror, without compromise. Anyone who gives in to terror in one place, it will raise its head immediately in another place. The battle against terror is a global battle, and we must act as one against it.”
Tel Aviv Office Prices Soar
A rise in demand for office space in Tel Aviv has created a shortage and exponentially-rising prices for the property spaces, the Times of Israel reported. In a LinkedIn post, international real estate advisory firm Avison Young noted that over the past 18 months, “real estate in the right location has become…almost as important as [a] company’s patents.” The greatest demand is for offices around Tel Aviv’s Savidor-Center and Hashalom train stations, near the Azrieli Towers and Sarona. Guy Amosi, CEO and managing partner of Avison Young’s Israel office, said last week that “quality office space has become like a valuable patent in the sense that it is a gateway to making high quality hires. Office space located near the talent is key to a company’s success.” According to Avison Young’s Tel Aviv Market overview for the second half (H2) of 2021, there was a temporary softening of the office market at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, followed by a dramatic rebound in 2021. Rents today would be even higher for Class A office space, Amosi noted. This space can command up to NIS 170 ($53.25) per square meter, but vacancies for such properties are near 1%. Amosi added, “It is possible to
ask almost any price for office space in these locations because the real estate costs are insignificant in comparison to the cost of hiring and maintaining talent.” Larry Garner, managing director for C&W|Inter-Israel, explained, “The Ayalon Highway-Menachem Begin corridor office market is the only place to be if you are in high-tech. Some clients have told me that the Ramat Gan Bourse [across the road from North Tel Aviv] is too far away!” Ben Sand, VP of global operations and compliance at property management software company Guesty, added, “Millennials want to come to work by foot or scooter. If they are software designers, they have the talent we are seeking to attract, and we must cater to their demands.” He noted that his company is trying to avoid the “elevator pitch,” since “in the new skyscrapers, tenants are approached in the elevator to work at another company, and by sundown, they have moved jobs.”
Relief But Only for Some Israelis
A new economic relief plan announced by the Israeli government last week offers benefits only for a limited sector of Israeli society. In a press conference, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu), and Economy Minister Orna Barbivay (Yesh Atid) announced that they would work to reduce the cost of living by lowering the price of electricity and various necessities, while at the same time adding tax exemptions for working parents of children ages 6-12 years of age. The plan is expected to cost the State $1.4 billion (4.4 billion NIS). According to Bennett, the plan represents “a new contract between the government and citizens, and a rational one.” He emphasized, “Citizens who work and bear the burden — they deserve to save more.” MK Moshe Gafni, who chairs the United Torah Judaism party, slammed the plan, saying, “For
months you caused unimaginable damage — you raised taxes, issued directives, bills and regulations, passing a bad budget, and hurting middle class working families, independent workers and small businesses. You hurt everyone, and now you’re trying to fix some of it, expecting to be praised. Don’t destroy and don’t fix. Undo everything you’ve done so far, the damage you’ve caused to the Israeli public and economy. Only then you can try and talk about benefits.” Blue and White MK Michael Biton similarly criticized the plan as benefiting only a small portion of the population and not distributing the benefits fairly, since it gives more money to parents whose children are certain ages but less to parents of younger children. He also noted that the plan does not help the small businesses which suffered crippling losses due to the pandemic. “You can’t only help salaried employees and not them,” Biton said, noting that Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Blue and White’s chairman, also shared his opinion. The plan will only provide the additional aid for the duration of 2022. Out of Israel’s population of nearly ten million, around 530,000 parents are expected to benefit from the tax exemptions. In addition to the tax exemptions, after-school childcare will be subsidized for another approximately 60,000 children, and some 300,000 lower earners will receive a one-time grant in the form of negative income tax.
Israel to Dispatch Naval Officer to Bahrain
Israel will dispatch a naval officer to an official posting in Bahrain. This is the first time an Arab country will openly host a stationed Israeli military dignitary. The naval officer will travel to Bahrain in the coming weeks and will serve as a liaison for the U.S. Fifth Fleet, which is garrisoned
there, Israel’s Channel 13 News said. According to the report, the move was agreed on during Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s (Blue and White) visit to the Gulf earlier this month. Meanwhile, the IDF has denied any arrangements to send an officer but did indicate that such a move was being discussed. In its statement to the station, the IDF said it is “constantly examining opportunities to deepen military cooperation with the countries of the region,” but that “at the moment, it has not been agreed to place an IDF officer in another country.” Last week, Israel’s Navy, for the first time, began taking part in the International Maritime Exercise (IMX), which is led by the Fifth Fleet. Among the countries participating in the drill are Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Yemen.
Texas Rejects Some Mail Ballots
Some 40% of mail-in ballots received so far in Texas’ Harris County cannot be counted due to the state’s new voting laws. Harris County has over 2.4 million voters. The mail-in ballots are part of the U.S.’s first primary this year, but around 40% – over 1,300 ballots – were missing information or signatures required under a new law passed in August. Most of the missing information was needed for identification, such as voter ID or social security numbers, but a few were missing signatures, Leah Shah, spokesperson for the Harris County Elections Administrator’s office, noted. Under the new law, the voters will be notified if their ballot is rejected and will be able to submit a new ballot so long as it is received by the day of the elections, which, in this case, is March 1.
