The supporters of the legal reform received a kind of backing this week for their claim that the warnings against harm to investments in Israel are excessive, during the annual conference of the investment platform OurCrowd, which is considered the most active investor in Israel in the field of venture capital. OurCrowd marked a decade since its establishment, during which it obtained investment commitments amounting to over 2.1 billion dollars, and accumulated more than 220 thousand investors.
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The halls were filled with thousands of visitors from 80 different countries. Among the participants – a large delegation from Morocco, which presented its own startups, and delegations from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
According to John Medved, the founder and CEO of OurCrowd, the agreements gave birth to a new reality for the Middle East and North Africa, and created many partnerships of companies from the countries of the agreement. In a conversation he had with Globes in connection with the legal reform, his position is clear: “High-tech companies took a position, but they do not represent all high-tech. There are differences of opinion in the industry. Anyone who tells me they want to transfer money abroad, I will tell them not to do it. Not with my money.”
Yasser Biyaz, CEO of the UMVP Foundation from Morocco and one of the main speakers at the event, also believes that the reform will not harm relations between foreign investors in Israel. According to him, the relationship with Israel in the fields of applied technology and investments is completely natural. And there are quite a few start-up companies seeking to copy the Israeli success.”
What do they bring to the equation? “Excellent personnel even in fields that are lacking in Israel and a connection to Africa – Morocco is a gateway to the continent and manages hundreds of projects with the various countries, mainly in the foodtech, water and solar fields. This cooperation illustrates our advantages – apart from the financial investment, we carry out in our laboratories much faster and cheaper The tests on the technological research products of the Israeli company’s product”.
I also asked this question to Abdullah Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, CEO of ADIO – the investment office in Abu Dhabi, who also came to the conference and was one of the keynote speakers. ADIO was one of the first to establish relations with Israeli companies after the Abraham Accords, and opened an office in Tel Aviv. Also according to him , the legal reform will not harm relations between investors and Israel.
Al-Shamsi referred to several lines in the interview. One – the Emirates and ADIO are considering a policy change regarding Israeli startups. So far, the (not many) investments of funds from the Emirates have been in companies with finished products and strong markets. “We are definitely looking at promising Israeli start-up companies in our areas of interest – fintech, foodtech, digital communication, climate and water. This is real news. We believe in strong long-term relationships with a strong infrastructure. In the two years since the Avraham agreements, we have built the infrastructure, created the trust And now it’s ripening.”
According to him, there are other projects on the table: “Establishment of an artificial intelligence research and application center in Abu Dhabi in collaboration with Israeli companies. There are deals by Israeli companies with the new logistics and industrial center in Abu Dhabi – mainly as a gateway to trade with the Far East. In general, this is one of the great advantages of the Abraham agreements For the Israeli economy – our relationship with the markets in East Asia. We make decisions based on business and economic considerations, and this is how it will continue.”
Accordingly, from the other side of the barrier, in the talks at the conference with representatives of additional funds, one European and the other American, slightly different voices were also heard. “Yes, there is some concern,” said one of them. “It stems from the voices we hear from you, from the concern expressed by your economists.” The second representative added: “Shareholders and investors are asking questions about whether the reform will have a direct or indirect impact, and some are beginning to express reservations.”
In Saudi Arabia they express fear of the deterioration in Jerusalem
Even in Saudi Arabia, they do not express fear of the reform. “This is your internal matter, the issue itself is not related to us, only in the aspect of the stability of the government, and at the moment it does not seem that the issue has any real influence,” a Saudi source tells Globes. “On the other hand, the Al-Aqsa issue is of paramount importance in Muslim public opinion, and Saudi Arabia has expressed to Israel its fear of an escalation there. Every visit by a public figure with an image like Itamar Ben Gabir’s takes two steps back in rapprochement with Israel.
“We received guarantees from Netanyahu after his election and after the formation of the government that he would prevent escalation. He understands the importance of the issue. It is not certain that his coalition understands,” he concludes.
Coalition stability in danger?
Is government stability in danger as claimed this week? The main cause of the coalition’s appeal is the debate between Defense Minister Yoav Galant and the Minister of Finance, who also holds the position of minister in the Ministry of Defense, Bezalel Smotrich. According to a political source, the latter, who was enraged by the delays in transferring the full powers of the coordinator of operations in the territories to him, initiated the crisis of the evacuation of the olive grove in Benjamin.
Defense Minister Galant took office after clarifying that Smotrich will not have exclusive responsibility, since according to him, this is an issue with local and general security implications. The agreements state that every move by Smotrich will be made in coordination with the Minister of Defense.
At this point, the settlement offer between the parties is a shared responsibility between Gallant and Smotrich. Gallant was assisted in this issue by the heads of the security services, each of whom in turn gave an opinion warning against giving all powers to Smotrich, who is seen by outsiders as an extremist and agitator.