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NEWS
NIELSEN LAUNCHES $25M CHIEF SCIENTIST BACKED INVESTMENT FUND

Nielsen has announced the launch of ‘Nielsen Innovate‘, a $25M Israeli fund dedicated to early stage investments in web, media, research, measurement, and advertising startups. The fund is co-owned with Partam High Tech.


04/2013
CHINA EVERBRIGHT TO INVEST IN ISRAELI TECH COMPANIES

China Everbright Ltd., the investment arm of state-owned China Everbright Corp., plans to initiate $100-200 million in investment activity in Israel’s technology sector. 


04/2013
MCGREGOR FASHION COMING TO ISRAEL

International fashion brand McGregor, which manufactures luxury casual wear, opened its first Israeli flagship store in March at Tel Aviv's Azrieli Mall.


04/2013
GERMANY'S ADVA OPTICAL ACQUIRES BIRAN HIGH TECH ADVISORS

Germany's Adva Optical Networking has acquired LTE technologies developer Biran High Tech Advisors for some millions of dollars in shares. 


04/2013
AMDOCS & SINGTEL ESTABLISH JOINT ISRAELI DEVELOPMENT CENTER

Singapore Telecommunications and Amdocs Israel have opened a development center in Israel as part of SingTel's investment in new technology.  SingTel said its initial focus will be on voice and facial recognition as well as systems that enable mobile and Wi-Fi networks to work more efficiently. 


04/2013
ALLSCRIPTS BUYS DBMOTION FOR $235M

US Company Allscripts announced recently that it had purchased Hod Hasharon-based dbMotion for $235m.


04/2013
ON THE CUTTING-EDGE OF INNOVATION: BLOOD TEST THAT REVEALS RISK FOR BREAST CANCER

Researchers at Hadassah Medical Center have developed a test that can predict if healthy women are at a significant risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer.


04/2013
APPLE OPENS THIRD DEVELOPMENT CENTER IN ISRAEL

Apple Inc. is opening a new development center in Israel. The new Apple development center in the Ra'anana Industrial Zone will be the company's third in Israel after it opened a development center in Haifa last year and acquired flash memory developer Anobit in Herzliya.


04/2013
ISRAELI WATER TECH COMPANY DRAWS EUROPEAN INVESTMENT

For the first time, Europe’s Aster Capital venture fund is investing in an Israeli company, Israel’s Atlantium Technologies, giving $3 million to the company to continue its development of new products. Atlantium develops ultraviolet technology for water disinfection.


04/2013
SPRINT NEXTEL TO OPEN NEW RESEARCH LAB IN TEL AVIV

Sprint Nextel will be opening a research lab in Tel Aviv later this year in collaboration with the Israel Mobile & Media Association (IMA) and using equipment provided by Alcatel-Lucent.


04/2013
BLOOMBERG RANKS ISRAEL 1ST IN R&D INTENSITY WORLDWIDE

Bloomberg news recently issued a ranking of the world’s most innovative countries based on seven of quantitative parameters.  In the area of R&D intensity Israel ranked 1st in the world and 7th in the world in high-tech density. 


04/2013
MONSANTO ACQUIRES ISRAEL’S ROSETTA GREEN FOR $35M

US seed giant Monsanto has closed the acquisition of Israel's Rosetta Green, which makes engineered seeds for farmers. Monsanto paid $35 million for Rosetta, roughly double the company's market value.


04/2013
SAMSUNG FUND TO INVEST IN ISRAELI COMPANIES

South Korea’s Samsung announced in early February that they are launching a $100m venture capital fund to invest in early stage high tech start-ups located in just three places worldwide, Israel, Massachusetts and California’s Silicon Valley. 


04/2013
The Israeli formula
ISRAEL SIGNS R&D COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH NEW YORK STATE
Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and New York Governor David Paterson signed a memorandum governing an industrial R&D cooperation agreement between Israel and New York State.
12/2009
UN ACKNOWLEDGES ISRAEL AS INTERNATIONAL PATENT CENTER

Patent applications recognized in Israel will be accepted internationally as well

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, has recently recognized Israel as an international center for the search and testing of patents.  Israel will be added to the list of 15 leading countries in this field.


12/2009
STRONG GROWTH FORECASTS SHOW ISRAEL COMING OUT OF RECESSION
"Thanks to sound macroeconomic and structural fundamentals, the Israeli economy has shown good resilience throughout the global crisis…The economy grew at a rate of 1% in the second quarter, and thus technically emerged from recession." - UBS economist Reinhard Cluse
09/2009
TEVA LAUNCHES CHEMOTHERAPY DRUG FOLLOWING FDA APPROVAL

09/2009
ORAMED PHARMACEUTICALS GETS FROST & SULLIVAN INNOVATION AWARD

09/2009
SIEMENS BUYS 40% STAKE IN ISRAELI SOLAR POWER COMPANY
"Thanks to its intensive sunshine and steadily growing demand for energy, Israel is an ideal location for further developing our solar business." - Peter Löscher, president and CEO of Siemens.
09/2009
ISRAELI COMPANIES EXPAND INVOLVEMENT IN LATIN AMERICA

09/2009
ISRAEL SIGNS R&D COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH NEW YORK STATE

09/2009
TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER CREATES NATURAL CURE FOR INSOMNIA

09/2009
ISRAELI FILM “LEBANON” WINS TOP PRIZE IN VENICE

09/2009
TEL AVIV STOCK EXCHANGE CONTINUES TO RISE IN 2009

08/2009
IDF-MADE ROBOT SNAKE GATHERS INFORMATION IN ROUGH TERRAIN

08/2009
PHARMA GIANT ROCHE TO STRENGTHEN R&D PIPELINE IN ISRAEL THROUGH PONTIFAX DEAL
The collaboration will see both partners provide financial support and relevant expertise to young biotech and pharma companies in Israel.
06/2009
YISSUM AND ZAMBON TO COMMERCIALIZE NANO PAIN TREATMENT

06/2009
ECI HELPS SWITCH DEUTSCHE TELEKOM TO IP

06/2009
JOINT PROJECT OF IBM, TECHNION, RAMBAM MEDICAL CENTER WINS PRESTIGIOUS INTERNATIONAL PRIZE
SRII awarded the prize for “the most successful collaboration of industry, academia and government as expressed in this project.”
06/2009
NDS EXPANDS IN GERMANY

06/2009
BP SOLAR UTILIZES SOLAR EDGE TO CUT POWER OUTPUT
"I am impressed with the initial performance and reliability tests of SolarEdge's solution", said Eric Daniels, chief technology officer at BP Solar.
06/2009
MORGAN STANLEY SUGGESTS INVESTMENT IN ISRAEL

06/2009
ISRAEL RANKED 20 IN IMD STRESS TEST
The "stress test" aims to examine how "countries can resist adversity and show resilience to weather the storm."
06/2009
ISRAEL RANKED 9TH MOST INNOVATIVE COUNTRY BY EIU REPORT

06/2009
ISRAEL EXEMPTS FOREIGN INVESTORS FROM PRIVATE EQUITY TAXES

06/2009
ISRAELI ECONOMY RESILIENT IN THE FACE OF GAZA CONFLICT

01/2009
"MOST ADMIRED MEDICAL COMPANY" ST. JUDE ACQUIRES MEDIGUIDE FOR $283 MILLION.
"We believe MediGuide's proprietary technology may also extend across a variety of other product categories … We look forward to bringing this technology into our portfolio so that we can further develop and capture these potential opportunities,” Daniel J. Starks, chairman, president and chief executive officer of St. Jude Medical, said.
01/2009
CHECK POINT BUYS NOKIA'S SECURITY APPLIANCE BUSINESS
The acquisition "will add more than $100 million to Check Point's sales in 2009 …it will strengthen us in dealing with the global recession," Gil Shwed, chairman and chief executive of Check Point said.
01/2009
HARMONIC BUYS SCOPUS FOR $51 MILLION.

01/2009
U.S.-ISRAELI BIRD FOUNDATION TO INVEST $9 MILLION IN 12 PROJECTS

01/2009
MA INDUSTRIES TO BUY COMPANIES IN POLAND AND SERBIA FOR $20 MILLION

01/2009
ENDOCARE TO BUY ELRON'S GALIL MEDICAL

12/2008
ISRAEL’S FOOD PRODUCER OSEM TO BUY FOODTECH FOR $20 MILLION

12/2008
STANLEY FISHER SAYS ISRAEL IS IN GOOD SHAPE ECONOMICALLY
"Foreign companies are not exiting the country despite the financial crisis".
11/2008
ISRAELI UNIVERSITIES RANKED AMONG WORLD'S BEST

11/2008
INTRODUCING "ISRAEL NEWTECH – NOVEL EFFICIENT WATER TECHNOLOGIES"
Name and logo of Israel's National Program Promoting The Water Technologies Sector, as well as film showcasing the sector, to be officially launched on Oct. 30 at the int'l WATEC '07 event
11/2007
EBAY OPENING ISRAELI DEVELOPMENT CENTER BASED ON ACQUISITION OF ISRAELI SHOPPING.COM

11/2007
SPANSION INCORPORATED ACQUIRING ISRAELI SAIFUN SEMICONDUCTORS FOR $368 MILLION
Saifun to be responsible for Spansion's technology licensing business for the next generation product roadmap
11/2007
UK INTERNET BROKERAGE COMPANY, ICAP, ACQUIRING ISRAELI FINANCIAL SOFTWARE COMPANY, TRAIANA FOR $247 MILLION
Company's online services system considered benchmark in foreign currency trading
11/2007
DEUTSCHE TELEKOM'S CHAIRMAN: "WE'RE LOOKING TO EXPAND OUR COLLABORATIONS WITH ISRAELI COMPANIES"

Chairman of Deutsche Telekom in Israel to visit the company's new R&D center in Beersheva set up jointly with Ben Gurion University.


11/2007
AT&T ACQUIRES ISRAELI INTERWISE FOR $121 MILLION
At&T intends to maintain company as its Israeli R&D center within AT&T Global Business Service
11/2007
ISRAELI RESEARCHERS DEVELOP UPGRADED "GOOGLE TRENDS"
Technology developed by Google's R&D center in Israel improves technology's ability to provide insights into broad search patterns
11/2007
JAPANESE VC COMPANY, CSK, INTENDS TO INVEST $100 MILLION IN ISRAEL
CSK Managing Partner: "Our investment fund . . . hopes to increase the synergy between Japanese and Israeli companies through joint investments in Israeli technology."
11/2007
GOLDMAN SACHS INVESTING $100 MILLION IN ISRAELI MOBILEYE
Mobileye was named by U.S. Red Herring magazine a Top 100 Innovator
11/2007
ISRAELI WATER PURIFICATION COMPANY, BLUE-I, TO INSTALL ITS TECHNOLOGY IN COCA COLA'S FACILITIES AROUND THE WORLD

10/2007
US RESEARCH COMPANY, CLEAN EDGE, LISTS ISRAELI AQWISE AMONG "10 TO WATCH" FIRMS
Israeli water purification company was chosen among leading companies, such as GE and Siemens
10/2007
INTEL CAPITAL INVESTING $11 MILLION IN ISRAELI SEMICONDUCTOR COMPANY

Intel Capital, Intel Corporation's investment arm is investing $11 million in Israeli Jordan Valley Semiconductors Ltd.


10/2007
VC COMPANY, GREYLOCK INVESTING IN ISRAELI CLEANTECH
American Greylock Partners announced that it intends on making 3-4 investments in early-stage Israeli cleantech start-ups
10/2007
IVC RESEARCH CENTER: IN THE FIRST 3 QUARTERS OF 2007, ISRAELI HIGH-TECH COMPANIES RAISED $1.256 BILLION
Amount represents a 10% increase over the corresponding period in 2006
10/2007
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL "GLOBAL FINANCE" NAMES STANLEY FISCHER AS ONE OF WORLD'S SEVEN LEADING BANKERS
Stanley Fischer received the highest grade of "A"
10/2007
THE FINANCIAL TIMES STOCK EXCHANGE ADVANCES ISRAEL'S ECONOMIC STATUS TO "DEVELOPED" FROM "EMERGING MARKET"
FTSE new classification lists Israel as the first Middle East country in a group of 24 developed nations
10/2007
EVENTS
FILMING

 

Film in Israel
World-class Production in an Ideal Location


At the heart of Israel's growing film industry is a vibrant and creative film community committed to encouraging cooperation with international filmmakers and producing acclaimed films in varied genres. In recent years, the worldwide success of Israeli films has led to a marked increase in co-productions with international companies and foreign investments in Israeli films, as well as a surge in awards recognizing Israeli films for artistic and technical excellence.

 

Did You Know?


• Israeli films have won international acclaim including 10 Oscar nominations for the best Foreign Language Film category.


• Since 2000, investments in Israel cinema by European and Canadian producers totaled about $15 million, increasing the number of films Israel puts out annually to nearly 20. (Israel Film Fund)


• Israel boasts some 120 production companies, 10 production studios, and 30 post production facilities.

Why film in Israel?


1. Experience crews and high-level production

  • Israel offers foreign filmmakers a full array of production services, including equipment, studios and package deals.
  • Production companies have years of experience and are highly proficient at providing both complete and partial production services, including location scouting, production management, equipment, costume design, props and special effects.
  • Highly- trained, multilingual technicians and crews have vast experience with international productions filmed in Israel and abroad.
  • Israel is on par technologically with international film centers globally, with a strong background in computer-generated imagery (CGI), sound post production, special effects, animation, music-mix and sound design. All laboratory work necessary in the filming process and for CGI can be done through Israel's local computer graphics imaging studio.

2. Ideal Location for Filming


Given the country's diverse yet compact geography and clear-blue skies for most of the year, Israel is an ideal location for filming.  From sandy beaches along the verdant coastal plain, to the rolling hills of the Galilee, the snow-capped peak of Mount Hermon, the strange, desolate beauty of the Dead Sea, and the desert plains and rocky hills of the Negev -- Israel has it all within a few hours’ drive. This variety is also reflected in the country’s urban settings and architecture, which reflect a seemingly endless mix of styles and influences from every stage of recorded history, and in its abundantly diverse population with roots in over 100 countries covering Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia.

3. Innovative Animation Techniques


Israel's well-known experience in the software market gives it an edge when it comes to the innovative use of animation techniques. This has boosted the film industry’s creativity in visual effects and mastery in entertainment software and has resulted in further development of new techniques. In addition, it has also allowed for the creative use of more established technologies, such as the use of Flash technology in the 2009 documentary Waltz with Bashir.


4. Progressive Arts Community

Israeli talent is carefully cultivated through outstanding local cinema and art schools. For example, the visual communications department at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design has played an important role in nurturing the talent at Israeli animation studios. Alumni from the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School have garnered more than 260 prizes in international festivals in the 23 years the school has been operating. “Spiegel” has been recognized 15 times as the world’s best film school by peer group competition.

5. Strong Support from the Government

A strong public support system ensures the constant generation of new ideas. The industry is supported by four big funds: the Israel Film Fund, the Rabinowitz Fund, the New Fund for Cinema and TV, and Gesher. These publicly financed organizations help talented Israeli filmmakers bring their vision and creativity to the screen, encourage co-productions with international partners to help promote international cooperation, promote a creative atmosphere, and create better production conditions. Whereas some facilitate in the production of full-length Israeli feature films, others are specifically geared to stimulating the production of documentaries and television productions.

CoPro Documentary Marketing Foundation serves as an independent marketing channel for documentary films. It is is a registered nonprofit organization that promotes the making of documentaries in Israel by arranging for Israeli filmmakers and producers to meet television network executives and producers from around the world, thereby creating a cultural dialogue and encouraging joint productions. About 145 commissioning editors and film foundations representatives from all over the world have attended CoPro events to date. The fund also encourages creating links with natural partners for co-productions – the geographic neighbors of the countries in the Mediterranean basin. Over 218 films have been co-produced so far through the various programs the organization runs and it has brought in about NIS 40 million shekels from foreign investors.

 

6. Reduced Production Costs

The Law for the Encouragement of the Production of Films also supports film production in Israel through a framework that offers tax benefits for both Foreign Productions (of films and TV series) as well as co-productions (of films only).In both cases the benefits by law accrue to an Israeli production company that is expected to pass on these benefits to the foreign production company. To qualify for the benefit, the foreign production company needs to have an Israeli company purchase goods and services on its behalf.For foreign productions: this benefit pertains to films and TV series in which expenditure on goods and services in Israel costs exceed 8 million shekels (approximately $2 million).

  • Co-productions involving cooperation between Israeli production companies and international production companies benefit both parties and are eligible for generous benefits. In order to qualify, total production expense in Israel -- less 85% of the amount of the investment made by the Israeli residents in the film’s budget -- must be at least 4 million shekels (approximately $1.0 million).
  • A new 2012 government initiative offers special security coverage; and will cover costs for any special security-related expenses that a production incurs.

Awards and Honors

Recent internationally recognized films include Lebanon, Ajami, Jellyfish, The Band’s Visit, Beaufort, Lemon Tree, My Father My Lord, Waltz with Bashir and Footnote.
Over the past few years, Israeli films were selected and screened in more than 200 International Film Festivals and won more than 80 prizes, including: The Golden Globe Award for best Foreign Film (Waltz with Bashir), Best Screenplay at Cannes International Film Festival (Footnote), two times Camera d’Or in the Cannes International Film Festival, and the Best European Actor at the European Film Academy Awards. In the last 12 years, four of the last five Israeli Academy Award entries were named finalists, giving Israel more nominations during that period that any other country.

Highlights


• The US TV series Homeland, based on an Israeli show and starring Claire Danes, is filmed in Israel. Watch what Danes had to say about filming in Israel.

 Zaytoun, the first large-scale UK-Israel film co-production, began filming in Israel in 2012 and is being helmed by Gareth Unwin, whose film The Kings Speech won the 2011 Academy Award for Best Picture. In late 2012, it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and received high acclaims from critics and viewers alike

*Pictures courtesy of Israel Film Fund.

 

 


Last modified: 10/30/2012 pic