News from Israel

Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishay to Visit Kosherfest
(New York) Eliyahu Yishai, Israel’s Deputy Minister of Industry, Trade, and Labor, will visit Kosherfest on Wednesday, November 15th, the second day of the annual international kosher food show which takes place at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The visit by the senior Israeli official brings back memories of the 2003 visit of the then Vice Premier Ehud Olmert, who is today Israel’s Prime Minister. Minister Eliyahu (Eli) Yishai was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor in May 2006. He is also Chairman of the (Sephardi) Shas Party. Minister Yishai has served in the Knesset since 1996. The Deputy Prime Minister will pay particular attention to the large pavilion of Israeli food manufacturers, under the aegis of the Israel Export Institute.

On Again – Off Again Israeli Tourist Industry Seeks Help
(Tel Aviv) Israel’s tourist trade is putting heavy pressure on the government to address what one hotelier called the “on-again off-again” tourist industry in Israel. Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog is asking the government to allocate $150 million over the next three years to market Israel as a tourist destination abroad. "We are working with emergency intentions to help the tourism industry and restore Israel as an attractive tourist destination on the world map," said Herzog. "In order to make this goal a reality, we need to increase our marketing efforts as a long-term policy within the framework of the budget." Within days after the lucrative holidays, many hotels in Israel reverted back to 15% occupancy rate. Hotels in the North, already devastated by the War in Lebanon, could hardly hide their anger that more was not done on their behalf including government subsidies to preserve their infrastructure. The Israel Hotels Association is leading the charge that the government move from a relatively passive involvement to more active intervention, which they mean to indicate that the $10 million government budget on tourism was far from sufficient.

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