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With Security Will Come Peace.

Michael Grauss
Managing Director
Israel Bonds / Development Company for Israel (Europe) GmbH

The year 2023 started well for Israel Bonds in Germany. We increased our sales figures and the number of purchasers as planned, held great events and participated in numerous happenings. The Bild newspaper and the Handelsblatt commercial newspaper featured articles about Israel Bonds . By the end of September, Israel Bonds in Germany was proud to have contributed to the best performance Israel Bonds International has ever had.

And then came October 7th.

Since that day, our world has not been the same. We witnessed the saddest moment in the history of the State of Israel. The atrocities and the massacre of people on Israeli soil has hit us hard. We all have family in Israel, and each one of us knows someone that was affected by the attack of Hamas. For a short moment, we thought that the world stood behind Israel and the Jews, but then we had to acknowledge that the liberal western countries would not protect us against the antisemitic mob that has taken over the streets. We had to reassess our security measures and were told by the authorities not to show any signs that could identify us as Israeli or Jews, as our safety could be guaranteed. We have also learned that antisemitism is so widespread that even the boards of elite universities need a context to condemn the call for a genocide of Jews.

 

 

The Jews are fighting back and will not surrender.

For 2024, I hope that all hostages who are in Gaza will be released, and that the war on all fronts will come to an end. In order to return to a normal life, Israel needs to make sure that it can protect all its citizens. Once this can be ensured, I am confident that peace will come.

I hope the world understands the importance to name, condemn and take action against all forms of antisemitism. It is unbearable that Israelis and Jews need to hide and be afraid of openly showing who they are. Once a state is not able to protect its minorities, it has lost the power to keep the peace on its streets.

One thing that the world has understood by now is that Jews are fighting back and will not surrender.

Our mission at Israel Bonds is to support the State of Israel. We will continue to make efforts to fulfill our mission in the best possible way. There is only one Jewish state, and we will contribute to make sure that future generations of Jews will continue to have a safe haven and a strong nation.

Am Israel Chai!

 

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2024 – A Transformative Year?

Joe Ozer
Executive Director, Israel Bonds UK

Is 2024 the year that we finally turn a corner? Will we finally have security on the southern borders of Israel? Will the Diaspora finally feel totally safe in their communities without one eye on an exit strategy? I don’t know, but 2023 definitely showed us the challenges Jewish families across the globe will have to overcome in 2024, and it’s going to be tough.

There are, however, many things in play that are offering some light at the end of the dark tunnel. January 2024 has kicked off with a market-wide reduction in UK mortgage rates, easing some of the worry that millions of people have had either with tracker mortgages or with the renegotiation of their rates on mortgages coming due. There is, of course, still a long way to go until they’re at similar rates to the record low rates of the past fifteen years or so – but it’s a start. High inflation rates in the UK also started coming down last year, so the hope again is that once the Bank of England has this under control, we can start easing off the base rate hikes that formed so much of 2023’s narrative.

 

We’ve facilitated the delivery of over 115,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Further afield, in Israel, after three months of hell on earth with a war that nobody wanted or expected, our troops are starting to show real results. On Jan 2nd 2024, Eylon Levy, Israeli Government spokesman, said, in listing their 2023 achievements since October 7th: “We’ve identified 1,500 Hamas tunnel shafts and routes mostly hidden in schools, hospitals, mosques, UN facilities and civilian buildings, including a four-kilometre-long tunnel. We’ve demolished Hamas’ command centres under Jabalyn, Issa and Gaza City. We’ve killed at least 8,000 Hamas terrorists in targeted strikes, including half of Hamas’s battalion commanders, and when the deputy head of the Shejaiya Batallion took over, we killed him too. We’ve taken out the commanders of Hamas’s Aerial Array, and his replacement and his replacement, as well as commanders of drone operations, UAVs, surface-to-air missiles, advance warning systems and more. We’ve intercepted most Hamas missiles and dramatically reduced its ability to keep shooting, saving the lives of thousands of Israelis, all the while intercepting attacks from Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and as far away as Yemen. We’ve repaired the border defences and secured Israeli territory after the massacre. We’ve exposed weapons stockpiles in schools, kindergartens, mosques, and homes and showed the world how Hamas turned hospitals into military bases. We’ve exposed Hamas leaders’ corruption at the expense of Gazan civilians and their hijacking of aid. We’ve forced Hamas to agree to a Hostage Release Pause and let go of 110 hostages, and recovered the bodies of eight murdered in the Hamas terror dungeons. We’ve maintained the support of key allies to defeat Hamas and we’ve helped foreign intelligence thwart Hamas terror attacks in their own countries. We successfully evacuated hundreds of thousands of civilians from Northern Gaza, securing humanitarian corridors and tactical pauses to get them out of harm’s way and we’ve operated a Human Shield Hotline for Gazans to tell us if Hamas isn’t letting them escape. We’ve facilitated the delivery of over 115,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza, field hospitals, two floating hospitals, medical supplies, and doubled our capacity to screen aid trucks for Hamas weapons smuggling, and evacuated patients for treatment overseas. We’ve apprehended over 700 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists, including many who surrendered, interrogating them for valuable information to target Hamas with precision. We’ve seized and destroyed over 30,000 Hamas weapons, including anti-tank missiles, bigger missiles, and rocket launchers.”

We can only hope for an end to this war in 2024.

These achievements show that even through the toughest of conditions, Israel is successfully dismantling the infrastructure that is causing so much pain and suffering not only to Israel and her allies – but to the people of Gaza too. But, carrying on this trajectory, we can only hope for an end to this war in 2024.

Where does that leave the Diaspora Jews, though? Well, through the last couple of months of 2023, one thing became abundantly clear to all of us – that a strong Israel means a strong Jewish Diaspora. Our relationship is so simpatico that there is no other nation-state or ancestral homeland with such a strong bond to such a small number of people all over the globe. We have proven time and time again that Israel’s strength comes not only from the amazing population inside her borders, but from the support of Jewish and non-Jewish Diaspora communities the world over.

Am Israel Chai in 2024 and beyond…

 

Photo of Joe by Blake Ezra photography

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Rendez-vous with Israel

Jonathan Touboul
Executive Director of French Speaking Countries, Israel Bonds

Since October 7th, the news from Israel has suffused our lives with a sense of urgency tinged with concern. Our wish for 2024 is that the State of Israel and the surrounding region return to serenity and peace. We pray for the swift return of all hostages and soldiers to their homes, and for healing for all.

As I look back on 2023, I realize that we have seen a high level of activity in Israel Bonds in France, due to the rise in interest rates, but also due to renewed optimism in the economy, with stock markets on the rise.

However, this trend remained fragile, and instability and volatility were palpable. The events of October 7th pushed us toward another reality, one of stupefaction, anger, action and the expectation of reconstruction.

The Jewish community in France, as in much of Europe, is facing an unprecedented upsurge in antisemitism, and Israel is a highly divisive subject to discuss. From this point of view, the French Jewish community is experiencing a great sense of solitude, offset by a greater unity between its various components.

 

 

Our job at Israel Bonds is to help meet the challenges of Israel’s present and those
of the future.

 

Many co-religionists are anxious and fearful about the future of Jews in France, and are waiting for an outlet, an imminent liberation, to thwart the forecasts. Some are already planning to no longer live in France, and the Jewish Agency is anticipating a sharp rise in Aliyah.

That said, our job at Israel Bonds is to help meet the challenges of the present and those of the future.

I'd like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Israel Bonds team in France for their dedication and self-sacrifice. I would also like to thank all those who have shown their support for our organization.

I can't help but think of the Israeli soldiers from our communities in France sending messages and videos expressing their concern for us, while they themselves were on their way to a very difficult mission or even in the battlefield! Those videos were widely circulated among us, as we know this war extends beyond Israels borders.

So let's hope for 2024 that the evil that is stirring up the region will disappear, because we can't wait to get back to Israel, a country that lives at full speed in all its joy and generosity.

It's this energy and enthusiasm that we'll still be trying to convey to our customers and prospects in 2024.

Rendez-vous avec Israel.

Jonathan Touboul
Directeur Pays Francophones, Israel Bonds

Depuis le 7 octobre nous vivons au rythme de l’actualité d’Israel avec un sentiment d’urgence teinté d’inquiétude. Nous souhaitons bien évidemment pour 2024 que l’Etat d’Israel et la région retrouve la sérénité et la paix. Nous prions pour le retour rapide de tous les otages et que les soldats retrouvent leur foyer ainsi que la guérison de tous.

Lorsque je regarde l’année 2023 je m’aperçois que nous avons connu une forte activité des Israel Bonds
en France en raison de la hausse des taux mais aussi d’un regain d’optimisme des économies avec des marché boursiers en hausse.

Cependant cette tendance restait fragile et l’instabilité ou encore la volatilité était palpable.

Les événements d’octobre nous ont pousser vers une autre réalité, celle de la sidération, de la colère de l’action et de l’attente de la reconstruction.

La communauté juive de France tout comme dans une grande partie de l’Europe fait face à un regain d’antisémitisme sans précédent et parler d’Israel est un sujet très clivant. De ce point de vue la communauté juive de France est habitée d’un grand sentiment de solitude compensé par une plus grande unité de ses différentes composante

 

 

Notre travail au sein des Israel Bonds est d’aider à faire face aux défis de l’instant et aux défis de la reconstruction. .

 

De nombreux coreligionnaire sont anxieux et remplis de crainte par rapport à l’avenir des juifs en France et sont dans l’attente d’un exutoire, d’une libération proche déjouant ainsi les pronostics. Certains, ne se projettent déjà plus en France et l’agence juive anticipe une hausse importante de la Alyah.

Ceci étant dit, notre travail au sein des Israel Bonds est d’aider à faire face aux défis de l’instant et aux défis de la reconstruction. Je tiens à saluer ici la forte mobilisation de l’équipe des Israel Bonds en France ainsi que son abnégation. Je tiens aussi à remercier toutes les marques de soutien pour notre organisation.

Je ne peux m’empêcher de penser à ces soldats qui demandait aux Français si la situation n’était pas trop difficile alors qu’eux même partaient en mission.

Gardons donc espoir pour 2024 que ce mal qui agite la région disparaisse car Il nous tarde de retrouver Israel, ce pays vivant a toute vitesse dans toute sa joie et sa générosité.

Eh bien, c’est cette énergie et cet enthousiasme que nous tacherons encore en 2024 de véhiculer à nos
clients et prospects.

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We Will Dance Again.

Eyla Benedykt
Israel Bonds Brazil Representative

“What is done cannot be undone, but one can prevent it happening again.” - Anne Frank 

The past year, 2023, has been one of the most painful and challenging years for Israel and for all Jews around the world. In addition to the massacre and kidnappings, we have witnessed how antisemitism is growing stronger
in the world.

The new year, 2024, has begun and our thoughts since October 7th continue to focus on Eretz Israel. I dedicate this article in this first edition of KOL in 2024 to the people of Israel and its soldiers, who are in Gaza fighting for us, and for our existence.

I wish to thank the Women's Division and all the supporters of Israel Bonds
in Brazil.

Since the beginning of the war, our community in Brazil has remained united and strong, sparing no effort to support Israel. From parents with daughters of bat mitzvah age, families of school graduates, synagogues, sport clubs, and supporters from all over Brazil, such as Curitiba, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Recife... and many others.

We need Israel and Israel needs us, now more than ever!

Unfortunately, our fight against the terrorist group Hamas appears to be far from over. We continue to ask for the immediate return of all the hostages.

In 2024 we will continue to build on our community engagement and look forward to continued partnership and engagement with the beautiful communities in Brazil!

We need Israel and Israel needs us, now more than ever!

For those who are not here, for us and for all those who will come, in 2024 we will dance again and harder than ever! 

Am Israel Chai

 

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Stronger together

Saul Kisel
CFO, Development Company for Israel (International) Ltd.
Executive Director, Israel Bonds Mexico

 

As we look ahead to 2024, it’s clear that there are numerous challenges we will face as a global community.

Despite the progress that we naively believed was made in the past in promoting diversity and inclusion, anti-Semitism continues to be a pervasive issue in most parts of the world.

The current war in Israel has resulted in an increase in hate crimes targeting Jewish individuals, communities and businesses. This has created a sense of unease and insecurity worldwide.

Navigating these challenges requires resilience, a strong sense of identity,
and a commitment to promoting understanding and tolerance.
It is crucial for individuals and communities to come together to address and overcome these issues in order to create a more inclusive and peaceful world for future generations.

 

By working together, we will help Israel and strengthen our local community.

Now more than ever the Jewish people in the Diaspora understand the importance of a strong Israel evidenced by the notable accomplishments of Israel Bonds in 2023.

In 2024, we will focus primarily on increasing awareness regarding the importance of a strong Israel. Together with our local professionals, our dedicated volunteers - particularly our Women’s Division, we aim to foster and broaden our connections within our community, further engage with our schools and continue to develop our partnerships with other organizations. By working together, we will help Israel and strengthen our local community.

We pray for the immediate return of the hostages, the safety of our IDF soldiers and all Israel.

Am Israel Jai!!

 

 

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