Monday, August 16, 2010

Israel keeps on growing ...

The good news out of Israel today is the announcment that the Israeli economy grew by 4.7% in the second quarter, and by 4.1% in the first half of this year.

Considering the awful economic situation in many parts of the world, and the bad news about the unemployment situation that I hear from my friends and family back in California, I think everyone here should be awful greatful that things are as good as they are.

I've been saying for a long time that Israelis don't know how good they've got it here. It's true that the economic picture isn't perfect, but it's actually ... pretty good. The situation looks even better when compared to the  complete havoc that has been unleashed on the U.S. and Europe because of the economic crisis and so-called "Great Recession."

This news is also critically important because wealth is one of the key advantages that Israel has vis-a-vis the Palestinians. Israel needs to continue to develop it's economic power to serve as a buffer from the eventual shocks to the country as the peace process moves forward, or collapses into another round of fighting.

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