The Ministry of Absorption and the Municipality of Jerusalem

are pleased to invite you to a meeting on

Helpful tools for Technological  Entrepreneurship 

Cocktail party and Networking will follow speeches by keynote speakers:

“Government helpful tools”:

Shaul Freidreich, Deputy Managing director, Office of the Chief Scientist

“Special helpful tools for entrepreneurs in Jerusalem”:

Yossi After, The Jerusalem Development Authority

“Jerusalem, leader city in Bio-technology”:

Hen Levin, Executive Director, Bio Jerusalem 

Simultaneous translation into English and French 

Wednesday, July 14th at 6.30 PM

at Merkaz Harmonia, 27 Hillel Street, Jerusalem

Please confirm your participation. Specify your name and country of origin jerusalem.scientists@gmail.com 

Scientific immigrants in Jerusalem 

The Ministry of Absorption and the Jerusalem Municipality have chosen to support and promote scientific immigration, through a new program co-developed with “The Jerusalem House of Technology”.

This project aims to help immigrant scientists meet their professional goals in Israel's various scientific sectors.

The program is essentially based on facilitating contacts between scientists and actors in both fields of innovation and technology in Israel, through researchers and companies, as well as offering all the necessary information and tools.  Many services will be provided through this program: participants will have the opportunity to visit research centers, incubators and technology parks, follow English and Hebrew classes, and take part in various conferences and forums.  

Lower taxes, more credit
Prime Minister Netanyahu announced his new economic recovery plan

"We are in a great crisis, but we must, and we can, save the economy, save jobs, and boost the economy. We have done it before. The economy is like a plane in a dive. We will stop the fall, after which it will soar upward," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 23, at the opening of a press conference to present his economic plan for 2009-10.
Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz outlined the plan's steps: "The plan's objectives are to halt the effect of the crisis and to create good springboards for the future. The plan's five main points are as follows: one - expansion of credit and the encouragement of exports; two - halt the increase in unemployment and to promote jobs; three - structural reforms; four - tax policy; and five - investment in physical infrastructures and human capital," he said.
The plan includes increasing credit and encouraging exports, doubling the bank guarantees plan to NIS 12 billion, the establishment of non-bank credit funds in the amount of NIS 2 billion, NIS 6 billion in aid for export industries, and a NIS 2.6 billion in additional credit to small and mid-sized businesses.
Another major plank is reducing taxes gradually in a number of stages from this year through 2016. This year's reduction will be a symbolic 1% cut, but the larger cuts in the following years will especially boost the middle class.
Corporate tax will fall from 26% today to 18% in 2016, and the highest marginal tax rate for individuals will be cut from 46% today to 39% in 2016.
Netanyahu and Steinitz did not discuss the budget or spending, saying discussions at the ministry on the 2009 budget were continuing. They promised to hold another news conference on the two-year 2009-2010 budget in a few weeks. Netanyahu said the planned reforms in education and health would not be harmed by the new budget.
The plan also does not contain any intervention in corporate bond markets, and the state does not plan to interfere in transactions between borrowers and lenders. In other words, the treasury will not come to the aid of the so called “tycoons”.
The ministry's statement said the plan represented only the main principles, and the cabinet will discuss the plan. There will also be discussions with unions and employers in the coming weeks.

Treasury sees economy contracting 1% in 2009

The Ministry of Finance predicts that the Israeli economy will contract by 1% in 2009 and achieve 1.5% growth in 2010. The Ministry also predicts that business output will fall by 2.5% in 2009 and rise by 1.2% next year.
This prediction was given on April 26, during the weekly cabinet meeting by senior Ministry of Finance officials during a discussion about the 2009-2010 state budget.
Treasury officials see unemployment averaging 8.5% during 2010 compared with 6.8% today, meaning that 253,000 people will be unemployed compared with 202,000 today.
This macro-economic forecast is more optimistic than that of the Bank of Israel, which predicts a contraction of 1.5% in the economy in 2009.