President Macron's words demonstrate a growing awareness of this scourge at the highest levels of government and a determination to take a stand. So why is it that despite such admirable statements I feel a disheartening and wearying déjà vu?
Even for a nation quite used to dramatic news, what happened within the span of four days – from Shabbat morning to Tuesday evening – came as a shock to Israelis.
Notably, nearly $290 million of Florida’s trade was with Israel, making it one of the top U.S. states doing business with the Jewish state. And that’s a relationship that can expand exponentially, as evidenced by the focus on the emerging high-tech sectors in Florida and in Israel during the large trade mission that Gov. Rick Scott led to Israel in December.
The consortia owning Israel's two productive gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean—Tamar and Leviathan (with a U.S. company, Noble Energy, an important but not a majority partner in both)—have signed a huge gas deal with an Egyptian company, estimated at 15 billion dollars over 10 years.