Israel (/ˈɪzriəl,
Israel has evidence of the earliest migration of hominids out of Africa.[28] Canaanite tribes are archaeologically attested since the Middle Bronze Age,[29][30] while the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah emerged during the Iron Age.[31][32] The Neo-Assyrian Empire destroyed Israel around 720 BCE.[33] Judah was later conquered by the Babylonian, Persian and Hellenistic empires and had existed as Jewishautonomous provinces.[34][35] The successful Maccabean Revolt led to an independent Hasmonean kingdom by 110 BCE,[36] which in 63 BCE however became a client state of the Roman Republic that subsequently installed the Herodian dynasty in 37 BCE, and in 6 CE created the Roman province of Judea.[37] Judea lasted as a Roman province until the failed Jewish revolts resulted in widespread destruction,[36] the expulsion of the Jewish population[36][38] and the renaming of the region from Iudaea to Syria Palaestina.[39] Jewish presence in the region has persisted to a certain extent over the centuries. In the 7th century CE, the Levant was taken from the Byzantine Empire by the Arabs and remained in Muslim control until the First Crusade of 1099, followed by the Ayyubid conquest of 1187. The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt extended its control over the Levant in the 13th century until its defeat by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. During the 19th century, national awakening among Jews led to the establishment of the Zionist movement in the diaspora followed by waves of immigration to Ottoman Syria and later Mandatory Palestine.
In 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Partition Plan for Palestine recommending the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem.[40] The plan was accepted by the Jewish Agency, and rejected by Arab leaders.[41][42][43] The following year, the Jewish Agency declared the independence of the State of Israel, and the subsequent 1948 Arab–Israeli War saw Israel’s establishment over most of the former Mandate territory, while the West Bank and Gaza were held by neighboring Arab states.[44] Israel has since fought several wars with Arab countries,[45] and since the Six-Day War in 1967 held occupied territories including the West Bank, Golan Heights and the Gaza Strip (still considered occupied after the 2005 disengagement, although some legal experts dispute this claim).[46][47][48][fn 5] It extended its laws to the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, but not the West Bank.[49][50][51][52] Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories is the world’s longest military occupation in modern times.[fn 5][54] Efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have not resulted in a final peace agreement. However, peace treaties between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan have been signed.
In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish and democratic state and the nation state of the Jewish people.[55] The country has a liberal democracy (one of only two in the Middle East and North Africa region, the other being Tunisia),[56][57] with a parliamentary system, proportional representation, and universal suffrage.[58][59] The prime minister is head of government and the Knesset is the legislature. With a population of around 9 million as of 2019,[60] Israel is a developed country and an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member,[61] and has the 31st or 32nd-largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product (GDP). Israel has the highest standard of living in the Middle East,[19] and ranks among the world’s top countries by percentage of citizens with military training,[62] percentage of citizens holding a tertiary education degree,[63] research and development spending by GDP percentage,[64] women’s safety,[65] life expectancy,[66]innovativeness,[67] and happiness.[68]
Photo Credits:
Photo by Cole Keister on Unsplash
Photo by Roxanne Desgagnés on Unsplash
Photo by Sammy Leigh Scholl on Unsplash
Golan Landsberg · VP R&D HP Indigo · HP · NON-EVENT24 Speaker
The theme for the NON-EVENT 2024 is 'Conflict,' as we all experience conflicts on different levels, we have invited speakers who are exposed to conflicts, learned to live with them, and used conflicts to move things forward. One of the most challenging conflicts is centered, where the outcome can be peace or war. This is where we find VP of R&D HP Indigo, Golan Landsberg, who has also been on the Search & Rescue team for IDF; besides his job with HP, in peacetime, a challenge, and when at war, even more challenging. Listen to Landsberg and if you attend the NON-EVENT in Copenhagen on December 5th, 2024 - more to follow.
Shlomo Nimrodi · Highcon · PreDrupa LIVE · May 14th 2024 · Replay
Morten Reitoft and Shlomo Nimrodi discuss preparations and expectations for Drupa 2024. Nimrodi, who recently traveled from Seattle to New York, emphasizes balancing daily business operations with Drupa preparations. He notes that his recent US trip involves meeting with the sales team and potential clients, some of whom plan to attend Drupa, to finalize deals. Nimrodi reflects on the changes in Highcon's team since the last Drupa in 2016, highlighting the positive impact of new team members and their energy. He describes Highcon's strategic pivot towards industrial-scale packaging for corrugated and folding cartons, moving away from more niche markets. This shift aims to mainstream digital die-cutting and meet the market's needs more effectively. At Drupa, Highcon will showcase significant improvements, including a 50% increase in productivity through technological advancements and process changes. They will introduce the Beam 3, the Beam Writer (an offline device for faster job setup), and upgraded versions of their existing equipment. Highcon will focus on customer applications and their products' substantial productivity and efficiency gains. Nimrodi discusses the importance of customer feedback and involvement in product development, particularly with the new Vulcan model. This collaborative approach ensures that Highcon's innovations align with market needs and helps mitigate risks. He also highlights the success of the Beam Writer, which allows customers to increase productivity without the need for additional machines, offering a cost-effective solution. The conversation ends with Reitoft thanking Nimrodi for his participation and expressing mutual appreciation for their ongoing collaboration. Nimrodi acknowledges the value of Reitoft's contributions to the industry and looks forward to seeing him at Drupa.
Yarden Ben-Dor · Senior Director · Landa Digital Printing · Walkthrough
The Landa S11 and S11P is a new iteration of the S10 and S10P currently in the market - and for the S10's that have IR drying, these can be upgraded to the new S11. S11 has new software for improved quality and a speed option, allowing the machine to print 11,200 B1 sheets an hour. In this walkthrough of the S11, together with Yardon Ben-Dor, we talk about the machine and also look at how the machine is built. The S11 and S11P will be shown at drupa, and the upgraded versions are for immediate delivery, so there is no waiting time. And we DID see the machine run 11,200 B1 sheets per hour :-)
Yarden Ben-Dor · Senior Director Product Management · Landa Digital Printing
Yarden Ben-Dor says that Benny Landa (of course) is very involved in the company and is often seen in the labs helping engineers with ideas. Still, they are also engaged in the employees' well-being, for example, how the cantine operates and how the company encourages people to eat together (and Landa serves food in the morning, lunch, and dinner)—here, of course, we talk about the S11, applications, etc. It was great talking to Yarden Ben-Dor.
Amir Shalev · Director of Market Development · Landa Digital Printing
Amir Shalev is responsible for market development, which also includes what we would call pre-sales activities with customers - understanding the needs the investment needs to address. That's what Amir Shalev and his team do. We also get to discuss "more" the Landa payoff for drupa. 'More' must be understood broadly - but listen to Amir Shalev and learn more!
Simon Lewis · VP Strategy & Marketing · HighCon
Preparations for drupa are in focus, and many things have changed at Highcon since the 2016 edition. If you were there, you for sure remember the booth and the beautiful paper dresses that were used to show how great highcon products are - but also a bit misaligned with today's strategies, which are razer-focused on folding cartons and corrugated - and in this interview with VP Strategy & Marketing, Simon Lewis we get a great insight into what to expect. Enjoy!
Alon Bar-Shany · Chairman of the Board · Highcon
It's no secret that Highcon has been in difficulties and that it still requires walking the extra mile to make Highcon a profitable company - but strong leadership with Shlomo Nimrod as the CEO and capacities like Alon Bar-Shany, Benny Landa, Adina Shorr, and more on the board - Highcon is on the right track. When we visited Highcon in Israel, we asked Alon Bar-Shany to join us for an interview, and despite a busy program, we got the chance - and here he is!
Haim Veig · VP Product · Highcon · Walkthrough
It takes time to develop new technology, and most people, of course, understand that what you see at drupa and other shows has been under development for years - we also understand that what's currently in development isn't shown to many - however, here you get a chance to look into what is expected to be ready for drupa 2028 - the new Highcon Vulcan (working title) - it's a gigantic laser die-cutter (no dies, of course) 140-170 cm width, four lasers and 3,000 sheets an hour - and here Haim Veig gives us an introduction to what's being developed - Interesting, right?
Shlomo Nimrodi · CEO · Highcon · drupa 2024
A week before our visit to Highcon in Israel, CEO Shlomo Nimrodi attended the official PreDrupa. He told us that it was on the same day as his injury 46 years ago—evidence that war is almost a constant in Israel. How much does that influence a company, how they recruit, how they develop go-to-market strategies, and more? We asked difficult questions to the CEO, and as usual, Shlomo Nimrodi openly answered—a must-see interview!
Noam Zilbershtain · General Manager HP Indigo & Scitex · HP
"We are only at the beginning," Noam Zilbershtain says when talking about the opportunities with digital print - and we are talking to a very confident General Manager. Noam Zilbershtain is a super nice and open person who walks into you - easy to talk to, and still with great opinions about the market and how he and his team can drive HP in the right direction. We also get a chance to talk to Noam Zilbershtain about the war in Israel, about liking people, and, of course, he gets an option to mention football :-)
Gershon Alon · HP Print OS · HP PreDrupa Event · Part 2
In the second interview with Gershon Alon, we go a little deeper into what Production Beat is. One of the most important changes is that Production Beat is vendor-agnostic. You can add any machine to Production Beat and measure everything - machines with HP technology and even legacy hardware, as HP offers readers and sensors. Super cool!
Gershon Alon · HP Print OS · HP PreDrupa Event · Part 1
In the first of two interviews with Gershon Alon, we ask him what differentiates the normal interpretation of workflow/automation, and how HP sees it. This interview is supposed to lead up to our second interview, where we talk about Production Beat, but also to understand the four pillars Bob Raus explains in the interview we did with him - also from the HP PreDrupa event in Indianapolis. Dig in!
Anat Ruhrberg · HP · HP PreDrupa Event
At the HP PreDrupa event, the new HP Indigo 120K was released - a machine offering high quality and higher productivity than previous generations. 6,000 B2 sheets an hour, and many new AI features built into the machine, making it even easier to operate. Anat Ruhrberg and I have a walk while we talk about the 120K and the new 18K - two impressive machines targeting two different markets. Jump in :-)
Nimrod Cohen · HP · HP PreDrupa Event
The Tech Fair is a tiny yet important corner of the DSCOOP hall, where HP's PreDrupa event also took place. HP's Nimrod Cohen allowed us to learn what Tech Fair is about, and in short, this is where new products and ideas are shown. The examples at the PreDrupa were direct print on aluminum cans, HP Indigo transfers, Conductive print, and much more, but listen to what Nimrod Cohen shared with us in this video!