Day 521 - Israeli banks gain in war, El Al's competition on NY route

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute
audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and
the Jewish world.


Tech Israel editor Sharon Wrobel and
health editor Diana
Bletter join host Jessica
Steinberg for today's Daily Briefing.


As Israel's two largest banks, Bank Hapoalim and Discount Bank,
posted massive financial gains for 2023, Wrobel discusses how
Israel's banks achieved increases during months of war. She notes
that Israelis may have ignored banking issues and statements
while serving prolonged reserve duty and dealing with more
heightened personal issues during the height of the war.


Bletter delves into her investigative piece of the allegations
pointed at Israel, regarding whether IDF troops targeted Gazan
children during the war. She looks in particular at the
allegations made in two essays printed in The New York Times and
The Guardian, discussing her interview with an American urban
warfare expert, the lack of forensic evidence and the long
history of Hamas of exploiting and harming minors and adult
civilians to advance its political goals.


As Israir becomes the third Israeli airline to join the Tel
Aviv-New York route, offering more competition to carriers El Al
and Arkia, Wrobel discusses what it will take for Israir to gain
customers, as travelers seek better deals. Wrobel also talks
about Israelis booking cruises, as they seek some relief from war
and October 7 trauma, and a secure vacation given anti-Israel
sentiment worldwide and the high prices of airline tickets.


With thousands of residents of the Western Galilee heading home
last week, Bletter visited Arab al-Aramshe — the only non-Jewish
community evacuated in Israel for the war, a Bedouin village
whose residents were holed up in hotels and other communities for
the last months.


Please see today's ongoing liveblog for
more updates.


For further reading:


Israeli banks rake in record profits as their
war-battered customers drown in debt


After doctors accuse Israel of shooting Gazan kids,
experts see need for a second opinion


Israir set to become third Israeli carrier serving New
York route, with lower airfare


As war brings spikes in airfare and antisemitism, cruise
ships see a new wave of Israelis


Bedouin and Jewish residents who evacuated from north
return home to mourn and rebuild


Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple
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podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.


IMAGE: Illustrative: Parked airplanes belonging to Israir and
 El Al at the Ben Gurion International Airport, August 8,
2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/FLASH90)


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