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Israel: A Bad Brand in World Markets
CrossFireArabia- August 27, 2025
By Ramzy Baroud
In an important step toward the economic isolation of Israel due to its genocide in Gaza, Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global has decided to divest from yet more Israeli companies.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is the world’s largest, with total investments in Israel once estimated at $1.9 billion. The decision to divest was taken gradually but is consistent with the Norwegian government’s growing solidarity with Palestine and rising criticism of Israel.
Taking a leading role along with Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia, Norway has been a vocal European critic of the Israeli genocide and man-made famine in Gaza, actively contributing to the International Court of Justice’s investigation into the genocide, and formally recognizing the state of Palestine in May 2024. This diplomatic and legal stance, coupled with its financial divestment, represents a coherent and escalating effort to hold Israel accountable for the ongoing extermination of Palestinians.
The Israeli economy was already in a state of free-fall even before the genocide. The initial collapse was related to the deep political instability in the country, a result of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist government’s attempt to co-opt the judicial system, thus compromising any semblance of “democracy” remaining in that country. This resulted in a significant lowering of investor confidence.
The war and genocide, beginning on October 7, 2023, only accelerated the crisis, pushing an already fragile economy to the brink. According to reports from the Israel Ministry of Finance, foreign direct investments in Israel fell by an estimated 28 per cent in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
Any supposed recovery in foreign investments, however, was deceptive. It was not the outcome of a global rallying to save Israel, but rather a consequence of a torrent of US funds pouring in to help Israel sustain both its economy and the genocide in Gaza, along with its other war fronts.
Israel’s Gross Domestic Product was estimated by the World Bank to be around $540 billion by the end of 2024. The war on Gaza has already taken a considerable bite out of Israel’s entire GDP. Estimates from Israel itself are complex, but all data points to the fact that the Israeli economy is suffering and will continue to suffer in the foreseeable future. Citing reports from the Bank of Israel and the Ministry of Finance, the Israeli business newspaper Calcalist reported in January 2025 that the cost of the Israeli war on Gaza had already reached more than $67.5 billion. That figure represented the costs of the war up to the end of 2024.
Keeping in mind that the ongoing war costs continue to rise exponentially, and with other consequences of the war, including divestments from the Israeli market by Norway and other countries, future projections for the Israeli economy look very grim. The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics reported that the Israeli economy, already in a constant state of contraction, shrunk by another 3.5 per cent in the period between April and June 2025.
This collapse is projected to continue, even with the unprecedented US financial backing of Tel Aviv. Indeed, without US help, the precarious Israeli economy would be in a much worse state. Though the US has always propped up Israel, with nearly $4 billion in aid annually, the US help for Israel in the last two years was the most generous and critical yet.
Israel is the recipient of $3.8 billion of US taxpayer money per year, according to the latest 10-year Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2016. Equally, if not more valuable than this large sum are the loan guarantees, which allow Israel to borrow money at a much lower interest rate on the global market. The backing of the US has, therefore, enabled investors to view the Israeli market as a safe haven for their funds, often guaranteeing high returns. This applies to the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund as it did to numerous other entities and companies.
Now that Israel has become a bad brand, affiliated with unethical investments due to the genocide in Gaza and growing illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank, the US, as Israel’s main benefactor, has stepped in to fill the gaps.
The US emergency supplemental appropriations act of April 2024 allocated a total of $26.4 billion for Israel. While much of the money was earmarked for defense expenditures, in reality, most of it will percolate into the Israeli economy. This amount, in addition to the annual military aid, allows the Israeli government to minimize spending on defense and allocate more money to keep the economy from shrinking at an even faster rate.
Additionally, it will free the Israeli military industry to continue producing new, sophisticated military technology that will ensure Israel’s continued competitiveness in the arms market. The military-industrial complex, a significant part of the Israeli economy, is thus not only sustained but given a fresh impetus by American aid, ensuring the war machine continues to function with minimal financial disruption.
All of this should not diminish the importance of divestment from the Israeli financial system. On the contrary, it means that divestment efforts must increase significantly to balance out the US push to keep the Israeli economy from imploding.
Moreover, this should also make US citizens, who object to their government’s role in the genocide in Gaza, more aware of the extent of Washington’s collaboration to save Israel, even at the price of exterminating the Palestinians. Indeed, the flow of funds from the US is not a passive action; it is an active collaboration that directly enables the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His forthcoming book, ‘Before the Flood,’ will be published by Seven Stories Press. His other books include ‘Our Vision for Liberation’, ‘My Father was a Freedom Fighter’ and ‘The Last Earth’. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net
Israel Kills 193 Professors in Gaza
- CrossFireArabia
- August 25, 2025
Beyond the destruction of homes, hospitals and schools, Israel’s war on Gaza has struck at the very heart of Palestinian intellectual life.
At least 193 academics and professors have been killed, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office, in what officials and UN experts describe as an attempt to erase knowledge, culture, and leadership from the besieged enclave.
“Targeting scholars and academics is a systematic policy to create a long-term intellectual and cultural vacuum, weaken national institutions, and deprive future generations of accumulated expertise and knowledge,” Ismail al-Thawabta, head of the Government Media Office, told Anadolu.
He said Israel’s campaign aims “to dismantle Palestinian national identity, marginalize independent critical voices, and generate fear that drives educated elites into exile.”
The office said more than 800 teachers and education staff have also been killed since the war began in October 2023, underscoring what it called a broad assault on Palestinian education.
Academics under attack
The toll includes some of Gaza’s most prominent intellectuals:
– Sufyan Tayeh, a physicist and president of the Islamic University of Gaza, was killed with his family in a December 2023 airstrike on Jabalia.
– Adnan al-Barsh, one of Gaza’s top orthopedic surgeons and professor of medicine, died in Israeli custody in May after being detained while working at Al-Awda Hospital.
– Nasser Abu al-Nour, dean of nursing at the Islamic University, was killed with his family in a February strike on Rafah.
– Naeem Baroud, dean of arts, was killed with relatives in an October 2024 airstrike on Al-Shati refugee camp.
– Jihad al-Masri, director of Al-Quds Open University in Khan Younis, was killed by Israeli army fire in October 2023.
– Ahmed al-Dalou, dean of medicine at Palestine University, was killed in a Gaza City strike that also claimed the lives of 43 relatives.
– Ahmed Abu Absa, dean of engineering at Palestine University, was killed in December 2023.
– Ibrahim al-Astal, dean of education at the Islamic University, was killed in October 2023.
– Taysir Ibrahim, dean of Sharia and law, was killed with his family in October 2023.
– Said al-Zubda, president of the University College of Applied Sciences, was killed in December 2023.
– Refaat Alareer, professor of English literature, was killed in December 2023, weeks after receiving online threats.
Alareer’s death in particular sparked a wave of grief among students and colleagues, who shared his poems, lectures and social media posts that chronicled Gaza’s agony.
Assault on education, identity
Al-Thawabta said Israel’s strategy seeks to destroy not only Gaza’s physical infrastructure but also its human capital.
“This is an attack on the minds that carry knowledge and leadership,” he said, warning of efforts to silence critical voices, erode cultural identity, and obstruct any future project of reconstruction.
He urged urgent international action “to protect Palestinian intellectual and human capital before it is too late.”
UN experts have warned that the deliberate targeting of scholars, teachers and cultural figures constitutes war crimes under international law.
Observers caution that the killing of Gaza’s academics risks silencing a generation of Palestinian thought leaders, leaving universities in ruins and depriving young people of mentors who could guide them into the future.
Israel has killed more than 62,700 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Israeli Chief Warns Netanyahu of Gaza Onslaught
- CrossFireArabia
- August 25, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have criticized top army personnel for “exaggerating fears” about about an imminent Israeli army onslaught on the city of Gaza. Quoting several Israel sources, Haaretz said Netanyahu repeatedly criticized army officers in several meetings.
The newspaper reported that Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir assured ministers that “further military pressure on Hamas will lead to losses among soldiers,” as well as “losses among prisoners and an increased burden on reserves.”
The newspaper added that “the occupation of the city of Rafah resulted in the deaths of prisoners and soldiers but did not lead to their release,” noting that “army leaders expressed concern that Netanyahu was ignoring their professional recommendations during meetings.”
Reports had revealed a growing state of discontent and collapse within the ranks of the army, in light of the ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip and the approaching second anniversary of its war.
Earlier, Israeli Army Radio confirmed that tensions between Zamir and the top political echelons “reached their peak,” with the latter demanding “strategic clarity” regarding the continuation of the war on the Gaza Strip.
According to the radio’s military correspondent, Doron Kadosh, Zamir warns that “the cabinet hasn’t met for a long time,” and that “the army lacks clarity on how to proceed, and is not receiving clear orders and instructions,” as reported in Jo24.