Israel Less Vulnerable to Tariffs as a Service Economy
Israeli goods exported to the U.S. that will be directly impacted by the new American tariffs include machinery, electronic equipment, optical equipment, and diamonds. But two thirds of Israeli exports to the U.S. are services, which aren't subject to the tariffs, including the country's high tech sector.
'In that sense being a service economy we are somewhat less affected by tariffs on goods and not on services,' said Karnit Flug, a former governor of the Bank of Israel and now a senior fellow at the Jerusalem-based think tank Israel Democracy Institute.
Flug said Netanyahu's meeting with Trump on Monday was important, but that even if successful, Israel's economy would still suffer from the worldwide effects of the tariffs such as a slowdown in trade and demand.
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The Hill
29 minutes ago
- The Hill
US moving B-2 bombers as Trump weighs Iran response: Reports
Department of Defense (DOD) officials are moving B-2 bombers across the Pacific as President Trump weighs intervening in Israel's war on Iran. Reports from Reuters say the 30,000-pound 'bunker buster bombs' will be stored on the island of Guam while Trump considers the possibility of striking Iran. The DOD referred The Hill's request for comment to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Flight tracking data shows several aircraft leaving Travis Air Force Base with B-2s following the president's statement allotting a two-week deadline for a decision on U.S. intervention in Iran. The bombers were originally being held in Missouri and would likely be used to damage the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant in Iran. Fordo is Iran's second nuclear enrichment facility after Natanz, which was hit by Israeli forces on Friday. The attacks damaged the facility and furthered the Israeli objective to obliterate Iran's efforts to develop nuclear weapons of war. Israel on Saturday said it struck an Iranian nuclear facility in Isfahan and killed two additional top commanders as the clash between the two Middle Eastern countries expands. Israeli Air Force fighter jets later in the day also moved to strike military infrastructure in southwestern Iran, according to an Israeli military statement. Ahead of Saturday's strikes, Iran fired 40 drones overnight on Friday that were intercepted by Israel, according to the IDF. 'We've been able to take out a large amount of their launchers, creating a bottleneck — we're making it harder for them to fire toward Israel,' an Israeli military official told AP on the condition of anonymity. 'Having said all that, I want to say the Iranian regime obviously still has capabilities.' Earlier this week, Israel Defense Forces said they'd killed multiple top commanders and nine engineers working on Iran's nuclear projects. Trump said the conflict would continue until an 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER' was supported by Iran. However, the Iranian Supreme Leader said they would continue to defend themselves amidst the rubble. 'I would like to tell our dear nation that if the enemy senses that you fear them, they won't let go of you. Continue the very behavior that you have had up to this day; continue this behavior with strength,' Ali Khamenei wrote in a post on X.


CNBC
30 minutes ago
- CNBC
Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil returns home to New York area
NEWARK, N.J. —After more than three months in ICE detention, Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil returned to the New York area where his harrowing ordeal first began. Immigration authorities had arrested Khalil, 30, in March at the university housing complex where he lived in New York City. He was quickly transported thousands of miles away to a detention center in Louisiana, where he spent the last few months. Khalil remained defiant as he spoke to reporters and supporters on Saturday afternoon upon his arrival at Newark International Airport. "Your messages have kept me going. Still the fight is far from over, the genocide is still happening in Gaza, Israel is still waging a full war against Palestine," said Khalil, who was flanked by his wife Dr. Noor Abdalla and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "The U.S. government is funding this genocide and Columbia University is investing in this genocide. This is why I was protesting, this is why I will continue protesting with every one of you, not only if they threaten me with detention. Even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Gaza." When asked what his message would be to the Trump administration, Khalil said, "Just the fact that I'm here sends a message." "The fact that all of these attempts to suppress pro-Palestine voices have failed now," he said. "This is the message. My existence is a message." Ocasio-Cortez said Khalil's imprisonment for politically motivated. "Everybody agrees that persecution based on political speech is wrong and is a violation of all of our First Amendment rights, not just Mahmoud's," she said. His unprecedented detention has sparked national outrage. Further fueling the controversy, Abdalla, an American, gave birth to the couple's first son in April while he remained behind bars. Upon his release in Louisiana on Friday, Khalil addressed reporters briefly, saying he was excited to return to New York City and see his family. "Although justice prevailed," he said upon his release, "it's long, very long overdue. And this shouldn't have taken three months." "Trump and his administration, they chose the wrong person for this," he added. "That doesn't mean that there is a right person for this. There's no right person who should be detained for actually protesting a genocide, for protesting their university, Columbia University." Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin on Friday denounced the judicial order freeing Khalil and the judge who issued it. "This is yet another example of how out of control members of the judicial branch are undermining national security," McLaughlin said in a statement. "Their conduct not only denies the result of the 2024 election, it also does great harm to our constitutional system by undermining public confidence in the courts." The Trump administration claimed it had the authority to detain and deport the pro-Palestinian student activist, arguing that his presence in the U.S. threatened national security. Another charge against Khalil alleges that he omitted details about his work history and membership in organizations on his permanent residency application. The government cited an obscure provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 that gives Secretary of State Marco Rubio authority to "personally determine" whether a foreign national can remain in the U.S. on national security grounds. An NBC News review of more than 100 pages of court filings found that prosecutors relied on unverified tabloid reports and anecdotal claims, raising doubts about the strength of their case for deporting Khalil. Less than 10 minutes after Khalil, who has no criminal history, was released from the detention center in Jena, Louisiana, the Trump administration filed a notice of appeal. A lawyer representing Khalil vowed to fight the appeal. Khalil helped lead student protests over the war in Gaza, where more than 55,000 people have been killed since Israel launched its war against Hamas. He also participated in negotiations with university officials at Columbia last year, when protests at the Ivy League school gripped national headlines for weeks and inspired similar demonstrations at universities around the world. Some Jewish students at universities across the U.S. reported antisemitic incidents as the protest movement gained traction. Khalil was the first of several foreign academics apprehended by immigration authorities in the first months of Trump's second term. Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk, a doctoral candidate from Turkey, was arrested outside her home in Somerville, Massachusetts, by immigration authorities on March 25. Viral street footage of her arrest showed Department of Homeland Security officials dressed in plain clothes surrounding Öztürk, grabbing her by the wrists and escorting her into an unmarked vehicle. Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old graduate student at Columbia who was born in the West Bank, was apprehended by immigration authorities during his naturalization interview in Vermont. Federal judges also ordered the release of both Öztürk and Mahdawi in recent weeks. Other notable cases include a Georgetown University professor who was detained by ICE and later released after a judicial order, and a Brown University professor who was deported to Lebanon.

Los Angeles Times
36 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Mahmoud Khalil, back home after release from prison, vows to continue protesting Israel's war in Gaza
CONCORD, N.H. — A Palestinian activist who was detained for more than three months pushed his infant son's stroller with one hand and pumped his fist in the air with the other as supporters welcomed him home Saturday. Mahmoud Khalil greeted friends and spoke briefly to reporters Saturday at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey a day after a judge ordered his release from a federal immigration facility in Louisiana. The former Columbia University graduate student, a symbol of President Trump's clampdown on campus protests, vowed to continue protesting Israel's war in the Gaza Strip. 'The U.S. government is funding this genocide, and Columbia University is investing in this genocide,' he said. 'This is why I will continue to protest with every one of you. Not only if they threaten me with detention. Even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Palestine.' Khalil, a legal U.S. resident whose wife gave birth during his 104 days of detention, said he also will speak up for the immigrants he left behind in the detention center. 'Whether you are a citizen, an immigrant, anyone in this land, you're not illegal. That doesn't make you less of a human,' he said. The 30-year-old international affairs student wasn't accused of breaking any laws during the protests at Columbia. However, the Trump administration has said noncitizens who participate in such demonstrations should be expelled from the U.S. for expressing views it deems to be antisemitic or 'pro-Hamas,' referring to the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Khalil was released after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz said it would be 'highly, highly unusual' for the government to continue detaining a legal U.S. resident who was unlikely to flee and hadn't been accused of any violence. The government filed notice Friday evening that it is appealing Khalil's release. Joining Khalil at the airport, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said his detention violated the 1st Amendment and was 'an affront to every American.' 'He has been accused, baselessly, of horrific allegations simply because the Trump administration and our overall establishment disagrees with his political speech,' she said. 'The Trump administration knows that they are waging a losing legal battle,' Ocasio-Cortez added. 'They are violating the law, and they know that they are violating the law.' Ramer writes for the Associated Press.