Naftali Bennett has served as Israel’s defense minister, education minister and economics minister, and most recently he has emerged as the leading candidate to unseat longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But despite an equally illustrious background as a high-tech entrepreneur, the 48-year-old Bennett wasn’t quite up to speed about Nokia. In a September newspaper interview, the leader of the right-wing … Read More
Israeli politics are moving in the opposite direction to America: the demographics play to the right. A Biden-style victory could simply never happen here. Op-ed published in Haaretz. With Israel seemingly headed toward another election, many long-languishing opposition forces are hoping that Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump in the United States can be a harbinger of the Israeli version of … Read More
Will Smith’s I, Robot sees machine algorithms evolving to control humanity and inherit the earth. Ex Machina’s humanoid robot, Eva, betrays and kills her creator and hapless savior, Caleb. And Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator is a cyborg assassin sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor, preventing her from giving birth to a son (who will eventually lead rebels against the machines that have taken over … Read More
It’s the buzzword de jour of our rapid technological advancement. But what exactly is the fourth industrial revolution and how is it truly revolutionary? For starters, your job may disappear, your city could be transformed, technology will mesh with your body and the current lightning speed of innovation you are experiencing will just get faster. The bombastic phrase itself was … Read More
In a country rife with deep disputes, the local Nokia office offers a rare haven in which Israel’s various tribes come together. The two-story hub in the high-tech zone of the central Israeli city of Kfar Saba houses a variety of engineers from Nokia Software, researchers from Bell Labs and salespeople to local service providers. But in a larger sense … Read More
CRM? SMP? KPI? It’s enough to make you cry out for an SOS. What is it with all these high-tech acronyms? I know every industry has them, but from my brief experience at Nokia it seems like here it’s a way of life, an initiation of sorts into a nerdy private society that weeds out those of us who aren’t … Read More
To mark my first month at Nokia, it seemed fitting to pause for a moment to summarize my initial observations about the stark transition I made from the world of journalism. There is a lot to absorb in this personal and professional upheaval, ranging from the new jargon through the meetings-centric working environment to the advanced personal tech and even the office … Read More
News of last month’s massive data breach in Finland, in which thousands of psychotherapy patients in the country discovered that their confidential records had been hacked and they were now facing blackmail, sent shockwaves through the typically stoic Nordic nation. But for Nokia UX designer Aapo Puskala it was a call to action. As a trained psychologist, he could relate to the … Read More
In 15 years as a Mideast correspondent for the Associated Press, I received countless e-mails from readers to the thousands of stories I’d written. Most complained, critiqued and even threatened. But I never encountered anything quite like the one that arrived on June 6, 2020. Responding to a global roundup about those who’d lost their jobs to the coronavirus pandemic, … Read More
AL-DHAFRA AIR BASE, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Jared Kushner and U.S. officials visited a major air base in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, speaking to Emirati and American pilots on the tarmac, as Iran’s supreme leader called the UAE’s recognition of Israel “treason that will not last for long.” The U.S.-brokered deal to establish diplomatic relations between Israel … Read More
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — In less than 24 hours on the ground, Israel’s first-of-its-kind delegation to the United Arab Emirates received a warm welcome that would have been nearly unthinkable just a few weeks ago. Dozens of Israeli officials and their accompanying traveling press corps got a dizzying taste of Abu Dhabi’s glamorous hotels, historic landmarks and scorching climate. … Read More
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Star of David-adorned El Al plane flew from Israel to the United Arab Emirates on Monday, carrying a high-ranking American and Israeli delegation to Abu Dhabi in the first-ever direct commercial passenger flight between the two countries. The Israeli flag carrier’s flight marked the implementation of the historic U.S.-brokered deal to normalize relations between … Read More
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — From the Israeli captain’s emotional greeting in Arabic upon takeoff in Tel Aviv, to the warm Emirati reception on the ground in scorching Abu Dhabi, it was obvious this was no typical flight. Monday’s El Al flight LY971 marked the first-ever direct flight from Israel to the United Arab Emirates, placing a significant stamp on … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — For eager Israelis, anticipation is mounting that Dubai’s glitzy Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, will soon join the ranks of the Pyramids in Egypt and the ancient ruins in Jordan’s Petra as a once-forbidden destination now within reach. Last week, the United Arab Emirates said it would establish full diplomatic ties with Israel, which would make … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival, Benny Gantz, agreed to form an “emergency” government in May after three bitter and deadlocked election campaigns, the goal was to stabilize Israeli politics in the face of a global pandemic. But less than 100 days later, their fractious coalition government could be headed toward collapse as Israel grapples … Read More