ISR.A.EL DIGEST'
Specially` compiled by The Jerusalem Post
--- $1 EQUALS 2.805 NIS (shekels) - Close Price 6130193
Stock Exchange Rebounds
Former Detroiter Mark Davidson
Now Astute Israeli Businessman
RUTH BAUM BIGUS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
W
hen Mark David-
son moved to
Israel in 1961, his
Hebrew ability
was limited to talking
about grapes and crackers.
"I could go to the gro-
cery, but I certainly
couldn't give a lecture," he
says.
Today, the former
Detroiter not only is fluent
in Hebrew, he's a member
of the Central Committee
of the Likud and an astute
businessman who started
his own computer compa-
ny and investment firms,
and is set to open a new
restaurant.
Mr. Davidson, 60, first
considered making aliyah
during the 1950s. He had
befriended a number of
Israelis while serving in
Japan with the U.S. Army.
They encouraged Mr.
Davidson, who held a mas-
ter's degree in internation-
al law, to move to Israel.
"Hearing the salaries
government employees
were making, I dropped
the idea of working in the
foreign service," he says.
"But I fell in love with
Israel. There was a great
deal of pride in those early
days. I found myself very
much home at the time."
After settling perma-
nently in Israel in 1961,
Mr. Davidson taught
English in the Negev. Two
years later, convinced a
teacher's salary wouldn't
go far when he decided to
marry and start a family,
he began selling comput-
ers for IBM.
Newly married, Mr.
Davidson returned briefly
to the United States after
the Six-Day War, working
with the ITT Data Services
Division. But he missed
Israel and went back in
Ruth Baum Bigus is man-
aging editor for the Kansas
City Jewish Chronicle.
The Tel Aviv Stock Ex-
change has rebounded
strongly. Prices have soar-
ed on high turnover,
reflecting investors' reac-
tions to Israel Finance
Minister Avraham Sho-
hat's rejection of a capital
gains tax and rumors that
interest rates are headed
down.
In the past two weeks,
the two-sided index
jumped 6.66 percent, to
close at 199.47 on a
turnover of $71.3 million.
The market registered
excess demanclof more
than $1.3 billion at the
start of trading. Shares
advanced across the board,
with many issues up 5 per-
cent and more
Electric Corp., Elco Compromise
The Elco transformers con-
troversy has ended after
all the parties involved
agreed on the price and
supply of 2,033 transform-
ers to the Israel Electric
Corporation.
The Electric Corp.'s
board of directors gave its
final agreement for Elco to
supply between 700 and
750 transformers. This
leaves the German trans-
former supplier
Starkstrom to supply the
remaining 1,300 or so
transformers to the
Electric Corp.
Iris Signs With U.S. Company
Iris Software announced
it has signed a major
development contract
with a large U.S. soft-
ware publisher to devel-
op a personal computer.
The Israeli company has
Mark Davidson started
developed a strategic
alliance with Cheyenne
Software, whose shares
are traded in New York,
for the development and
marketing of an anti-
virus solution.
Economy Grows In First Quarter
a business in Israel.
1972 following the birth of
his first daughter.
"I said, 'Raising children
is not for the United
States. We do that in
Israel.'
"The identification with
the Jewish people was
important, and what I saw
in the United States, look-
ing at my high school class
and what happened to
those people, I would say
at least 70 percent of them
had fallen away from any
real Jewish identification
other than maybe giving to
the United Jewish Appeal
when they were called
once a year," he said. "Any
real affiliation with under-
standing our tradition and
our history and our lan-
guage and literature —
this was almost nonexis-
tent (in the United States).
I knew they could get that
here."
When he resettled in
Israel in the '70s, Mr.
Davidson started his own
computer output microfilm
company, which he sold
several years ago. Today,
he keeps busy with his
investment companies,
AMIIIIMilliftwomeemmosawarluammast.
Danel Industries and
Simodan.
"Between these two, we
funnel money into various
industries and enterprises
here in Israel," he said.
Mr. Davidson's own
investment in Israel has
paid off. He spends his free
time on his 34-foot sail-
boat, Princess Dy (named
for his daughters Dana
and Yael) and taking ski-
ing trips around the world.
His next business project
is opening a Texas-style
barbecue, "Texas Jack's,"
in Herzliya.
Mr. Davidson believes
that, like a strong mili-
tary, a strong economy is
key for Israel's security.
"We need investment
and properly run business-
es," he said. "Americans,
who have money and have
been successful, can con-
tribute directly a great
deal to this country by not
just throwing money at
this country through Israel
Bonds only, but buying
into companies and sitting
on the boards, giving their
advice and coming over
every quarter." ❑
The Israeli economy grew
an impressive 2 percent in
the first quarter of the
year, while partial figures
for April and May show
that economic activity
stalled due to the closure
of the territories, according
to a Central Bureau of
Statistics report.
Business activity grew 2_
percent in the first quarter
and reflected a sharp 8
percent reduction m build-
ing activity compared to
the previous quarter.
The industrial product,
.
which makes up a third of
the business product, was
8 percent higher in the
first quarter of the year
than in the same quarter
last year
Both the number of
work hours and workers
increased significantly
since the first quarter of
1992. Total work hours
increased 5 percent, and
there were 80,000 more
workers in the first quar-
ter of the year than in the
first quarter of 1992.
Companies Production Decrease
The number of Israeli com-
panies reporting a fall in
production rose to 27 per-
cent in the second quarter
from 11 percent in the first
quarter, according to
Histadrut figures.
But the labor federa-
tion's
Institute
for
Economic and Social
Research also said that 41
percent of the companies
reported an increase in
production, as compared to
36 percent during the first
quarter.
Interest Rates May Come Down
Interest rates will be corn-
ing down soon, Bank of
Israel Governor Jacob
Frenkel has hinted.
The Treasury and the
business community are
pressing for the lower
rates out of fear that eco-
nomic growth may other-
wise stall. Economic ana-
lysts said they were
expecting the move follow-
ing the low 0.3 consumer
price index in May, which
indicated that inflation
was receding. In addi-
tion, they pointed out that
since March the foreign
exchange market has been
very stable, with the public
mostly selling its foreign
exchange holdings.
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