The troubled intentions often leave to concerns for the Global Economy. Trade and business have been at the heart of new Peace Agreements between israel and some of her original neighbours. The Abraham Accords were signed at the white house just over three years ago, normalising israels relations with the United Arab Emirates and bahrain. Morocco and sudan laterjoined, expanding israels first new Peace Agreement says the deal signed with egypt in 1979 and jordan in 1994. To with egypt in 1979 and jordan in 1994. ,. ,. ,. , � , in 1994. To all of israels friends in 1994. To all of israels friends in in 1994. To all of israels friends in the in 1994. To all of israels friends in the middle in 1994. To all of israels l friends in the middle east, those who are with us today and those who are with us today and those who are with us today and those who will join those who are with us today and those who willjoin us tomorrow, i say peace and today. Before the accords, israels Middle East Goods Trade was worth just over five and a half billion dollars and focused on turkey. But with new partners, its more than doubled to 11. 4 billion last year. There have been growing ties in industries, including israels renowned high tech sector, as well as defense equipment, diamonds and tourism. And with israels Economic Growth forecast to fall from six and a half percent last year to 3. 3 this year, the new political will that made that happen was much needed. Its economy has suffered in recent months because investors have been concerned about the impact of the governments judicial reforms, which have also helped weaken the currency. However, since the war began, the governor of israels central bank has said the economy is well positioned to absorb the economic impact. Even though israel and gazas economies are largely separated. There is a dependence before this latest round of violence completely closed the borders. Some 18,000 gazans crossed into israel every day to work. Many, as you can see here, are now stuck in the west bank. They were bringing much needed cash back with them to what is one of the poorest territories in the world. We dont know when or even if that will resume. And internationally, there are fears that a protracted conflict could also hurt the Global Economy. We hope this ends soon and is contained. Our biggest fear is if it widens, because that would then have a real, really big impact on trade. There is uncertainty about whether this is going to spread further to the whole region, which could impact very much on global Economic Growth. Well, if there is a substantial economic impact, israel will certainly feel it and its much revered tech sector would be the heart of that. So ive been speaking to the Chief Executive of 0urcrowd, which is one of israels leading tech investment firms. Jon medved, thank you very much for talking to us. Can i start by asking about the impact the war is having on israels economy . Can i start by asking about the impact the war is having on israels economy . Because at the last count, 360,000 reservists have been called up to the army, and thats10 or around 10 of the workforce. Its having a significant impact, but not in the way that you would probably anticipate. Many of our people are called up and in the Tech Community its even a higher percentage generally because reservists or people in the age between 20 and 35. And thats sort of prime territory for for the tech work staff. However, it turns out that were pretty resilient and this is not our first crisis. Israel has managed its way through not only previous wars, but things like the pandemic and rather good fashion. And what happens is that when people are out serving the country in the reserves, we have experience with that every year. Every reservist goes for a month or two anyway, and we know how to cover for them. In particular, the Tech Community is providing leadership also to use this technology for the various Special Forces Units and other units in the army. Jon, you mentioned new tools that the Israeli Tech Sector has been able to put into the hands of the military at short notice. Can you offer any insight as to what they are . Preferably not too much detail, but ill give you this the broad sectors which are pretty obvious. Were very good at cybersecurity, and thats both offensive and defensive. In order to eliminate the hamas leadership, we need to find them and track them down. We have a Company Called syabra who is really leading in terms of the fighting, the fake news. Theyve discovered over A Hundred Thousand iranian bots that have been created to spread this disinformation. Theres also call it robotics and tele operated vehicles. I wont go into too much detail there, but you can imagine how important these are in terms of saving our soldiers lives and bringing the war to the enemy in the most effective manner. And then perhaps the one that were most proud of here is our portfolio Company Called imprest, which happens to be the provider of all the software that runs the iron dome anti missile system, which is really one of the wonders of the technology world, the fact that were able to protect so many people from this horrible, evil, sort of indiscriminate, targeted missiles against civilians. I want to ask you, jon, now about the Abraham Accords signed just three years ago, normalizing relations with uae, bahrain and others, also starting new trade relationships important for your industry. Obviously, the tech industry, if benefit is in particular, what have they meant for you and for israeli business in general . They have been a complete and total game changer. The Abraham Accords brought down what i call the sand curtain, which is equivalent really to the iron curtain, and the same kind of important sort of foundational moment that occurred when east and Western Europe came together is happening now in the middle east. And while there may or may not be momentary setbacks and ups and downs in this process, theres no stopping the process. And weve been very active at 0urcrowd in terms of working with the emiratis, the moroccans, the bahrainis, and were very hopeful that this circle will soon expand to include saudi arabia. I visited there several times and i have an enormous interest and appreciation for what theyre doing in the Technology Area and theres going to be tremendous ability to cooperate with them. Ijust think this is a great thing for humanity, for the world. And one thing the accords did, of course, was, as you say, strengthened relations through trade. But some of those partners have been somewhat quiet about this latest israel hamas conflict. I wonder from the Business Leaders that you speak to across the region, whats your sense of how theyve changed the dynamic . Theres a difference between what you say in public and what you say in private, for sure. But even the public statements have actually been much better than in the past and have been heartening. And these kinds of processes, we are bringing people together to friendship and to cooperation and to prosperity. After decades of hostility or animosity, they dont happen overnight. You cantjust snap your finger and say, okay, lets sing kumbaya and be buddies. Its about Building Relationships is about Finding Commonality and common ground. But are you concerned that the business links that have been forged could be unraveled because of the turmoil that were seeing . Lets just say that im conscious that thats always a possibility, but i dont see it happening. And, in fact, im very, very proud of our partnerships. I mean, weve got a Subsidiary Working in abu dhabi with dozens of people. Were continuing to hire more people there. It doesnt look like this war is going to end quickly. And i wonder if youre concerned that if it drags on, then could investments into israel and the region suffer if it goes on for six months or more than that . Suffer . If it goes on for six months or more than that . So thats a problem. But i think that well resolve this in a reasonable time frame. I mean, look, any war is not reasonable, right . In other words, we would love a situation where we didnt have to fight a war. I think that what weve seen every time weve gone to war is that the israeli economy has further grown. After the war is resolved, stock market goes up, investment goes up, money will pour in. And im sure thats going to happen this time. Prior to the recent attacks, there had been growing speculation that saudi arabia and israel could sign some kind of peace deal, which would, of course, be a massive economic boost to the region. So far, the Saudi Crown Prince mohammed bin salman� s, been trying to calm the conflict. Hes also emphasized the kingdoms support for what he described as a just peace that ensured the rights of palestinians. Is there a point whereby if Israel Inflicts too much damage in trying to eliminate hamas, that it could jeopardize a deal like that . Look, i think that again, israel is is being careful and is going to be increasingly careful to make sure that the palestinians are as unaffected as possible in this and that we literally just deal with the hamas, you know, evil that has afflicted us. And on the other hand, theres no guarantee that that, you know, can happen. Its not, you know, impossible that there will be mistakes made or people too many civilians hurt. And so therefore, there will be, you know, a correlation between how that plays out and, you know, how quickly we can recover and get back on the on the process of building these ties. I am very optimistic that we will resume, if not already, going on at the moment, discussions with the saudis. Joe medved, thank you very much. My pleasure. Well, while its important to remember that thousands have died and the death toll continues to rise in both israel and gaza, we wanted to get a better understanding of the Abraham Accords and how business and trade was key to their success and the hope that they could offer. So ive been speaking to one of their main architects, a man who was one of president trumps senior advisors on the middle east and is now at the Heritage Foundation think tank in washington. Rob greenway, thank you forjoining us. Its been three years now since the Abraham Accords were first signed. What would you say theyve achieved up until now in terms of business and trade that simply wasnt there beforehand . Look, the agreements were recognized as historic, the first Peace Agreements between israel and its look, the agreements were recognized as historic, the first Peace Agreements between israel and its neighbors in a generation. In terms of business, i think weve seen probably the most progress. In some ways you would expect it. In other ways, i think its been surprising and encouraging. So, for example, in 2019, the overall value of trade between israel and the accord member countries after concluding the agreements was about 500 million and in 2022 it climbed to 3. 7 billion. In this year, despite ongoing events, we expect it to rise, which is a significant volume. And many of the abraham accord countries are now in the top ten of israels trading partners, which is saying a lot in regional integration in terms of israel and its neighbors, i think holds tremendous economic progress. And we forecasted previously when i worked at the Abraham Accords peace institute, the value and bilateral relationships could exceed 24 billion, and thats the goal. Those business and trade ties have clearly been positive, but what further benefits would you say have been built on top of them . Well, i think theres also been a tremendous amount of movement of individuals between countries that previously really had minimal, in some cases, no travel or transit or contact between the populations. Some 470,000 Israelis Travel To Abraham Accord member countries last year. And again, we expect that number to increase year over year. Did you at the time or indeed do you now foresee any potential to apply the same principles to find a lasting peace between israel and the palestinians . Well, the judgment was always that we should pursue progress between israel and its neighbors, regardless of whether or not we could overcome the tremendous difficulties that exist between the israelis and the palestinians from a political level. And that was the appetite really among the countries in the regions with whom we had many conversations. Ultimately, i do think expansion is absolutely probable. But when it comes to stronger trade ties between israel and the palestinians at the time, did you see that as having potential . We absolutely did. All of the countries thatjoined the accord peace between the israelis and the palestinians. And in fact, because of the work done in the peace to prosperity plan, a lot of those ideas and initiatives were designed to be implemented by the Abraham Accords member countries. And you may recall in the weeks after the accords were concluded, we established an abraham fund. Resources from accord member countries and those made by the United States from the Development Finance corporation, the export import bank, designed specifically to aid palestinian infrastructure projects. An example of that is improving the personnel checkpoints between the territories so that workers could move freely across the border. And my hope is i think everyones hope is that that will commence regardless of the present difficulties that that ultimately that promise and that potential is still there. Up until recently, israel allowed around 18,000 people to cross from gaza into israel every day to work. That brought around 2 million a day into gaza. Just explain how important a source of cash thats been to the economy there. Well, i think it obviously wasnt important enough for them to protect it because what happened and what transpired, the horrific attack by terrorists and hamas sponsored by their corporate Ownership Back in tehran ultimately put that not only in jeopardy, but may prevent it from happening in the nearfuture at all. And its incredibly unfortunate because the longest suffering people here under hamas rule in gaza will continue to suffer so long as the individual is in hamas. The terrorists and hamas view their aims and objectives to exterminate israel are more important than the benefits derive for their own people. The outrage in the west has been unprecedented. But even among the signatories of the Abraham Accords has been somewhat muted. Do you think thats the case of trying to preserve trade links without alienating other arab countries . So it is an interesting phenomenon. And in myjudgment, the explanation is really in the United States approach to this, all of the countries in the region will tell you, as theyve told me, that they cant be more pro israel than the United States. And if theres hesitation on the part of the United States commitment to israel, then their hesitation will mirror that. And also, if the United States is not willing to protect its interests and safeguard its interests and its partners and allies in the region, then they wont be able to take the risks, the risks that resulted in the Abraham Accords, but that proved beneficial. And so, in myjudgment, so long as the United States hesitates in pursuing a relationship with our partners and allies in the region, chiefly israel, and confronts our adversaries like iran, hamas and the other Terrorist Surrogates and proxies in the region, then were going to see hesitance on the part of the accord, member countries and prospective members, but its not permanent and its not their native disposition. And so i suspect that well be able to reverse course. I hope we do. Are you concerned that some countries might try to pull out of the accords, perhaps if they think israel has gone too far in its response to the attacks . So i think the possibility is there. And again, my hope is that the United States will ensure that the conflict doesnt escalate. I think thats our primary responsibility, and i think its in our primary interest. And my hope is that well be able to do it. And if we do, the accords will certainly endure and i think as a result of it will encourage others to join. The next big thing thats been talked about is an israel saudi deal. Just a few weeks ago, the Saudi Crown Prince said it was getting closer each day. Do you think thats now been kicked into the long grass . Again, it is largely reflective of how the us approaches the region. If we support our partners and allies, i think it gives them the space and it gives them the incentive to normalize diplomatic relations with israel as our principal partner and our strategic ally in the region. And as long as we are hesitant and as long as the Us Administration Appeases Tehran and provides the resources to threaten not only israel but saudi arabia and other countries, then theres going to be tremendous reluctance in order to join. Ultimately, i think well see normalization. Its more a matter of when. Rob greenway, thank you forjoining us. Thank you. Appreciate it. Now for a change of landscape altogether, selling high end art is a tricky business. Altogether, selling high end at the best of times. Altogether, selling high end theres a limited supply of pieces that are so sought after that its worth auctioning them. Theres also a limited supply of people who have enough cash to buy things that are very much luxuries rather than necessities. But despite that, somehow its kept one of the biggest names. The uk founded sotheby� s, in business for almost 300 years and it has yet another major sale lined up in the coming weeks. So ive been catching up with its Chief Executive, charles stewart. Thank you very much forjoining us. So next month you are selling a whole host of pictures previously owned by the major new york collector, Emily Fisher Landau. And it includes lots of works by 20th century greats like Pablo Picasso and mark rothko. With a collection as significant as this, how important is the timing, especially when we think about how fragile the Global Economy is right now . Well, the Emily Fisher Landau collection is one of the great Art Collections of the 20th century. And one thing weve seen in the art market is particular interest and focus on great single owner collections. So we know theres going to be a lot of global interest in focus in this collection because both the work itself, but also the patina as a function of mrs fisher landaus extraordinary eye and visionary collecting journey over many decades. So were very excited to bring it to the market this fall in our largest sale of the year. As you say, it is one of the great collections of the 20th century. And with that in mind, do you feel in any way responsible for helping to ensure that these pieces remain accessible to the public, that they dont disappear from public view . Absolutely, in the sense that our mission is to promote access and ownership to extraordinary works of art and luxury objects. So we dont control exactly where the work ends up. But certainly we hope and expect that some of it. Much of it, will be seen again and available to the public. So in an economic climate where of course, Interest Rates are at generational highs and people can make pretty good returns and pretty safe investments like government debt, i wonder, are you finding less appetite to spend money on art auctions . I think as you look Around The World, you know, theres certainly a different economic climate in some areas, some weakness, but still exceptional focus and demand forfresh, very high Quality Works of art, which is what were bringing to the market this fall. So when you see all the suffering that is going on in the world right now, not least of course, in israel and gaza, but also the economic suffering in other parts of the world. I wonder, is there any part of you that wishes that the buyers might put their substantial sums of money into what some people might call a better use . Well, i think that im not sure how i would respond to the, you know, the question of there being a better use. I actually think that in moments of conflict, that art and culture provide inspiration, provide comfort, provide a lens and a form of dialogue. So im not suggesting in any way that that this is, you know, a substitute for diminishes diminishes the suffering thats going on, particularly in the middle east at the moment. But at the same time, i would never suggest that, you know, supporting art and culture is anything other than a great use of peoples time and resources. Now, weve seen figures from the Investment Bank ubs showing that the us, the uk and china are the three biggest art markets. But of course we know theyre on very different economic trajectories right now. So in your experience, where are the actual buyers coming from . We definitely see the art world, especially as a very global audience. We had bidding from 134 countries last year. That said, weve definitely seen strength and relative strength in the us amongst both buyers and sellers where perhaps theres a bit more conviction about Interest Rates starting to stabilise. Thats been a positive for us, but a lot of the new buyers and a lot of the Growth Activity does come from asia. Which parts of asia in particular . 0bviously China is the massive economy in the region. Weve seen increased activity and interest coming out of southeast asia, out of korea. Japan has been an important market for a long time and continues to be so. Its notjust a china story, thats for sure. I should have mentioned taiwan as well. Now weve been looking at your most recent uk accounts and they report a big fall in art being imported into the uk since brexit. Those accounts laments the impact of brexit for creating extra red tape and extra taxes. So i wonder, with london being so important for your industry, how damaging would you say brexit has been for sotheby� s . There are some effects of brexit and i think theres still work to be done in terms of simplifying and and making the uk accessible globally as one of the preeminent centres for art and culture in the world, even though there continues to be some work to be done, i think around elements of taxation, Import Export and defining the vision for london as a centre for Global Culture and art in the many years ahead. Now, historically, sotheby� s has been located in big cities london, new york, hong kong and of course youre expanding in paris next year. These are traditional powerhouses of global wealth. But i wonder, are there any other cities in your plans, beijing or sao paolo . Weve over the last few years, actually opened several galleries in cities Around The World that range from cologne to monaco to Korea To Aspen and palm beach in the states, in addition to the bigger centres that you mentioned. And so absolutely, we are trying to be closer to our collectors. You know, thats a thats an approach that is that has served us well. Charles stewart, thank you forjoining us. Thank you very much. Well, that is all for this week. You can keep up with all the latest in the Global Economy on the bbc news website and smartphone app. And dont forget, you can get in touch with me and some of the team on social media. Thanks for watching. Bye bye. Hello. Although storm babet is now easing away, well continue to see flooding and disruption over the next day or so. Now, lets just take a look at where the rain has fallen over the past 24 hours. Its been heavy and persistent across parts of england, wales and particularly for northern and eastern scotland, too. If we have a look atjust how much rain has fallen since wednesday with this storm babet, many areas have seen between 100 and 200 millimetres. Now for places, thats almost twice the expected monthly rainfall. Thankfully, though, sunday is looking drier with lighter winds, too. So a window of much quieter weather on the way for the rest of the overnight period through into the early hours of monday. Still a few showers around across the far north of scotland, one or two in the west. Elsewhere, two to nine degrees are overnight lows for most of us. Could be a touch cooler first thing in the countryside. But the low pressure thats been such a troublemaker over recent days is drifting away towards the north. On sunday, the isobars become more widely spaced, showing that its not going to be as windy as it has been. The breeze just coming in from a westerly direction. So that will bring one or two showers for northwest scotland, perhaps a few for wales, the southwest of england as well. But as they drift eastwards, they tend to ease away so much drier thankfully for eastern scotland, right down towards east anglia in the southeast, a largely dry day towards Northern Ireland too, and temperatures ranging between around about ten for stornoway to about 16 down towards the london region. But then we will see the next area of low pressure just moving in later on monday. Now this is storm bernard. Its been named by the portuguese Weather Service and its going to bring the next spell of wet and windy weather on monday. So we start off monday on a dry note and mist and some fog patches. Could be a touch of frost, but it clouds over from the south and during the afternoon this area of rain will spill its way in. To the north of that, most places looking dry around about 10 to 16 degrees. But the wet and the windy weather in the south Willjust Push its way a little bit further north. So into tuesday, you can see where were expecting to see some showers around, turning a little bit breezy again towards the east coast, a bit of uncertainty exactly where this rainfall is going to be by this stage, but could be quite unwelcome for some of us, turning a little bit milder as we see The Rain Coming in from the south after that window of drier weather for some of us sunday into monday, things really are looking fairly autumnal and unsettled through much of the week ahead. Bye for now. Live from washington, this is bbc news. The un says it is negotiating for a second convoy of aid to be allowed into gaza on sunday. 20 truckloads crossed from egypt earlier, the first since israel imposed a total siege on the strip. Israels military says it is stepping up its airstrikes on gaza to put further pressure on hamas ahead of a possible major ground offensive. And a message from the family of the american hostages released by hamas, as efforts to free the remaining captives continue. Im helena humphrey, good to have you with us. A Glimmer Of Hope today at the temporary opening of the crossing point between egypt and the gaza strip. Hundreds of trucks are waiting to enter on the egyptian side, but 20 trucks were allowed through with vital humanitarian aid. The Rafah Crossing has been closed since hamas carried out its bloody attack in israel two weeks ago, and aid agencies say the situation in gaza is now catastrophic, with the territory under siege and constant israeli bombardment. The convoy that entered gaza was carrying food, water and medicine, which have been running out. But israel refused to allow in fuel needed to power Hospital Generators and water pumping stations. The un says at least 100 aid trucks are needed every day to cover gazas essential needs and that it is negotiating
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