On September 5, the members of the Diamond Exchane gathered to celebrate Rosh Hashana, in the presence of His Excellency Rabbi Lau, Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon, President of the Israel Diamond Exchange Yoram Dvash, Diamond Inspector Mr. Danny Tal, President of the Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association Mr. Kobi Koren, IDI Chairman Mr. Boaz Moldawsky and members of the IDE Board of Directors.
This year, too, the participants received the blessing of Rabbi Lau. The Rabbi is a member of the Diamond Exchange and an integral part of their life. The President of the IDE, Yoram Dvash, thanked the rabbi for coming and wished him good health.
The participation of Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Cabinet Secretary Tzahi Braverman at a diamond exchange ceremony is not an obvious thing in the life of the industry. In recent years, the connection between the exchange and the government of Israel, and especially the Minister of Finance, has tightened.
Minister of Finance Kahlon is a true friend of the diamond industry. He is ready to listen at all times and assisting in developing the industry, and this friendship is the most significant that the IDE has received in recent years. He was one of the initiators and originators of the inter-ministerial committee, in which the IDE won a precedent and received a budget of NIS 3 million a year from the Ministry of Economics for marketing, exhibitions and bringing foreign buyers to Israel. This amount has already begun to enter the IDI coffers and the first action was a global campaign to bring buyers to Israel. In October-December, the diamond exchange will finance tickets for buyers who will prove that they bought goods worth $ 150,000 or more in Israel. This year opens with the goal of stimulating trade and bringing more and more buyers to Israel, as this move is the first of a series of moves made in the context of the support funds received from the government.
"The assistance received now is a precedent and I am sure it will be a significant injection of energy, but the cardinal problems of the industry still need to be continued in finding the solution." Said the exchange's president, Yoram Dvash, during the ceremony. "The industry is in need of a stable backwind of finance and government." The diamond industry is one of the most important sectors of the economy, Of the State of Israel and its growth will pay off at the end of the day to the Israeli economy as a whole"
The president of the exchange also referred to his participation in the WFDB Asia Conference held this year in Vladivostok, and provided an opportunity for discussion and meeting with presidents from various countries that held in a very remote location on the border of Russia and China. The central issue discussed at the conference is the issue of synthetic diamonds, which has many implications for the global industry. At this stage, the implications in the near future are more related to small stones and pose a major threat to India and less to the Israeli industry. At the global level, the DPA, together with the WFDB and the CIBJO Jewelery Federation, are working with a large law firm and public relations firm in Washington to find solutions to the issue. "At the local level, a special committee headed by Mr. Hezi Bloom and a joint committee With the Diamond Inspector, Mr. Danny Tal, and this committee was set up to study the subject, but more than that, to examine the best methods of action so that the issue will not harm us.
The president also referred to the real estate plan, and said that recently it had been announced that the Ramat Gan municipality had taken significant steps to expedite approval of the plans in the district committee.
In conclusion, the President congratulated those present for the New Year:
"Let it be a year of joy and good health, a year of free love between us and of course a year of prosperity and success in the work of our hands."
