Idan Grinbaum

Idan Grinbaum is a senior economy editor and a leading financial correspondent with vast experience in the Israeli media arena. Today he is the editor and presenter of a daily TV financial magazine named "Sogrim Heshbon" (Closing the Deal).

Israel | Jul 17, 2014

Israel's tourism industry declines while tech sector surges

While hotels, factories and small businesses in Israel are suffering in the current round of fighting, the Israeli "startup nation" is still flourishing.

Tourists sit at a lookout point on the Mount of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem's Old City May 25, 2011. The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem's Old City is seen in the background. Palestinians and Israelis alike saw little prospect of a fresh start to Middle East peace talks on Wednesday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's keynote speech to Congress. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION TRAVEL) - RTR2MVI2

Israel | Apr 3, 2013

Israel's Natural Gas Brings Opportunity, Choices

With natural gas flowing to Israel from the bottom of the sea, the energy revolution is happening while the government delays crucial decisions, writes Idan Grinbaum.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA, ISRAEL - MARCH 28: In this handout image provided by Albatross, The Tamar drilling natural gas production platform is seen some 25 kilometers West of the Ashkelon shore on March 28, 2013 in Israel. The offshore Tamar drilling site which was originally dispatched from a shipyard in Texas at the end of last year is due to start producing natural gas next week. Over the past few years Israel has suffered from a shortage in natural gas, but with the new platform that weighs 34,000 tons and w

Israel | Mar 28, 2013

Land of Milk and HoneyFor Few Israelis

Successive Israeli governments have allowed international and Israeli companies to profit unfairly from natural resources that should benefit all Israelis, writes Idan Grinbaum.

Snow boarders ride a ski lift on Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights near the Israel-Syria border February 7, 2010. The Golan Heights form a strategic plateau between Israel and Syria of about 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles). Israel captured it in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally.
REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (ISRAEL - Tags: ENVIRONMENT TRAVEL SOCIETY) - RTR29XGT

Israel | Mar 13, 2013

Knesset Members Spend Big On 'Contact With the Electorate'

Knesset Members spend unnecessarily large sums of money in the context of ''sustaining contact with the electorate," writes Idan Grinbaum.

Members of the 19th Knesset, the new Israeli parliament, stand as President Shimon Peres arrives to their swearing-in ceremony at the parliament in Jerusalem February 5, 2013. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DDTH

Israel | Feb 25, 2013

Israel Cannot Afford to Cut Benefits for Children

Cutting already-low child benefits in Israel under the pretext of equal sharing of the economic burden is liable to cause irreparable damage, warns Idan Grinbaum.

Children wearing costumes for the Jewish holiday of Purim wait to get out of a car in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighbourhood February 25, 2013. Purim is a celebration of the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Book of Esther. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION) - RTR3E9X6

Israel | Feb 20, 2013

Israel's Labor Unions Maintain Stranglehold on Economy

Social justice in Israel won't be achieved as long as major labor unions hold monopolies, writes Idan Grinbaum.

Labour party leader Shelly Yachimovich gestures during a ceremony for Tu Bishvat, the Jewish arbor day, in Ben-Shemen forest, near the Israeli town of Modiin between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem January 20, 2013. Opinion polls have shown Labour, which ruled Israel for decades but now holds only eight seats in parliament, bouncing back to second place behind Likud under new leader Yachimovich. REUTERS/ Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3COPJ

Israel | Feb 11, 2013

Drafting Ultra-Orthodox Is No Solution

Underlying the heated controversy over the enlistment of ultra-Orthodox men is a far more fateful question — that of their integration into the work force, writes Idan Grinbaum.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men sign documents at the offices of Israel's Administration for National Civil Service in Jerusalem January 6, 2013. For the first time since the August 1 expiration of the so-called Tal Law that exempted ultra-Orthodox seminary students from military conscription, dozens of scholars signed up on Sunday for alternative civilian service which, upon completion, will entitle them to avoid the draft. Some 1,300 seminary students are slated to join the program by August 2013, or until Isra

Israel | Feb 4, 2013

Israeli Middle Class Only Dreams of the Good Life

Idan Grinbaum analyzes who exactly makes up Israel's middle class and what economic challenges they face.

Israelis take part in a demonstration calling for lower living costs and social justice in Tel Aviv September 3, 2011. Hundreds of thousands marched on Saturday for lower living costs in the largest such rally in Israel's history, bolstering a social change movement and mounting pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take on economic reform. Protest leaders called it "the moment of truth" for the grassroots movement that has swollen since July from a cluster of student tent-squatters into a countr

Israel | Jan 30, 2013

Israel Defense Budget Can Be Cut

Idan Grinbaum calls for a serious public debate and major cuts in the Israel defense budget.

A general view of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, is seen during a session boycotted by the opposition parties in Jerusalem June 17, 2009. Israel's parliament is expected to give its initial approval to the 2009 and 2010 state budgets later on Wednesday. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTR24QNR

Israel | Jan 10, 2013

Bank of Israel Governor Calls for Higher Taxes

The governor of the Bank of Israel, Stanley Fischer, concerned over a possible fiscal cliff, urges the next government to do the right decision: raise taxes, despite the heavy political price, writes Idan Gribaum.