Quote:
|
Originally Posted by ZFBoxcar
What do you mean by accepting that it is part of the middle east and integrating itself? What is Israel doing now that conflicts with those aims?
The only danger to Israel today is demographic, not economic. Trade with the EU and US has been sufficient for Israeli growth, although they now have significant trade ties with Eastern Europe and East Asia as well. Trade with the Arabs would be great, but if they don't want to, Israel can certainly survive, as its economy is almost the same size as Egypt's, Jordan's, Syria's, and Lebanon's put togethor ($148 billion = Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, $121 billion = Israel [both figures are at official exchange rates]). Oh, and Israel does have full economic relations with Egypt and Jordan, although many of their firms choose not to do business with Israel.
|
Firstly what the hell do you mean by that?
As for Israels economic preformance, heres a far more realistic apprisal than Major Sheks links ( I had got this last year, but usually economic analysis are available about the year before so bear with me).
http://www.brook.edu/fp/saban/events/20031113.pdf#search='Israeli%20economy%20dependant '
Israels largets sectors are in no particular order, tourism,defence, agriculture and softwere, the first is obvioulsy dependant on the security situation, the rest well everyone is hurt by EU farm subsidies, and software is something that is going east. That leaves defence, with India being Israels biggest market, IIRC.
Israels public debt is 101% of the GDP, with an unemployment rate of about 10.6% , and 20% of the popultaion lives below the poverty line, which is less than Jordan, but more than Egypt (16%) and IIRC about the same as Syria.
Israels unemployemnt rate is infact the highest in the region exceptn for Jordan.
Tarde with Arab countries is the states only way forward, (in addition to reconstruction of the economic setup).