03b Israel

Intel has announced the acquisition of Israeli quantum computing software company Classiq for $2.2 billion. This is the biggest-ever acquisition of a quantum computing company and the second biggest acquisition in Israel by Intel after the $15.3 billion acquisition of Mobileye in 2017. Tel Aviv-based Classiq has developed an operating system for quantum computers.

This acquisition represents not only a gamble for Intel, which is mainly focused on developing and manufacturing core chips for computers and servers, on the quantum computing market, but also an entry into the realm of operating systems. In many respects, the deal is reminiscent of Google’s acquisition of Android, which was a pioneering operating system for mobile phones, enabling Google to gain a foothold in a vast number of mobile devices during the mobile revolution and, in the process, to exert control over aspects of their hardware.

Classiq, founded by CEO Nir Minerbi, along with Yehuda and Amir Naveh (a father and son serving as CTO and CPO respectively), will become Intel’s global development center for quantum computing. Beyond being the largest quantum-related acquisition in history, this deal marks the acquisition of an Israeli quantum company and represents the first time a big tech firm has purchased technology in this sector.

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL — Campaign banners bearing the faces of Israel’s political leaders cover buildings and roadsides, while in homes, coffee shops and family gatherings, the same question dominates conversations: Will Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remain in power?

With Israelis heading to the polls Tuesday, the country is bracing for a closely contested election that could end in another political deadlock. But this vote is unlike any other in Israel’s recent history.

For many Israelis, the election has become a referendum on accountability for the failures that allowed Hamas terrorists to carry out the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre — the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.

Many saw this as a make-or-break election to defeat Israel’s most right-wing-ever government, accusing it of stoking racism and hatred.

A huge caveat in all of the current analysis is that the high number of as-yet-uncounted absentee ballots – mostly representing the votes of Israeli soldiers – mean that we are not expecting to have a clear idea of the final results for another day or two.

Overnight, both Netanyahu and Eisenkot addressed their supporters, pledging to form the next government.

“The right-wing bloc has a clear, decisive majority among the Zionist public, among the Jewish public and all those who support the Jewish state. That is what has become clear. A decisive majority,” the PM told his celebrating supporters – although he stopped short of declaring victory.

“We must form a strong, national, right-wing government. That is what must be done,” he added.

“The public has chosen change,” Eisenkot told his Yashar party after exit polls came out – most of which were initially more favourable to the opposition. “The coalition of failure has lost the people’s trust. The Israeli public voted against Benjamin Netanyahu continuing as prime minister.”

“I will work with my partners to ensure that the people’s decision is translated into a Zionist government: stable and good for all of Israeli’s citizens. And quickly – because that is what this moment demands, and because the country needs to be brought back together.”

The current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on US aid to Israel expires in 2028, and no solution is yet in sight for the decade beginning in 2029. While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remarked over the weekend that Israel can no longer rely on US defense assistance in its current form, urging the economy to prepare for a significant shift, *Globes* has learned that the primary point of contention between Jerusalem and Washington on aid does not concern the financial aspect, but rather the issue of cooperation.

As part of their demands, US officials are seeking not merely the sharing of knowledge, but the transfer of Israeli expertise to the US, to be managed by the US including patents and joint development programs. This is a scenario that Israel cannot accept: the erosion of the fundamental technological advantage held by its defense industries in the international market.

More than half a million first-time voters will cast their ballots in this election, which many Israelis see as existential for Israel’s future security and identity.

Polls suggest it will be a tight race, and the new young voters could help decide the result.

More than 16% are planning to support far-right parties – either Ben Gvir’s Jewish Power or the Religious Zionism party of his far-right ally Bezalel Smotrich – according to a poll for one of Israel’s most popular newspapers, Yedioth Ahronoth.

And almost three-quarters see themselves as “right or centre-right”, according to another survey for Israel’s leading Channel 12 television network.

“Itamar Ben Gvir gives me a sense of security,” said 20-year-old Mordechai, one of the young fans accompanying the politician to Ramle.

“Like everyone in history, from Trump to Moses, there are slips of the tongue that are a bit less good. So what? 90% of the things by Itamar are amazing.”

Tel Aviv — At least 40 ultra-Orthodox Jewish men were arrested upon arriving Tuesday morning at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on suspicion of attempting to evade the country’s military draft, the Israel Defense Forces said.

“The aforementioned individuals, who passed through the border crossing at Ben Gurion Airport, are subject to mandatory military service and will be tried in accordance with the law,” the IDF said in a statement.

The mass-arrest by military police was unusual in its scale, and it came amid a national reckoning over whether the ultra-Orthodox should have to serve in the military like the rest of Israel’s Jewish citizens.

The ultra-Orthodox have traditionally been exempt from military service, but in 2024, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that in the absence of any law legalizing the exemption, the military must start drafting them.

Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the subsequent multi-front war, the issue of equality of service has been thrust to the forefront of political debate ahead of Israel’s looming national elections on Oct. 27.

Many Israelis who serve in the military, particularly in the reserves, have complained of having to take on an unfair amount of the security burden for the state.

Israel’s defence minister on Tuesday said he had put the military on high alert before the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, warning Gazans would pay a “heavy price” if forces were harmed.

The office of Defence Minister Israel Katz said the instruction came “in light of intelligence regarding Hamas’s intentions to attempt to carry out attacks and terror operations against our forces in Gaza on that day”.

“If, heaven forbid, our forces are harmed, the ones who will pay the heavy price will be Hamas and the population of Gaza – beyond all proportion,” the statement added.

Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack was the deadliest day in Israel’s history, resulting in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also dragged 251 hostages into Gaza, 44 of them already dead.

Read moreIsrael prepares to mark October 7

In response, Israel launched a military offensive that has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 74,200 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.