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Protesters in Israel and Gaza took to the streets against their respective governments on Wednesday, a week after Israel resumed its war in the Palestinian enclave with a bombing campaign and ground operations.
In Jerusalem, anti-government protesters blocked a motorway and academics marched to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence, while residents of northern Gaza gathered in the town of Beit Lahia and areas of Gaza city to protest against Hamas.
Gazans were seen marching with banners reading "Hamas does not represent us", a rare show of dissent against the militant group, which has held absolute power in the enclave since 2006. The conflict began when Hamas led an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostage.
It was the second day in a row that hundreds walked among the destroyed buildings to call for an end to the war and to Hamas's control of Gaza.
Residents of the enclave once again face hunger and displacement by bombing and Israeli eviction orders after almost two months of calm since a ceasefire began on January 19. Neither the Israeli government nor Hamas have shown a willingness to agree to concessions demanded by the other side to allow for a return to peace, the resumption of aid deliveries and the release of hostages.
Gaza resident Mohammed Qadada told The National that the protests reflect the people's urgent demand for relief. "Regardless of their motivations, these protests ultimately call for the well-being of the people," he said. "Whether their goal is to end the war or achieve other objectives, their impact depends on their scale and strength, showing how the Palestinian public perceives the cause."
Saber Matter, a 40-year-old resident who lost his home and office in the conflict, expressed his frustration over the fighting.
“I support people speaking out and demanding an end to the war – this challenges the occupation’s narrative that all Gazans are armed militants seeking conflict,” he told The National.
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim wrote in a post on Facebook that people had the right to protest, but their focus should be on the “criminal aggressor” Israel.
Israel has threatened to continue with the conflict until all hostages, of whom 59 remain captive in Gaza, are returned.
In Israel, anti-government protesters belonging to the Mounted Battalions group chanted “no traffic without democracy”, as they blocked a motorway near Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, staff from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, one of Israel’s most prestigious academic institutions, descended on the Prime Minister's official residence, calling for an end to his “government of death and corruption”. Lecturers at Tel Aviv University also marched towards Jerusalem.
Wednesday’s demonstrations come after days of protests against the government, which have grown in intensity since Mr Netanyahu ended the Gaza ceasefire deal, tried to dismiss the head of Israel's Shin Bet security service and the Attorney General, and advanced deeply controversial changes to the judicial system.
The issue of hostages is also at the forefront of the protests. For months, polling has consistently showed a strong majority of Israelis favour prioritising the return of the captives over prolonging the fighting in Gaza.
While demonstrations to get hostages back have been constant throughout the war, they have taken on new urgency since the attacks on Gaza resumed last week.
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
More coverage from the Future Forum
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
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