Dictionary
Defined terms used across The Olam's coverage — companies, statutes, deals, and structural concepts in the global Jewish economy.
A
B
- Bank Hapoalim
- One of Israel's two largest banks. Founded 1921 by the Histadrut. ~250 branches. Named in the May 6, 2026 concentration group declaration.
- Bank Leumi
- One of Israel's two largest banks. Founded 1902 as Anglo-Palestine Bank under Herzl. Issuing bank pre-1954. Now LUMI on the TASE.
- Banking & Institutional Capital
- Five banks. Roughly 98% of Israeli banking assets. The Competition Authority declared them an oligopoly in May 2026. The Bank of Israel publicly disagreed.
C
D
- Diaspora Investment: Capital as Economic Infrastructure, Not Philanthropy
- Diaspora capital is economic infrastructure, not philanthropy. Israel Bonds has raised tens of billions cumulatively since 1951. The Olam tracks the channels — bond issuance, family-office allocations, federation flows, real estate.
E
- Energy Corridors: Tamar, Leviathan, and the Egypt-Jordan Gas Architecture
- Israel sits on more than 35 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves. Chevron leads operations across Tamar and Leviathan; NewMed Energy anchors the Israeli operator layer. The 2025 Cairo Accord restructured the Egypt corridor.
F
- First International Bank of Israel (FIBI)
- Fifth-largest of Israel's top five banks. Completes the 98% top-five concentration. Named in the May 2026 oligopoly declaration.
G
H
I
- IMEC and Israel: The India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor Runs Through Israel
- The IMEC corridor announced at the 2023 G20 links India to Europe via the Gulf and the Mediterranean. Israel was not a signatory — but the corridor runs through Israel. Architecture, status, and what's unresolved in 2026.
- Israel Discount Bank
- Israel's third-largest bank. Substantial US presence through Discount Bancorp / IDB Bank. Founded 1935. Named in the May 2026 oligopoly declaration.
J
K
M
- Mizrahi Tefahot Bank
- ~36% of all Israeli mortgages — largest single share. Emerged from 2005 merger of Mizrahi and Tefahot. The mortgage-specialist counterweight.
N
O
P
R
S
- Strategic Technology Trade: Israeli Defense Exports, Licensing, and the Sovereignty Doctrine
- Israeli defense exports hit a record $14.8 billion in 2024. Combined order backlog at IAI, Elbit, and Rafael now exceeds $65 billion. The 2016 MOU phases foreign-spendable FMF to zero by 2028.
T
- TASE / Israeli Public Markets: Dual-Listings, Foreign Private Issuers, and the Institutional Capital Base
- Over 80 Israeli or Israeli-founded companies hold US exchange listings. TASE anchors domestic equity through the TA-35 and TA-125 indices. Beyond finance, TASE serves as a national economic barometer.
- The AI21 Outcome: Inside the Nvidia Talks, the $2–3 Billion Range, and the Nebius Pivot
- AI21 Labs entered Nvidia acquisition discussions at a $2–3 billion range per Calcalist; those talks did not close. AI21 has since opened talks with Nebius per The Information. The outcome will define the Israeli foundation-model layer.
- The Israeli AI Silicon Stack: Annapurna, Habana, Mellanox, Run:ai, Hailo
- Five Israeli companies, three exits totaling over $9.5 billion to US hyperscalers, and one of the most strategically positioned clusters in global AI infrastructure. Annapurna, Habana, Mellanox, Run:ai, Hailo.
- Trade Corridors: The US, EU, Gulf, and India Routes for Israeli Commerce
- Israeli commerce reaches global markets through four major routes: the US bilateral, the EU, the post-Abraham Accords Gulf corridor, and India. Defense exports to Accords countries quadrupled from 3% to 12% of total in a single year.
U
V
- Venture: Israeli VC, Foreign-Anchored Funds, and the Exits That Defined the Model
- Israeli venture capital — the domestic VC firms, the foreign-anchored funds, and the exit history that defined the model. Google's $32 billion Wiz acquisition in March 2026 was the largest in Israeli history.