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Israel Second Best Place in the World to Retire, New Study Finds
The Tel Aviv skyline. Photo: Reuters
Despite its ongoing war with Hamas to the south in Gaza and escalating tensions with Lebanese Hezbollah to the north, Israel has been ranked as the second best country in the world for retirement, according to a new study.
ConfidenceClub, a company based in the United Kingdom dedicated to helping retirees, released its “Aging Gracefully Index,” which examined 39 countries to determine the best places to retire. The study utilized information such as economic data from the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation and the cost of living database known as Numbeo, among other sources, to assign scores to and rank each country.
Israel came in second place, receiving a score of 85, which was only bested by Iceland’s total score of 87. Finland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland rounded out the top five.
South Africa ranked last with a score of 43, slightly edging out Greece, Latvia, Slovakia, and Italy for the other bottom-five countries in descending order.
The study focused on data-driven variables to assign total scores including elder emigration, quality of health care, life expectancy, safety, and life satisfaction.
Notably, the survey – conducted after Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel — placed the Jewish state among the safest countries to retire to. Israel’s safety score was equivalent to those of Denmark and Switzerland. According to the study, “safety isn’t just about low crime rates, it’s about creating an environment where seniors can enjoy their golden years with peace of mind.”
The Aging Gracefully Index also ranked Israel high in its “Elder Balance” variable — meaning Israel’s aging population is supported by a strong working one. Alternatively, the study found that a country like Japan struggles from a high aging population and a relatively small working age one.
Israel ranked highly for retiree life satisfaction. The survey defined life satisfaction as a reflection of “how content people are with their lives, considering factors like economic stability, social connections, and personal fulfillment.”
Similar to the index’s life satisfaction variable, Israel routinely ranks toward the top of the United Nations’ World Happiness Report. In March, Israel dropped one spot to fifth in the list of the world’s happiest countries. Finland was ranked the happiest country.
The Aging Gracefully Index also examined the best cities to retire to with the same criteria as it did with countries. Tel Aviv ranked the third best city for retirement after Reykjavik and The Hague — which came in first and second, respectively.
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Treasure Trove: How a Polish-Jewish artist told Canadians about the horrors of Nazi Germany and produced beautiful illustrations
Arthur Szyk (1894-1951) was a Polish-Jewish artist whose work reflected the historic times he lived: the two world wars, the rise of totalitarianism in Europe and the birth of the State of Israel. In 1940, with the support of the British government and the Polish government-in-exile, he visited Canada to popularize the struggle against Nazism. […]
The post Treasure Trove: How a Polish-Jewish artist told Canadians about the horrors of Nazi Germany and produced beautiful illustrations appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Biden hits Fundraising Trail in Show of Strength after Dismal Debate Performance
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S., June 28, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo
President Joe Biden embarks on a series of fundraising events across two states on Saturday as he works to stamp out a crisis of confidence in his re-election campaign following a feeble debate performance that dismayed his fellow Democrats.
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will visit the upscale New York beach enclave known as the Hamptons for a campaign fundraiser hosted by hedge-fund billionaire Barry Rosentein. Later in the day, he will travel to New Jersey for a fundraiser hosted by wealthy New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat.
Fellow hedge-fund founder Eric Mindich and his Tony Award-winning producer wife Stacey, celebrity couple Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, and actor Michael J. Fox are all listed as members of the host committee at the New York event, according to an invitation seen by Reuters.
Biden told a rally in North Carolina on Friday he intended to defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in the November presidential election, giving no sign he would heed calls from Democrats who want him to drop out of the race.
Biden‘s verbal stumbles and occasionally meandering responses during Thursday night’s debate heightened voter concerns that the 81-year-old might not be fit to serve another four-year term.
The Biden campaign on Saturday boasted it had raised more than $27 million between debate day through Friday evening, but questions remain about whether the debate performance will hurt fundraising, at least in the short term.
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Arab League Rescinds the Classification of Hezbollah as a Terrorist Group
Mourners carry a coffin during the funeral of Wissam Tawil, a commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan forces who according to Lebanese security sources was killed during an Israeli strike on south Lebanon, in Khirbet Selm, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Aziz Taher
i24 News – The Arab League no longer defines Hezbollah as a proscribed terrorist group, an official said on Saturday.
Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based Shiite militia and a proxy of the Islamic regime in Iran, boasts the world’s largest rocket arsenal of any non-state actor. It is animated by the antisemitic ideology of jihad and is committed to the destruction of Israel.
“In earlier Arab League decisions, Hezbollah was designated as a terrorist organization, and this designation was reflected in the resolutions,” Hossam Zaki, the assistant secretary-general of the Arab League, was quoted in Arab media as saying.
“The League’s member states concurred that the labeling of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization should no longer be employed,” Zaki said, adding that the regional body “does not maintain terrorist lists and does not actively seek to designate entities in such a manner.”
Hezbollah has unleashed numerous rockets, mortars and drones on northern Israel in the past eight months starting on October 8, a day after the Jewish state suffered the worst antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust at the hands of the Palestinian jihadists of Hamas.
The post Arab League Rescinds the Classification of Hezbollah as a Terrorist Group first appeared on Algemeiner.com.