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2 Israeli tech firms to pull funds out of the country, citing risk posed by Netanyahu government
(JTA) — The Israeli founder of an international payroll company that provides services to Toyota and Microsoft has announced that she will move her company’s money out of Israel over concerns about its new right-wing government.
Eynat Guez, a co-founder and CEO of Papaya Global, which was valued at $3.7 billion in 2021, made the announcement Thursday on Twitter. Her announcement came the morning after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his government’s proposed judiciary reforms and after weeks of mounting warnings, from within Israel and abroad, that the reforms could harm Israel’s credit rating. Netanyahu dismissed those warnings on Wednesday as overblown.
“Following Prime Minister Netanyahu’s statements that he is determined to pass reforms that will harm democracy and the economy, we made a business decision at Papaya Global to withdraw all of the company’s funds from Israel,” Guez tweeted on Thursday morning. “In the emerging reform, there is no certainty that we can conduct international economic activity from Israel. This is a painful but necessary business step.”
Guez has emerged as a leader within Israel’s vaunted tech sector in protests against the new government, speaking at a rally of tech workers in Tel Aviv that took place last weekend amid protests around the country. The rallies are largely focused on the governing coalition’s judiciary proposals, including legislation that would allow the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, to overrule Supreme Court decisions.
In her speech, Guez said she had been encouraged to raise money for Papaya Global from the United States, a common step for Israeli firms, but had resisted because she wanted to live in Israel and raise her children there, the way her parents had after immigrating from their birthplaces in Morocco and Tunisia.
She also noted that $54 billion in capital from abroad had been invested in Israeli companies in the past three years. “Without a democracy, we’d never have these $54 billion,” she said. “And not the tens of thousands of employees who joined the high-tech sector in recent years.”
Guez said foreign investors had been calling with concern about whether Israel’s democracy was crumbling. “Just like in Brazil, Venezuela and Hungary, no leading investor or financial institute will let his billions stay in a country with a crumbling democracy,” she said. She added, “Let’s say this loud and clear: Startup Nation without a democracy cannot stand.”
A second, smaller Israeli tech company is also moving its bank accounts out of Israel, according to the Israeli tech publication Calcalist. The firm, Disruptive AI, raises money for artificial intelligence startups and manages $250 million in funds.
Guez did not further explain Papaya’s business decision on Thursday and how it would affect the company or its employees. The company, which says it manages more than $3 billion in payroll for companies in 160 countries, entered the ranks of Israel’s “unicorn” tech firms in early 2021, meaning that it was valued at over $1 billion. It raised $250 million against a valuation of $3.7 billion later that year.
Israel’s tech sector has been experiencing the same downturn as the global tech sector, in which sweeping layoffs have been taking place in recent weeks. Last year was the worst since 2014 for the number of Israeli companies being acquired or going public.
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Defense Minister Moves to Shut Down Israel’s Historic Army Radio Station
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz looks on, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Nov. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said he plans to bring a proposal to the government on Sunday to close Galei Tzahal, the Israel Defense Forces’ radio station, ending a broadcast operation that has been on the air for more than seven decades.
If approved, the shutdown would take effect on March 1, 2026.
The announcement has triggered sharp backlash from journalists, legal experts, and civil society groups, who warn the move could have far-reaching implications for press freedom. Tal Lev-Ram, the station’s commander, has already signaled that Galei Tzahal’s leadership intends to challenge the decision in the High Court of Justice. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara also voiced concern, cautioning that the plan could amount to political intervention in public media and pose risks to freedom of expression.
Criticism has also come from the Israeli Press Council, headed by former Supreme Court justice Hanan Melcer, which labeled the proposed closure unlawful.
The council argued that dismantling a public broadcaster requires explicit legislation passed by the Knesset, not a government decision alone. Advocacy organizations, including the Movement for Quality Government, said they are preparing legal petitions as well.
Katz defended the initiative by citing the findings of a professional review committee, which concluded that a military-run radio station broadcasting political and current affairs programming to the general public represents a “democratic anomaly.”
He argued that Galei Tzahal has moved beyond its original mandate of serving soldiers and their families.
The committee examined a range of alternatives, such as converting the station into a music-only outlet or partially privatizing its operations.
Ultimately, it recommended either closing the station altogether or significantly scaling it back by removing political content. Katz noted that Galgalatz, the popular music station operated by the army, would continue broadcasting under the proposed plan.
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Trilateral Summit: Israel, Greece, Cyprus to Discuss Regional Security
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem on Oct. 16, 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/POOL/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Jerusalem will host a trilateral summit tomorrow, bringing together leaders from Israel, Greece, and Cyprus to discuss strengthening security cooperation in the eastern Mediterranean.
The summit follows reports by Amichai Stein of i24NEWS last week that the three countries are considering the formation of a joint rapid-response military unit.
The Israeli Prime Minister is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with each of his counterparts before convening the full trilateral session, which will conclude with a joint press statement outlining the summit’s outcomes.
Media reports indicate that the initiative is driven in part by concerns in Athens over Turkey’s growing military activity in the region. The proposed rapid-response force is expected to enhance coordination, readiness, and overall security among the three allies.
Analysts say the meeting could solidify Israel, Greece, and Cyprus’s strategic partnership and signal a more unified approach to regional defense challenges.
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Justice Department Restores Trump Photo to Public Database of Epstein Files
An exterior image from the U.S. Virgin Islands property on Little St. James once owned by Jeffrey Epstein. via U.S. Justice Department
A photo of US President Donald Trump that had been removed from the cache of Jeffrey Epstein files released by the Department of Justice was restored on Sunday after officials determined none of Epstein’s victims were in the image, the department said.
The photo showing a desk with an open drawer containing a photo of Trump with various women was flagged by the Southern District of New York for review to protect potential victims.
“After the review, it was determined there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in the photograph, and it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction,” the Justice Department said on X on Sunday.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said earlier on Sunday his office removed the photo because of concerns about women in the photo. “It has nothing to do with President Trump,” Blanche said during a Sunday morning appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.”
The Justice Department released thousands of documents on Friday related to Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender who committed suicide in 2019. But it has drawn criticism, including from some Republicans, over extensive redactions and few documents mentioning Trump despite his well-publicized friendship with Epstein.
During an ABC News interview on Sunday, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called for a “full and complete investigation as to why the document production has fallen short of what the law clearly required.”
Up to 16 photos, including the desk drawer Trump image, were removed on Saturday from the Justice Department website, according to The New York Times, NPR and the Associated Press, although Reuters could not independently confirm the removals.
The Justice Department said on Sunday it acted with an abundance of caution after receiving requests from alleged victims and their lawyers to remove information.
Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing and has denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes.