Zionism, a political ideology that many say has hijacked Judaism to pursue settler-colonialism in occupied Palestine, does not end at the borders of the state of Israel. Zionist businessmen Gilbert Bigio and Dan Gertler cast a shadow over the economies of Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and occupied Palestine.
Bigio’s business in Haiti, the GB Group, has been involved in ‘infrastructure development’ projects, telecommunications services, oil and gas, and real estate ventures. That has raised questions about Zionist interests in a predominantly African country struggling to overcome the legacies of colonialism and foreign intervention. Bigio, born in 1935 to a Sephardic Jewish family in what is now Syria, is considered a de facto leader of Haiti’s Jewish community and is an honorary consul to Israel. Like many other Zionists, Bigio is reportedly not religious but participates in Jewish cultural activities.
Similarly, human rights activists have criticised Gertler for disregarding environmental and human rights standards as he does business in the DRC. The United States imposed sanctions on Gertler in 2017 for human rights abuses and corruption. However, Israeli financial media outlet @TheMarker claims to have a recent recording of Gertler admitting he skirted those sanctions to pursue a $1.5 billion mine in the DRC. Gertler was born in 1973 in Tel Aviv, learned the diamond trade through his father and grandfather, and started a diamond business after completing mandatory military service.
Since the late 1800s, foreign forces have collaborated with Congolese leaders to exploit the heart of Africa, worsening existing socio-economic disparities and fueling violence. More than 7 million people are internally displaced in the DRC while conflict rages in the country’s eastern provinces.
In this video, TikTok creators iamlaurachung (of @theslowfactory) and @kevin.ug make the connection between Zionist entrepreneurs like Bigio and Gertler and our liberation struggle.
Three Israeli companies — UBQ Materials (plastic alternative made from household trash), Fabric (automated urban micro-fulfillment centers) and Believer (cultivated meat) – appear on the inaugural XB100 ranking of the top 100 private deep-tech companies, published by XPRIZE and Bessemer Venture Partners.
UBQ and Fabric are headquartered in Tel Aviv and Believer in Rehovot.
According to XPRIZE, “The XB100 was launched to celebrate the entrepreneurs who are commercializing scientific research into deep tech and spotlight how they are impacting our society across nine categories.
“The XB100 evaluation process involved ranking companies across four factors: impact on humanity, valuation, scientific difficulty, and commercial traction.”
Bessemer Venture Partners’ Tess Hatch said, “The companies on the XB100 list represent the most valuable and impactful private companies in the deep-tech sector. The XB100 awardees defy imagination and will reshape the human experience.”
“UBQ’s inclusion in this ranking exemplifies how innovation and technology can extend beyond software to break through the norms of our physical world,” commented Jack “Tato” Bigio, cofounder and co-CEO of UBQ Materials.
“UBQ is introducing a sustainable alternative to oil-based plastics, reducing the carbon footprint of thousands of products across industries including construction, logistics and supply chain, consumer goods and even automotive.”
The company’s patented thermoplastic (made from trash that would have been landfilled or incinerated) has been adopted by brands including Mercedes-Benz, PepsiCo and McDonald’s. This year, UBQ will open its new facility in The Netherlands to produce 80,000 tons of UBQ annually from 104,600 metric tons of waste.
Fabric, which was also recently on CB Insights’ Retail Tech 100 list, reports that brands using its robotic urban micro-fulfillment centers have seen a more than 62% reduction in labor costs, an over 71% improvement in storage density, upward of 99% inventory accuracy and a threefold increase in throughput compared to manual fulfillment.
Believer is building its first US commercial-scale lab-grown meat factory in Wilson, North Carolina – which is on track to be the largest facility of its kind anywhere, capable of producing 22 million pounds of cultivated meat annually.
Sono un elfo e sono una piuma,
un figlio dell'aria
che ha per tetto l'azzurra bruma.
Sono nel fienile
e nelle cavità dei tronchi.
Del bosco io sono respiro e bronchi.
Sono invisibile eppure tanto vero.
Sono la magia
dell'Universo intero.
Il sentiero perduto che s'infila
Tra le stelle.
Ho tutto in me
e il sibilo del vento sottopelle.
Alcun libro ho studiato
perché la mia sensibilità
è il mistero della Natura
agli occhi tuoi velato.
Sono nato sulla vetta dei monti,
in cima agli alberi,
o nel grembo del torrente.
Mi trovi alle fonti
e i sogni belli io porgo anche
al fanciullo impenitente.
Ho il musetto di un micio
all'imboccatura del viale
o sul davanzale di un giorno bigio.
Porgendo il saluto a ogni gentile figura
che verso casa vada
con l'andatura insicura.
Nelle notti ferrose
o nel brusio dell'alba mi trovi.
Sono nel verso di un cuculo
o tra le bacche odorose.
Sono sacro alle ortiche
e ho le stelle per amiche.
Delle fiabe e dell'infanzia
io sono incanto e speranza.
Non c'è orco, strega o pastore
che con me non abbia parlato per ore.
Sono semplice
e sono divino.
Sono vecchio e sono bambino.
Non importa.
Se hai l'anima saggia e buona,
a me sempre del tuo cuore
aprirai la porta.
Ippolita Sicoli
art by theannoyedpixie
************************
I'm an elf and I'm a feather,
a child of the air
whose roof is the blue mist.
I'm in the barn
and in log cavities.
Of the forest I am breath and bronchi.
I am invisible yet so true.
I am the magic
of the whole universe.
The lost path that slips
Among the stars.
I have everything in me
and the hiss of the wind under the skin.
No book I studied
because my sensitivity
it is the mystery of Nature
in your eyes veiled.
I was born on the top of the mountains,
up in the trees,
or in the lap of the stream.
Find me at the sources
and I also offer beautiful dreams
to the unrepentant boy.
I have the face of a cat
at the mouth of the avenue
or on the windowsill of a gray day.
Greetings to every kind figure
let me go home
with unsteady gait.
On iron nights
or in the buzz of dawn you find me.
I'm in the direction of a cuckoo
or among the fragrant berries.
I am sacred to nettles
and I have stars for friends.
Of fairy tales and childhood
I am enchantment and hope.
There is no ogre, witch or shepherd
that he hasn't talked to me for hours.
I am simple
and I am divine.
I am old and I am a child.
It does not matter.
If you have a wise and good soul,
to me always of your heart
you will open the door.
Ippolita Sicoli
art by theannoyedpixie