Jerusalem, 21 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The Ministry of Labor continues initiatives to promote quality employment absorption for new immigrants, with another project of its kind in collaboration with the Jewish Agency and the Ministry of Aliyah and Absorption, which is designed to grant professional licenses and job offers to immigrants even before they immigrate to Israel.

As part of the project, potential immigrants from france are identified in advance by the Jewish Agency and the Ministry of Aliyah and Absorption, based on areas of occupation and relevant professional experience.

After preliminary mapping, candidates are invited to participate in a licensing and employment project at the Jewish Agency offices in Paris, where frontal expert committees are held by the Senior Division for the Regulation of Occupations at the Ministry of Labor.

Within the framework of the committees, the immigrants’ compliance with the professional requirements is examined, and after their approval, they are presented with job offers by the participating employers – including the Electric Company and the Air Conditioning Contractors Association – according to their specialization and the needs of the Israeli labor market.

So far, in the past year, more than 100 professional licenses have been granted to new immigrants in their country of origin, France, and in total, in the last five years, more than 1,500 professional licenses have been granted in their countries of origin and in Israel to new immigrants.

Jerusalem, 21 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Import Administration announced that, in accordance with applicable laws and in accordance with the announcement of the Minister of Finance, the collection of the temporary security deposit on the import of aluminum profiles and aluminum tubes in bulk from China has been discontinued. Any security deposited already paid will be returned.

Earlier this month, Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich informed the Minister of Economy Nir Barkat of his opposition to imposing an anti-dumping duty on aluminum imports from China and decision to block the move. The decision, said Smotrich’s office, was made after examining the macroeconomic implications, and with the understanding that the duty would severely damage the construction industry, delay the delivery of thousands of apartments, and increase the cost of living.

Jerusalem, 21 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Aidoc, a Tel Aviv-based medical AI company, has received FDA clearance for the first clinical AI that can handle multiple acute conditions at once. The solution combines 11 new and three existing indications, helping hospitals spot critical findings faster, ease imaging backlogs, and improve patient flow in busy emergency departments. Built on Aidoc’s aiOS platform, which has analyzed over 100 million patient cases, the system reduces false alerts while supporting real-world clinical use.

CEO Elad Walach said the approval “marks a new era for clinical AI.”

The National Bookkeeping Unit of the Israel Tax Authority conducted a targeted enforcement operation in the central region, during which audits were carried out at 41 businesses in the cities of Raanana, Ramat Gan, and Herzliya. Of the 41 businesses inspected, 18 were found to have failed to record income.

The operation included test purchases conducted undercover in some of the businesses. The operation targeted businesses across a variety of sectors: greengrocers, hardware stores, beauticians, lawyers, kiosks, and restaurants.

Among other cases, an audit was conducted at a greengrocer in Ramat Gan, where it was discovered that the business owner received 7,900 NIS from two customers and failed to record it in the business books, noting it only in a debtors’ ledger.

In another instance, an audit was conducted at a hair salon in Ramat Gan, which included a test purchase and an inspection of the owner’s mobile payment application. The audit revealed that the owner did not record the test purchase and also failed to record income of 1,000 NIS received via the mobile payment app. When questioned, the owner replied: “Regarding the 1,000 NIS, I wanted to give the service as a gift to the customer, but she insisted on paying and transferred it via Bit. As for the unrecorded test purchase, I have no idea why it wasn’t recorded.”

The National Bookkeeping Unit will continue to operate at any time and place to enforce the provisions of the law through routine activities and special operations, as part of the Israel Tax Authority’s extensive efforts against the “black economy” and tax evaders. This is part of a policy to increase enforcement to improve and maintain deterrence, aimed at ensuring truthful reporting and the collection of lawful tax, thereby increasing the equality of the tax burden among citizens.

Jerusalem, 21 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Tel Aviv-based fintech Datarails announced a $70 million Series C funding round led by UK growth investor One Peak, bringing total investment to $175 million. The company’s AI-native platform, designed to unify CFO workflows while keeping Excel at the center, saw 70% revenue growth in 2025 and nearly doubled its workforce to over 400 globally.

CEO Didi Gurfinkel said the funding will accelerate expansion across North America and EMEA, boost R&D, and explore acquisitions. “AI is the great equalizer for finance teams,” Gurfinkel said, noting the platform now powers predictive forecasting, spend control, and month-end close.

Jerusalem, 21 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israeli troops in central Gaza struck several Hamas operatives operating a Drone in a way that posed a threat to the soldiers on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The IDF added that it is examining the incident.

The Commissioner of Competition announced today 21.1.26 to Shufersal Ltd. her decision to impose a financial penalty on it amounting to over NIS 8 million.

The decision was made after the Commissioner considered the claims raised by Shufersal in the hearing held for it, and decided to reject them.

The data request was sent to Shufersal, as well as to other companies in the food industry, as part of a study aimed at examining the cost and price structure in the food industry in Israel.

 The information provided did not include the required data, particularly Shufersal’s operational expenses. Despite clarifications and repeated appeals from the Authority‘s representatives, Shufersal insisted that the requested information was not available. It eventually turned out that the data existed, and it was provided to the Authority. Therefore, after examining Shufersal’s claims, the Commissioner of Competition decided to impose the financial penalty.

The Commissioner of Competition has the legal authority to request data in accordance with Section 46(b) of the Economic Competition Law. Receiving complete, accurate, and timely data is critically important to the work of the Competition Authority, both in relation to enforcement proceedings undertaken by the Competition Authority, in relation to examining the implications of mergers and transactions for which approval is sought, and in relation to market studies conducted by the Competition Authority.

Non-cooperation from entities required to respond to data requests may harm the reliability of the findings and conclusions derived from the Authority’s examinations, impede its work, and harm the broader public interest.

The Competition Authority will continue to act decisively to ensure that all required data is provided fully, reliably, and accurately, and will take enforcement measures against entities that violate the law.

The Ashdod Magistrate’s Court imposed a lengthy prison sentence and a fine on Amir Bar Lev Alon (Partok), an Ashkelon resident who was convicted, based on his confession and a plea bargain, of committing a wide range of severe tax offenses.

According to the sentence, the defendant was convicted of 42 offenses of issuing tax invoices without being entitled to issue them, 4 offenses of failing to submit a periodic VAT report on time, and 6 offenses of deducting input tax without a tax invoice. The scope of tax withheld from the state treasury as a result of his actions totals approximately  5.7 million NIS, with no amount of the missing tax having been returned by the time of sentencing.

The court determined that these were offenses that severely harmed the public coffer, the principle of equality in bearing the tax burden, and public trust in the general system; it was also noted that the defendant has a prior conviction for tax offenses.

Alongside this, the court also considered personal circumstances, including the defendant’s economic and family situation, but ruled that they were insufficient to justify a substantial reduction in the sentence given the severity and scope of the actions.

The sentence reflects, in the court’s words, the sentencing policy for severe tax offenses, and is intended to convey a clear message of zero tolerance toward intentional harm to the public coffer.

The case was prepared and managed by Adv. Nofar Hen Malu’i and Adv. Noy Okman Saban from the Ashdod Regional VAT Legal Department.

The National Bookkeeping Unit of the Tax Authority conducted a focused enforcement operation in the Central region, during which inspections were carried out at 41 businesses in the cities of Ra’anana, Ramat Gan, and Herzliya. Of the 41 businesses inspected, it was found that 18 did not record income. 

The operation included surprise spot checks conducted covertly at some of the businesses. It included businesses from a variety of sectors: greengrocers, hardware stores, beauticians, lawyers, convenience stores, and restaurants. 

Among other things, an inspection was conducted at a greengrocer in Ramat Gan, where it was discovered that the business owner received a sum of ₪7,900 from two customers and did not record it in the business’s books, but only in a debtors’ ledger. 

In another case, an inspection was conducted at a hair salon in Ramat Gan, during which a spot check purchase was made and the owner’s mobile payment app was examined. The inspection found that the business owner did not record the spot check purchase, nor did she record an income of ₪1,000 received via the mobile payment app. When asked about it, the business owner replied that “Regarding the ₪1,000, I wanted to give the work as a gift to the customer, and she insisted on paying and transferred it to me via Bit. Regarding the spot check purchase that was not recorded, I have no idea why it wasn’t recorded.” 

The National Bookkeeping Unit will continue to operate anywhere and at any time to enforce the provisions of the law on an ongoing basis and in operations as part of the Tax Authority‘s extensive activity against the black market and tax evaders. This is within the framework of the policy to increase enforcement activities to improve and maintain deterrence, with the aim of achieving true reporting and true tax collection, thereby increasing the equality of the burden among citizens.