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Although Yuval Haran walks through the outskirts of the Israeli city of Ramla shoulder-to-shoulder with hundreds of fellow demonstrators, the 36-year-old computer repairman still feels alone.
Ten of his family members were in Kibbutz Be’eri next to the Gaza border on October 7 when Hamas stormed into Israel, killing at least 1,200 people – down from an initial estimate of 1,400 – most of them civilians, and kidnapping about 240 others.
Seven of Yuval’s family who were in Be'eri are presumed to have been taken hostage. The remaining three are dead.
“Ever since then it’s been a nightmare of worry and pain,” he says. “I’m still living like I was on October 7 – this nightmare isn’t over.”
He is interrupted at points by the din of Ramla’s industrial outskirts. Lorries hurtle by beeping in support of the crowd that set out in a 70km protest march from Tel Aviv for Jerusalem on Tuesday. A freight train does the same a short while later.
“I don’t like walking and I certainly don’t enjoy it now, but I need to do everything I can to bring them back,” he says, trudging along at the front of the group holding a sign bearing an image of one his of his relatives.
“I want the entire world to know about this. I want them to know that my three-year-old niece and my 67-year-old mother are in Gaza.”
Yuval is part of the advocacy group Bring Them Home Now. It was established within days of October 7 and has since launched numerous eye-catching campaigns and built a formidable media machine with the goal of keeping the Israeli hostages near the top of the international news agenda.
Many in the crowd fear the captives' plight is slipping out of the headlines as Israel continues its punishing and bloody Gaza offensive to destroy Hamas.
Gaza's Health Ministry say more than 11,400 people have died, a rapidly increasing number that has sparked mass protests across the world in solidarity with Palestinians and mounting criticism of Israel from the international community.
Despite rage in Israel and general support from the public for the military's brutal operation, several people in the crowd marching through Ramla spoke of their desire for peace.
Computer scientist David Gordon, 22, says October 7 was so damaging because “not only did we experience the loss of a lot of people, but we also felt the concept of peace get hurt”.
“As a nation we’re in survival mode, so it seems peace is not driving us,” he adds.
“Right now, safety is a stronger desire than peace, but I wish peace would be possible and I still want to believe in it.”
David says the “beauty” of the march is that it is “bigger than all of us”. In a country of only 9.3 million people, he says everyone in Israel is connected to the hostages.
“I have a friend who was kidnapped, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who I met around 10 years ago at a summer camp,” David explains.
“He was so energetic. He always made the mood better. When I heard about what happened to him, it made my heart hurt. He is one of the good guys.
“They posted a lot of pictures of his bedroom in the aftermath. It was full of posters about peace, love and rejection of violence.”
David’s wife, Tiferet Gordon, 23, who works with special needs children, has friends who were killed.
“I think this is the first tragedy in Israel that’s felt so close to everyone in society,” she says. “We’re showing the families that we’re all in this cause together.”
The Bring Them Home Now campaign has a domestic purpose, too.
Despite overwhelming unity in Israel as it pursues Hamas in Gaza, there is mounting anger at the government’s approach to rescuing hostages.
The march will end in Jerusalem, near the prime ministerial office. The protesters will be demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, now one of the most unpopular politicians in Israeli history, do more to get the hostages out.
The government says it is doing all it can. That has not placated the demonstrators, who know a statement such as that does not necessarily mean releasing the captives is the priority.
Mr Netanyahu, his ministers and the army keep saying there are two objectives of the operation in Gaza: rescuing hostages and the total eradication of Hamas.
However, if Israel keeps using such brutal force in its campaign to achieve the latter, it will be harder to ensure the safety of the hostages, who will also be in grave danger in the densely populated Gaza Strip.
It is a dilemma the marchers acknowledge with great pain.
“The hostages are in the most danger now, but if Hamas stays we’ll be in danger forever,” David says. “It’s very hard to say which is more important and I don’t think they necessarily contradict each other.”
For Yuval, in all his grief the debate is far simpler.
“I don’t have politics right now,” he says. “Ever since October 7, all I care about is bringing them [the hostages] back. I’m not even thinking about it politically.
“I want to go back to Be’eri. It has always been my quiet, pastoral home. I hope we can rebuild. Bringing the hostages back is part of it.”
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
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Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
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A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber
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Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
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Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
No Shame
Lily Allen
(Parlophone)
