The Blogs: The Miracle of Chanuka 2186 Years Later

“Let me tell you something that we Israelis have against Moses. He took us 40 years through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil!” Golda Meir

The Jewish people have been yearning to return to their biblical homeland since the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE. The turmoil in the Middle East would not have existed if it wasn’t for oil.

“We were casting them by thousands into the fire to the worst of deaths, not to win the war but that the oil of Mesopotamia might be ours.” T.E Lawrence aka Lawrence of Arabia

In this quote, Lawrence of Arabia expresses his regret and “bitter shame” over the true motivations behind the British campaign in the Middle East during World War I. He felt that the British government had betrayed their Arab allies by reneging on promises of self-rule in favor of securing their own colonial interests, particularly control over valuable resources like the oil reserves in the Middle East.

For the Jews it has always been about returning to their homeland. For the rest of the world it has always been about oil.

Golda must be smiling down upon us as the smoke she exhales clears and she views how the world has changed for Israel since the Oil Embargo in 1974.

This past week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially approved a historic $35 billion natural gas deal with Egypt. Israel‘s natural gas export sector reached a historic milestone with the final approval of the largest energy deal in the country’s history. This development solidifies Israel’s position as a critical regional energy hub, primarily supplying neighboring Egypt and Jordan.

Jordan remains a consistent recipient of Israeli gas via pipeline, primarily to meet its domestic electricity needs. While relying on Israeli piped gas, Jordan secured the Energos Force Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) in August 2025 at the port of Aqaba to enhance its own import flexibility and security.

Israel’s Primary Export Plan: Via Egypt

The main strategy involves leveraging existing and expanded infrastructure to send Israeli gas to Europe through Egypt. Here are the highlights of Israel’s plan….

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): In June 2022, the European Union, Israel, and Egypt signed a framework agreement to facilitate the flow of Eastern Mediterranean natural gas to Europe.
The $35 Billion Deal: In December 2025, Israel approved its largest-ever gas export deal, valued at approximately $35 billion, to supply 130 billion cubic meters (BCM) of gas from the Leviathan field to Egypt through 2040.
How it Works: This gas will help Egypt meet its own domestic energy needs and supply its underutilized LNG plants at Idku and Damietta. Once liquefied, the gas is then loaded onto tankers and shipped to Europe, effectively making Egypt a transit hub for Israeli energy. This arrangement helps Europe diversify its energy sources away from Russia.

Emerging Opportunities for Israel

There are more plans in the works to solidify Israel’s role as a key energy power……

Cyprus Connection: A $400 million pipeline to transport gas from Israel’s Karish field to Cyprus is awaiting government approvals from both countries. This could supply Cyprus’s domestic power needs and potentially link to future export options.
New Exploration: International companies like BP and Azerbaijan’s SOCAR recently entered the Israeli market and received licenses to explore new offshore zones, indicating a long-term commitment to developing the region’s full export potential.

Along with the much-touted Abraham Accords, Israel has been pursuing a petroleum based economic security plan. In spite of Egypt’s claim that the $35 Billion gas deal was merely “transactional” and has no political significance, in fact this deal makes Israel a regional energy powerhouse with trickle down political power as well. He who controls the flow of energy has the power, politically and economically.

The only loser in this Energy Accord is Lebanon, the country in the region with the most to lose. After an agreement between Israel and Lebanon (with Hezbollah’s backing) in 2022 to share one of the gas fields, all gas exploration has been halted due to Hezbollah’s attack on Israel after October 7th.

As Iran was building up it’s proxies to surround Israel, Israel has been solidifying energy accords and silent defense accords with its immediate neighbors. Jordan cannot import gas into Aqaba without the Israeli Navy protecting the ports of Eilat and its cousin port Aqaba. Egypt cannot protect it’s fragile LNG processing facilities without overwatch from the IDF.

This “transactional” relationship worth $35 Billion means a lot more than Egypt is willing to admit.

But wait, there is so much more to come.

Sovereign Wealth Fund

A sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is a state-owned investment fund composed of money generated by a country’s government, often beyond immediate needs. These funds are established to manage national savings for the benefit of the country’s economy and its citizens.

Key Characteristics of A SWF

State Ownership: The funds are owned and managed by the central government of a nation.
Funding Sources: They are typically funded from surplus revenues derived from natural resources (like oil and gas exports)..
Long-Term Horizon: SWFs usually have a long-term investment horizon, aiming to preserve wealth for future generations rather than meet immediate fiscal needs

Israel’s sovereign wealth fund is officially called the Israeli Citizens’ Fund (also known as the “Citizens of Israel Fund” or Keren LeEzraḥei Yisra’el). As of the end of 2024, the fund held assets worth approximately $2 billion.

Key Information about Israeli Citezens Fund

Purpose: The fund was established to manage state revenues from taxes on profits generated by natural resources, primarily offshore natural gas, oil, and potash. Its long-term goal is to maximize returns and ensure the sustainability of this wealth for future generations of Israeli citizens.
Establishment and Operation: The law establishing the fund was passed in 2014, but it only began operating in June 2022 after the cumulative tax revenues reached the minimum threshold of 1 billion shekels.
Management and Investment: The fund is managed by a dedicated team at the Bank of Israel. By law, its assets can only be invested in foreign markets and currencies to diversify risk and protect the domestic economy from the “Dutch disease” (the potential negative impact of a sudden influx of foreign currency). The investment policy is long-term, with a benchmark index of 70% equities and 30% debt as of 2024.
Performance: The fund has shown strong returns, including an “exceptional” 17.5% in 2023 and an 11.5% return in 2024.
Budget Allocation: The law allows for a small percentage (3.5%) of the fund’s assets to be allocated for social, economic, and educational projects within the state budget; for 2025, this allocation was NIS 189 million (approximately $50.9 million).

As of 2025 out of the top 100 Sovereign Wealth Funds, Norway leads the world with over $1 Trillion in assets. Israel made the list of the top 100 in 97th place. Since the fund became active in 2022 it has grown from $250 million to over $2 billion, a rate of $1 billion growth per year into the fund from tax revenues.

In 2025, after two years of war, Israel has shown the world that not only is it a regional military powerhouse, a regional economic powerhouse with the ability to shut the lights in its neighbor’s borders and a regional energy powerhouse with the ability to counter Russia and heat the homes of Western Europe.

As we mourn with all the mourners of Zion this Chanuka we can have some comfort in knowing that the “shemen” in Israel’s Menorahs is fulfilling our dream of a strong and prosperous Israel.

Israel is literally “a light unto the nations.”