ISRAELI POLICY TOWARDS THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: THE ECONOMIC DIMENSION 1967-2007

This article focuses on the economic dimension of Israeli policy towards the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967. The paper argues that since 1967, both before and after the Oslo process, Israeli policy was directed at preventing the ‘Two’, i.e. the division of the land into two states and two economic (and political) sovereign entities while also negating the ‘One’, i.e. the establishment of a single political and economic entity. Although Israeli policy repudiated both the ‘Two’ and the ‘One’, it changed character and formulations from time to time. Thus, Israeli policies will be examined with all their twists, turns and reversals, discussing their repercussions on Israel and especially on the Palestinian economy.

Natural Killer Lysis Receptor (NKLR)/NKLR-Ligand Matching as a Novel Approach for Enhancing Anti-Tumor Activity of Allogeneic NK Cells

NK cells are key players in anti tumor immune response, which can be employed in cell-based therapeutic modalities. One of the suggested ways to amplify their anti tumor effect, especially in the field of stem cell transplantation, is by selecting donor/recipient mismatches in specific HLA, to reduce the inhibitory effect of killer Ig-like receptors (KIRs). Here we suggest an alternative approach for augmentation of anti tumor effect of allogeneic NK cells, which is founded on profile matching of donor NK lysis receptors (NKLR) phenotype with tumor lysis-ligands.We show that an NKLR-mediated killing directly correlates with the NKLR expression intensity on NK cells. Considerable donor variability in the expression of CD16, NKp46, NKG2D and NKp30 on circulating NK cells, combined with the stability of phenotype in several independently performed tests over two months, indicates that NKLR-guided selection of donors is feasible. As a proof of concept, we show that melanoma cells are dominantly recognized by three NKLRs: NKG2D, NKp30 and NKp44. Notably, the expression of NKp30 on circulating NK cells among metastatic melanoma patients was significantly decreased, which diminishes their ability to kill melanoma cells. Ex vivo expansion of NK cells results not only in increased amount of cells but also in a consistently superior and predictable expression of NKG2D, NKp30 and NKp44. Moreover, expanded NK cultures with high expression of NKG2D or NKp30 were mostly derived from the corresponding NKG2D(high) or NK30(high) donors. These NK cultures subsequently displayed an improved cytotoxic activity against melanoma in a HLA/KIR-ligand mismatched setup, which was NKLR-dependent, as demonstrated with blocking anti-NKG2D antibodies.NKLR/NKLR-ligand matching reproducibly elicits enhanced NK anti-tumor response. Common NKLR recognition patterns of tumors, as demonstrated here in melanoma, would allow implementation of this approach in solid malignancies and potentially in hematological malignancies, either independently or in adjunction to other modalities

David Hume on Banking and Hoarding

David Hume opposes banks and favors hoarding. The only bank he reluctantly approves of is a public, 100% reserve bank. Other banks increase money supply and prices, hindering exports and economic growth. For Hume, a 100% reserve public bank would lead to ‘‘the destruction of paper-credit’’ ([1752] 1985, p. 285), fostering economic growth instead by preventing inflation. Additionally, a 100% reserve bank hoards a large quantity of gold and silver, which is available in case of national emergency

Banking between the Invisible and Visible Hands: A Reinterpretation of Ricardo's Place within the Classical School.

This paper reexamines the Classical School's attitude to central banking. A novel framework relates views on central banking to positi ons on the application of free trade-specifically the Real Bills Doct rine-in determining the quantities of money and credit. This framewor k clarifies the Classical School's reservations about central banking and reveals a common error in interpreting Ricardo's position. The a uthor shows that Ricardo, in contrast to the Currency School, changed from being basically a Smithian to raising the possibility of contro lling the quantity of money: thus, in fact, paving the way to central banking. Copyright 1987 by Royal Economic Society.

Incomplete Contracts, the Port of Gaza and the Case for Economic Sovereignty

In this note, we reconsider the notion of ‘economic sovereignty.’ We argue that a small country may need to invest in assets of the sort of a port even when the common scale-economy argument indicates that using a port of a neighbouring country will be more cost effective. The reason for such an investment would be purely strategic, as the sovereignty of the parties involved prevent them from writing down enforceable contracts. We show that such second-best strategic investments are likely to show accounting losses. The specific example of port of Gaza is used in order to make the analysis more vivid, and to demonstrate the pitfalls of policy recommendations based on standard first-best technological argument