Bombarded by requests for personal assistance from startup executives hoping to launch business operations in the United Arab Emirates, Israeli Ambassador to the UAE Amir Hayek has developed a technique for identifying the winners and being candid with the rest.

Meeting Needs: “In one hour, I meet 11 companies,” Hayek, Israel’s first ambassador to the oil-pumping Gulf state, told The Circuit’s Jonathan Ferziger. “It’s speed-dating. Some I tell not to come, some I say if you make a little switch in your approach, you can meet Emirati needs, and some I say, run, because we are looking for the technology you’ve got.”

Mideast Beachhead: Hayek ticks off several reasons why the UAE offers a unique opportunity for Israeli companies: access to capital from some of the world’s biggest investment funds; a diverse expatriate workforce; its position as an international shipping and logistics hub; a government-led “infrastructure for innovation” that includes grants and tax incentives; and the country’s willingness to serve as a beachhead to markets in Arab and Islamic states that Israelis haven’t been able to reach before.

Coalition Woes: Hayek, whose fluent Arabic comes from growing up in an Iraqi Jewish family that fled persecution in Baghdad in the 1950s, says the precarious state of Israel’s current coalition government won’t keep trade with the Gulf from growing. In April, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett lost his majority in the 120-seat parliament, and predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu is gathering strength to make a comeback. “Any Israeli government will support the Abraham Accords,” Hayek said. “Even if the government falls, you won’t see any gap.”

Read the full story here.

The global tech slowdown is slowly seeping into the consciousness and corporate decision-making of Israeli executives and employees, according to a new survey conducted by data consultant Startup Snapshot.

Wake Up: Among the findings in a report released June 8, startup founders are increasingly worried about their ability to raise money, venture capital funds are pressuring companies to cut costs and employees haven’t woken up to how vulnerable they’ve become. The project was developed by Startup Snapshot founder Yael Benjamin and supported by Intel Ignite, Leumitech, The Zell Entrepreneurship Program and the Yigal Arnon & Co. law firm.

Warning Calls: Based on more than 450 responses and conducted over the past two months, the survey found that the tightening of venture funding has eclipsed hiring and retention of employees as the most pressing concern of company founders. Some 52% said they received warning calls from board members about pressure from venture capital firms to cut costs and extend their cash runway.

Hiring Slows: To reduce spending, 45% of companies surveyed said they’re slowing down hiring growth, 18% are freezing hiring altogether and 4% are firing employees. Many said company shutdowns present an opportunity for stronger firms to hire talented staff. At the same time, 68% of employees said they aren’t worried about their company’s survival. The report suggested that is due to a “clear asymmetry of information, as employees are not privy to rising investor concerns that founders hear behind closed doors.”

Stop the Burn: Startup founders are under pressure “to show investors growth while also cutting burn rates,” Benjamin said in the report. The survey shows their need to “make everything stretch and rethink their cost structure, including head count,” she said.

In its first legislative initiative since its founding earlier this year, the congressional Abraham Accords Caucus, comprised of members of both the House and Senate, introduced legislation on Thursday to encourage the U.S. to pursue a joint missile-defense architecture with Israel and the U.S.’s Arab allies and partners in the Middle East — including Saudi Arabia and Iraq, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Drone Alert: The bipartisan Deterring Enemy Forces and Enabling National Defenses (DEFEND) Act advances a priority of both lawmakers on Capitol Hill and U.S. military command in the Middle East — building an integrated air- and missile-defense capability among the U.S.’s regional partners and allies to ward off ongoing drone and missile attacks by Iran and its proxies. The legislation calls for Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and other regional partners and allies to be included within this cooperative framework.

Engaging Riyadh: While Capitol Hill is split on the issue, with some Democrats urging President Joe Biden not to upgrade relations with Saudi Arabia, the lawmakers introducing the DEFEND Act were supportive of improving U.S.-Saudi ties. “It is important that our president is engaging with Saudi Arabia. We know that there have been human rights abuses… but in order for that to change we have to have dialogue,” Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican, one of the legislation’s cosponsors, said.

Read the full story here.