Name & Surname : Menashe Carmon (Carmona)
Birth & Place of birth : June 6, 1946, Istanbul – Turkey
Immigrated to Israel : 1964
Studies : Saint Benoît French High School, Istanbul, Turkey
- BA in Economics and Sociology
- MA: * Economics
* Business Administration
Marital Status : Married to Mazal Carmon, father of three
Profession: Economist, Financial Management, Banking & Insurance, Industrialist
CV:
· Prior to immigrating to Israel, he was one of the founders of the Kültür ve Sanat Yurdu (Culture and Art Association), a Jewish youth movement, in Istanbul.
During this period, in addition to teaching the Hebrew language, the organization taught Jewish youth culture, geography and history of Zionism, and provided information on government and citizenship in Israel.
· After a stay in the kibbutz, he enlisted in the IDF and served in the Armored Corps, participated in the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War.
· Simultaneously with his MA studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he worked at the Ministry of Finance, Office of the Superintendent of Insurance & Capital Markets, and was in charge of the Savings and Banking sectors.
· After this civil service, he joined the Bank Hapoalim management and coordinated the Histadrut Pension Funds on its behalf. He represented the Histadrut vis a vis the Employers Organizations and the Manufacturers Association of Israel in negotiations for a comprehensive pension agreement for all industrial workers in Israel.
It should be mentioned that until that time, most workers in Israel did not have pension coverage or disability or survivor allowances, but only old age benefits and severance pay.
During those years, he led a comprehensive reform project in all Pension Fund regulations and those rights and rules are valid till today.
· Later, for four years, he managed Migdal Insurance Co. where he founded the “Yozma” Fund, the first pension fund for the self- employed.
· Subsequently, he also developed an industrial-managerial career. He acquired the Overseas Export-Import LTD which dealt with international trade in machinery and industrial raw materials.
During that time, he developed parallel businesses in Turkey, initiated partnerships, relocated factories and established joint ventures in Turkey and Israel; among them: Güney- Polat, Bank Hapoalim / BankPozitif, Harel / Nippon Turkey, TVeez, Gibor Sport, Delta Galil Turkey, etc. and held positions on the board of several Joint Ventures.
Institutions and organizations
• Kültür ve Sanat Yurdu, founding member.
• Member of the Committee for the State Pension Law, Israel.
• Member of the Committee for the Preparation of the Nursing Law for Israel.
• Referee for Business Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce, Paris, ICC
• Chairman of the Israel-Turkey Chamber of Commerce and Business Council (2006-2020)
For 14 years, he worked to expand economic and commercial activity between the two countries. Despite the periods of political crisis that befell the relationship, the bilateral trade volume continued to develop and supported Israeli companies investing in Turkey.
Publications
Here are some articles and work published in professional journals and magazines:
· “Adequacy of risk coverage in a comprehensive pension in Israel”
M. Carmon and David Dror, Economic Quarterly, August 20, 1980
Erhard Award, Tel Aviv University School of Business Administration
· “Implications of the New Normalization Process between Turkey and Israel, to the Bilateral Economic Opportunities”
M. Carmon, September 2016.
· "Retreat or Opportunity" (Erdoğan's Re-election)
Globes, December 2016
· “Turkey-Israel Economic Relations under Turbulent Political Uncertainty”
Turkeyscope, M. Dayan Center, Tel-Aviv University, June 2018
· "Turkey Under Economic Crisis - Threat or Opportunity"
June 2019, ITBC-May Symposium
· "Israel-Turkey - Complementary Economies"
September 2019, ITBC
Reasons for Nomination:
· In the 1980s, he initiated and completed the reform of pension funds and expanded the insurance base of workers' social insurance schemes in Israel.
· For about 14 years he initiated and established partnerships and new factories, making a major contribution to the development of trade and economic cooperation between Turkey and Israel, during the political crisis inclusive.