{"id":224701,"date":"2025-10-25T12:55:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T12:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/224701\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T12:55:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T12:55:12","slug":"israels-diamond-industry-faces-its-worst-crisis-in-decades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/224701\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel\u2019s diamond industry faces its worst crisis in decades"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel\u2019s diamond industry<\/a>, one of the country\u2019s historic export pillars, is warning of an unprecedented crisis that leaders say could threaten the livelihoods of its 6,000 workers unless the government intervenes quickly.<\/p>\n

Nissim Zuaretz, president of the Israel Diamond Exchange, said the industry faces an \u201cexistential threat\u201d after the United States lifted tariffs on diamonds from Belgium and the European Union but not from Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government must wake up,\u201d Zuaretz said. \u201cWhen the U.S. removes tariffs<\/a> from Europe but leaves Israel out, it\u2019s like telling us we\u2019re no longer relevant. Israel is one of the four largest diamond exchanges in the world. If tariffs were lifted for Europe, Israel deserves the same. This isn\u2019t just an economic issue \u2014 it\u2019s a matter of national pride collapsing before our eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. currently imposes a 15% tariff on Israeli diamonds, a policy dating back to tariffs introduced during the Trump administration. Diamonds imported from the European Union, by contrast, enter the U.S. duty-free.<\/p>\n

The exchange and industry representatives are calling on the Prime Minister\u2019s Office, the Finance Ministry, and the Economy Ministry to negotiate with Washington for an exemption on diamond imports, similar to that granted to Europe. They also want foreign companies operating within the Israeli Diamond Exchange to be exempt from corporate tax as part of a proposed free trade zone.<\/p>\n

According to exchange data, imports of polished diamonds fell 32.9% over the past year, while exports dropped 35.7%. \u201cThese aren\u2019t just numbers,\u201d Zuaretz said. \u201cThey represent 6,000 families on the verge of losing their livelihoods. This is a generational legacy crumbling while the government ignores the reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zuaretz said some diamond traders are already struggling to survive. \u201cPeople who worked in this industry for 20 or 30 years, who built businesses and raised families from diamond profits, suddenly find themselves without income,\u201d he said. \u201cIf no one in the government wakes up, thousands will soon lose their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The diamond industry exports about $3.5 billion annually to the United States, accounting for roughly 8% of Israel\u2019s total exports.<\/p>\n

Zuaretz described the current situation as \u201ca real alarm before an entire export industry collapses.\u201d He said the industry has been battered by a series of blows \u2014 the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war that began in 2023, and now the U.S. decision to remove tariffs for Europe alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in this industry for 30 years,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is the worst crisis I\u2019ve ever seen. I\u2019m not talking about a temporary downturn \u2014 I\u2019m talking about the complete extinction of an industry that was once the pride of the State of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zuaretz welcomed recent remarks by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in support of establishing a diamond free trade zone, calling them \u201cthe first light at the end of the tunnel.\u201d He also praised Israel Tax Authority director Shay Aharonovich for backing the initiative but said action must follow. \u201cNow we need deeds, not just words,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added that a free trade zone could attract foreign investors, create jobs, and restore Israel\u2019s position in the global diamond market. \u201cLook at Dubai,\u201d Zuaretz said. \u201cThey set up a diamond free trade zone in 2002, and today 25,000 companies are registered there. The Abraham Accords opened opportunities but also created direct competition with Dubai. Now is the time to face that challenge, not run from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the crisis, Zuaretz noted that many of the world\u2019s most famous diamonds \u2014 including those worn by top athletes and celebrities \u2014 are still polished in Israel. \u201cThe global industry is thriving, but we are slipping backward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy message to the government and the public is clear: it\u2019s now or never,\u201d Zuaretz said. \u201cWe have a golden opportunity to restore Israel to the center of the global diamond industry, but the window is closing fast. Every day without government action means another diamond dealer lost, another family without income, another piece of our national heritage gone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israel\u2019s diamond industry, one of the country\u2019s historic export pillars, is warning of an unprecedented crisis that leaders…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,1294,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-224701","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}