The diamond industry of Israel is an important world player in producing cut

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

s for

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

. In 2010,

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

became the chair of the

Kimberley Process Certification Scheme The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is the process established in 2003 to prevent " conflict diamonds" from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in ...

. , cut diamonds constituted 23.2% of Israel's total exports and they were the country's biggest export product, amounting to 12% of the world's production.

History

Pre-state beginnings

What was to become the Israeli diamond industry began in 1937, eleven years before the State of Israel was established, when the first diamond polishing plant was opened in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

by Asher Anshel Daskal and Zvi Rosenberg, two experts diamantaires from

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

that immigrated from

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

.The Early 1900s
by Shira Ami In 1938 the 15% import duty on imported rough stones was removed. By 1944 the industry employed 3,300 workers in 33 factories, with £P 1,320,000 capital investment, entirely Jewish. The value of exports was over £P 3,200,000 mainly to the United States, Canada, and India; it was the largest value of any single commodity exported from

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

that year. Between 1944 and 1948 the industry suffered from the increasing lawlessness and in February 1948 closed down completely.

First years of the State of Israel

After a state was declared, the consumer economy was shifted to a war economy. This came at the height of a diamond crisis, as many war-torn economies were struggling to re-establish. During the first fifteen years of Israel's existence, diamonds and Jaffa oranges were the new state's main export products. After reaching its lowest point in the wake of the 1948 closedown, the industry has continued to grow, producing a world leader in the diamond industry.

Current state

In the beginning of the 21st century, Israel is one of the world's three major centers for polished

diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insol ...

, alongside Belgium and India. Israel's net polished diamond exports slid 22.8% in 2012 as polished diamond exports fell to $5.56 billion from $7.2 billion in 2011. Net exports of rough diamonds dropped 20.1% to $2.8 billion and net exports of polished diamonds slipped 24.9 percent to $4.3 billion, while net rough diamond imports dropped 12.9 percent to $3.8 billion. The United States is the largest market accounting for 36% of overall export market for polished diamonds while Hong Kong remains at second with 28 percent and Belgium at 8% coming in third. In 2007, when diamonds still constituted almost 24% of Israel's total exports, 12% of world diamonds (by their value) were polished in the country. In 2010 this number decreased to 9%. , diamonds amounted to 28% of Israel's total exports and they were still 12% of the world's production.

Trading infrastructure

The industry is located in the "Diamond District", located in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

in the

Tel Aviv District The Tel Aviv District (; ) is the geographically smallest yet also the most densely populated of the six administrative districts of Israel, with a population of 1.35 million residents. It is 98.9% Jewish and 1.10% Arab (0.7% Muslim, 0.4% Chris ...

. The complex is made up of four buildings, interconnected with walkways. The entire trading operation takes place in this complex.Israel Diamond Industry Organizations
The

Diamond Tower The Diamond Tower is a skyscraper located in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel, containing the world's largest diamond trading hall, accommodating up to 1,000 people. At 115 meters and 32 floors, the tower was the tallest building ...

in the district contains the world's largest diamond trading floor. Israel's government funds a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

industry body, the Israel Diamond Institute, to represent organisations and institutions involved in Israel's diamond industry.

Industry principles

The Israeli diamond industry guarantees all diamonds are 100% naturally made and participates in the Kimberley Process, a certification scheme whose goal is to ensure no

blood diamonds Blood diamonds (also called conflict diamonds, brown diamonds, hot diamonds, or red diamonds) are diamonds Diamond mining, mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army's war efforts, terrorism, or a warlord's activity ...

enter the marketplace. Some

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

campaigners, however, say the Kimberley Process defines conflict diamonds too narrowly, only relating to uncut stones, enabling Israel's diamond-cutting industry to avoid attention. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, among others, has called for diamonds processed in Israel to be considered conflict diamonds. The Israel Diamond Institute (IDI) Group of Companies is a

, public interest company that represents all organizations and institutions involved in Israel's diamond industry.Israel Diamond Industry
, Retrieved 2010-02-03. The main functions of the Institute are marketing and business development, promotion of rough

trading, professional training, security consultancy, technological research and development and trade shows.About the Israel Diamond Institute
, Retrieved 2010-02-03.

References

{{Economy of Israel Economy of Israel