CTech's Thursday Roundup of Israeli Tech News

Interview | Passing on open code, Israel missed on Elastic, CEO says. In October, Israeli-linked IT and data analytics company Elastic floated on NYSE, attaining a market capitalization of around $2.5 billion. Read more

Israel approves CRS tax regulations, with a caveat. Israel's parliamentary finance committee approved on Tuesday a series of statutes that will make life a lot harder for tax evaders in the country. Philanthropic Jewish orthodox community lending institutes will be exempted. Read more

Former Cavaliers coach David Blatt predicts a great year for Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Dončić. Blatt said Dončić will be named 2019’s Rookie of the Year, blasting ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith as “clueless” for favoring DeAndre Ayton early on. Read more  

Wi-Fi chip company Celeno raises $10 million for European, IoT expansion. Celeno develops components and subsystems for high performance carrier-class Wi-Fi systems and networks. Read more

Israeli regulator considers mandating registration of civil drones. The current laws regulating civil drones in Israel were passed in 1981. Read more

Public shaming of political partner backfires on Israeli Labor Party leader. In a Tuesday press event, Israeli politician Avi Gabbay summarily and one-sidedly broke a three-years political alliance, stunning his political partner, former Israeli minister Tzipi Livni. As a response, fuming Israelis marched to social media to voice criticism centering on a possible misogynistic side to the dramatic announcement. Read more  

Israel gives copyright owners a fast track to block infringing websites. The Israeli Parliament voted Tuesday to approve an amendment to the country’s copyright law. Read more 

Online gambling company Playtech reaches tax settlement in Israel. The London-listed gambling software developer will pay $32 million following an audit for the years 2008-2017. Read more

Philippine Airlines seeks to route flights to Israel over Saudi Airspace, Reuters reports. If granted permission, Philippine Airlines will become the second airline to fly over Saudi airspace en route to Israel, a right that was granted to Air India in March 2018. Read more 

Honduras and Jerusalem advance mutual embassies. In December 2017, Honduras was one of only nine countries, including Israel and the U.S., to vote against a motion adopted by the U.N. General Assembly condemning U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Read more