Not Since Eve Has An Apple Caused So Much Trouble – iPad In Israel
A post by Brian of London.
If only there was a serpent in the grass, this story would have everything needed for a biblical blockbuster.
In the beginning Man created the mainframes and PCs
Now the computers were formless and empty and hard to use and kept crashing a lot.
And Jobs said, “Let there be a small, but not too small, a bit bigger than a phone, computer thing with a touch screen” and there was the iPad™. And Jobs looked at it (and so did 500,000 other people in the first week), and saw that it was good.
And then a few dozen, maybe even a hundred, Israelis bought the things in America and flew back to Israel with them. Very soon after release, therefore, they started arriving in Israel. A few got through, some less than honest people, probably just carried them through the airport and “forgot” to declare them and pay the necessary 16%VAT. Other more honest people declared they had them, like Eve, immediately regretted their Apple.
The Ministry of Communications in Israel has (fairly arbitrarily) declared that this computer is different from all other computers. The first article about this was in Haaretz, but then the whole fiasco went world wide. By now 100′s of articles have been written about Israel banning the iPad supposedly because it’s WiFi meets US standards rather than European. One of the better articles is in the Wall Street Journal and is pretty much correct in the facts.
As I import a few hundred American specification Laptops per week into Israel this took me rather by surprise. As the youngest kid might ask naively at Passover dinner: “why is this slate different from all other slates?”
The tech blogs have covered this in huge detail and it really is a classic example of out of touch government agencies knowing not what they do. Some are linking this with the fact that Shimon Peres’s son owns the sole Apple import license but even I don’t think this is too likely. The whole system for bringing computer equipment containing radios into Israel is, to put it mildly, a big mess. The iPad has exactly the same WiFi/Bluetooth/FM chip as the iPod Touch and various other Apple laptops which are available here. Legitimate importers ask for permission to bring a particular type of chip, get a certificate and then declare on the import papers that such and such a computer has this type of WiFi for which permission is granted.
So to say that the WiFi doesn’t meet European standards is odd. Especially when it’s easy enough to download a document from Apple’s website giving all the European approvals for the iPad. Here are a couple of extracs:
As for me, my own iPad arrived in Israel legally declared travelling piggy back with a large number of other laptops and was either missed by customs or allowed through despite the ban. Of course VAT was paid for it.
What a fuss and this is really just a classic example of how Israel’s modern dynamic private sector is matched by an out of date, over burdensome socialist derived bureaucracy trying to justify it’s existence. Israel is likely to be a hot bed of development for the iPad as it has proved to be for the iPhone and the forward thinking Web 2.0 ideas that marry mobile computing and always on internet connections. Blocking Israel’s web developers from legitimately owning an iPad before the official importer can bring them is a bone headed move.
We will wait to see if anybody from the press manages to point out pages 4 and 5 of the iPad Product Information Guide to the Ministry of Communications here. It seems pretty clear to me that when Apple do start shipping the iPad to the UK, Germany and France, they’ve got all the right permissions in place to do it.
About the Author
Brian of London is not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy. Since making aliyah in 2009, Brian has blogged at Israellycool. Brian's interests include world peace and an end to world hunger.Besides blogging here, Brian of London now writes for PJ Media. Brian of London also hosted Shire Network NewsFiled Under: General
This is a biblical epic in the making. The Apple Ipad as the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. But who exactly is the serpent in all of this? My Bible knowledge is a bit sketchy since everything I know about the Holy Scriptures comes from watching episodes of "Davey and Goliath."
That's all right, the actually is no "apple" in the story, or eveywhere else in the Torah. Dave just couldn't resist a line.
No, Brian wrote the post.
OK, Brian couldn't resist a line. I know I can't.
[...] Brian of London has more on Israel’s iPad [...]
Brian, are you aware of yesterday's news?
Yes and it's a complete red herring relating to the particular IT systems deployed at those Universities. It has nothing to do with the typical domestic WiFi that is used by the vast majority of people at home, internet cafe's and even most medium businesses.
I have read in a few places that it is because certain bribes have not been paid.
How long do you think it will be before they lift the ban? I plan on bringing one in as my own belongings for a friend. The time he had to wait for an iPhone 3gs to be available was ridiculous, and I won't post it to him. The last time I declared and insured something valuable – a Tiffany Magen David necklace – he paid tax in shekels what was worth over half of the actual product price in AUD… Whinge whinge
whinge. i always find that spelling extremely bizarre. silly brits/aussies
This ruling will not stand for very long I believe. Especially, once the iPad is being sold on Regent St in London or in Paris, it's going to be impossible for the Ministry to claim that it doesn't comply with European standards. I give it not more than four weeks.
If you bring a product, into Israel as your own, especially if it is used, you should not declare it to customs. If you don't plan to take it out again you should….
Juvanya, your comments always make me smile
what is the alternative spelling? And thanks heaps BrianOfLondon 
OK, Brian couldn’t resist a line. I know I can’t.