Mashkevitch said he made his decision for purely financial reasons, after seeing how Israel's economy remained strong during the global financial crisis.
Mashkevitch, originally of Kazakhstan, is head of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, and is also a major shareholder in the Eurasian National Resources Corporation. He spoke Tuesday at the European Friends of Israel policy conference in Jerusalem.
Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer spoke at the event as well, and said that with a GDP per capita of $30,000, Israel's economy is now comparable to the economies of Europe. “Israel can fit in with the level of the economies of Europe, even if it would not be among the leaders,” he said.
The Israeli economy remained relatively stable during the financial crisis, and unemployment is back down after briefly rising, he said. However, he said, growth may slow in 2011 due to the rising cost of necessities, including housing.
