Bridging Israeli and Palestinian Tech | Lia Weiner-Tsur, MBA ’23

TL;DR

Tech Bridge connects Israeli and Palestinian tech ecosystems to address engineer shortages and promote economic prosperity.

Transcript

[MUSIC] I want to share with you today a story about Israelis and Palestinian, but it's not about war and it's not about conflict. It's a story of the technology bridge that we're building between the two people. So the story starts on an aeroplane in 2017, I opened my eyes just as the pilot announced our descent onto Israel. I could see the Aviv S... Read More

Key Insights

• 🥺 Israel is a leading technological ecosystem with a shortage of engineers.
• 😀 Palestinian software engineers face challenges finding jobs in the tech sector.
• 🧑‍💻 Tech Bridge bridges the gap by matching Israeli tech companies with Palestinian engineers.
• 🧑‍💻 Collaboration in the tech sector benefits both Israelis and Palestinians economically.
• 💦 Working together fosters mutual understanding and replaces stereotypes with familiarity.
• 🇵🇸 Israeli companies like Mellanox and Kratos employ Palestinian software engineers.
• 😵 Tech Bridge and other organizations promote cross-border collaborations in the tech sector.

Questions & Answers

Q: What motivated the creation of Tech Bridge?

The shortage of engineers in Israeli tech companies and the abundance of Palestinian software engineers looking for jobs led to the creation of Tech Bridge.

Q: What are the benefits of Israeli-Palestinian collaboration in the tech sector?

Collaboration in the tech sector offers a market-driven solution, benefits both Israelis and Palestinians, and increases economic prosperity in the region.

Q: How many Palestinian software engineers are currently working for Israeli startups?

Tech Bridge has facilitated nearly 1000 Palestinian software engineers working for Israeli startups and multinationals.

Q: How does Israeli-Palestinian collaboration help improve mutual understanding?

By working together, Israelis and Palestinians get to know each other, replace stereotypes with familiarity, and foster a sense of unity.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Israel is a technological hub with thousands of startups and multinationals, but faces a shortage of engineers.

• Palestinian engineers graduate every year but struggle to find jobs in the Palestinian tech sector.

• Tech Bridge connects Israeli tech companies with Palestinian software engineers, creating a win-win situation and enhancing cross-border collaborations.