"Israel was the first to emerge from the pandemic, but will be the last to emerge from the global tech crisis”
"Israel was the first to emerge from the pandemic, but will be the last to emerge from the global tech crisis”
Sivan Shamri Dahan, Managing Partner of Qumra Capital, was speaking at a special conference in the Knesset led by high-tech industry organizations opposing the judicial overhaul. "If 10,000-20,000 high-tech workers leave Israel there will no longer be a high-tech industry here,” noted Professor Eugene Kandel
"If 10,000-20,000 high-tech workers leave Israel there will no longer be a high-tech industry here," warned Professor Eugene Kandel, co-chairman of the Start-Up Nation Policy Institute (SNPI), who was also recently appointed chairman of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
The remarks were made at a special conference led by high-tech industry organizations opposing the judicial overhaul. The event was held at the Knesset at the invitation of Member of Knesset and former minister of innovation Orit Farkash HaCohen (National Unity) and MK Efrat Rayten (Labor). At the conference, senior executives from the venture capital industry and many entrepreneurs warned against the dangers facing the Israeli economy as a whole, and the high-tech industry in particular, due to what they perceive as internal threats, as well as the global crisis.
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Knesset conference to discuss judicial overhaul dangers to high-tech.
(Photo: Tech for Israel)
Kandel, one of Israel's top economists who was previously considered one of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's close associates when he served as chairman of the National Economic Council, added: "I have been studying high-tech for 14 years. One of the goals of the institute I head is for every citizen of Israel to understand that high-tech has real value for them. The GDP per capita is a measure of quality of life. Broadly speaking, there is one industry here that is competitive in the world. It employs about 11% of the workers. The downside is that everyone wants to be part of this industry and in the last decade there has been increasing competition for a place in the high-tech industry," Kandel continued.
Shaul Meridor, CFO at unicorn Lightricks and the former head of the budget department at the Ministry of Finance, stated that "the current government gave steroids to the global crisis here in Israel. All the investors say 'they've gone crazy so we'll wait', but their 'waiting' means 'not coming back'."
Sivan Shamri Dahan, Managing Partner of Qumra Capital, added that "Israel was the first to emerge from the pandemic, but will be the last to emerge from the global crisis. The country is in a state of flux. There are no investors, no new companies, and almost no exits."
Yiftach Shoolman, one of the founders of the unicorn Redis, added: "During the pandemic, everyone bought from everyone else. Today we are trying to hide our Israeli identity in order to sell abroad and that is really sad."
Shimon Eckhouse, one of Israel's veteran entrepreneurs who founded, among other companies, the medical laser company Lumenis, said: "We are the delta of the economy in Israel and not just because of exits or income tax. We have built a lot of value in the State of Israel and they are trying to kill it. Without freedom there is no creativity and this cannot be exaggerated."
MK Orit Farkash HaCohen addressed the planned NIS 100 million cut in the Israel Innovation Authority's budget: "People don't understand how high-tech is the key to reducing disparities in the State of Israel. When I read that the Innovation Authority's budget was being cut, I didn't understand why. Every shekel the state puts into this industry results in a return of 6 or 7 times.”
MK Efrat Rayten said: "The high-tech workers taking to the streets was a very big force for us in stopping the legislation, but it is not enough. We don't think the reform is dead. We are at the heart of a real culture war over the identity of the State of Israel. Disillusionment hurts but is better than turning a blind eye. We have become sober and we need to mobilize all our forces to stop what is happening here. We do not have the privilege to leave the country and neither do our children. Our job is to do everything so that there is no brain drain and to keep the young generation in the country.”
