Jewish Funders Network Conference: Arab Citizens in the Star...

JFN Conference Session: Arab Citizens in the Start-Up Nation

Israel's thriving high-tech sector is a major driver of the country's economic growth. Yet less than 2% of the sector's workforce are Arab professionals, and only a small percentage of Arab engineers are employed in their field of study.Over the past several years a number of initiatives were established by government, private investors and funders to integrate Arab citizens into Israel's tech sector and reap the economic benefits for both Arab society and the state.

The session brings together Jewish and Arab innovators, officials and investors to discuss this new trend. The discussion will cover models to place Arab professionals in tech jobs and establish tech hubs in Arab localities; civil society organizations advancing a thriving Arab startup scene; collaborations between government and civil society organizations; and the grantmaking and impact-investment opportunities for funders.

Moderator: Gary Jacobs, Chair, NGT3

Panelists:
Amal Ayoub, CEO, Mettalo Therapy
Tziona Koenig-Yair, Commissioner, Israel's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Noa Bar Rose, Recruitment and Human Resources Manager, Matrix North

This session was designed by the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation, Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, Mandell L. and Madeleine H. Berman Foundation, Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation, Charles H. Revson Foundation, and Gary Jacobs.

Speaker Bios

Gary Jacobs
Gary Jacobs is founder and managing director of Jacobs Investment Company LLC (JIC), which has a diverse international portfolio. Gary is committed to impact investing in Israel and is a general partner in NGT3, a technological incubator in Nazareth, with a focus on Arab Israeli entrepreneurs. Gary serves on numerous boards and is also the chairman of Nutrinia Ltd. and Dermtech Ltd. He is chairman of the board of trustees of the Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High in San Diego, co-founder of JITLI - the Jewish International Teen Leadership Institute, and is past president of the United Jewish Federation of San Diego County.

Amal Ayoub
Amal Ayoub is a biotech entrepreneur with rich experience in lifescience industry. She is the founder and CEO of Metallo Therapy, a startup company that develops methods to introduce gold nano particles and other heavy metals into cancer cells for several medical applications such cancer therapy and imaging.

Tziona Koenig-Yair
Tziona Koenig-Yair is the national commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission in Israel. Since passing the bar in 1996 she has spent the better part of her legal career addressing equality issues from various aspects. Beginning as a prosecutor in the district attorney's office in Tel Aviv, Tziona later worked in the legal department of the Israel Women's Network, Israel's foremost advocacy group for women, eventually becoming head of the legal department. In 2007, Tziona was appointed executive eirector of IWN and managed the organization for a year until being appointed the first national commissioner of the EEOC, establishing and creating the new government entity. Tziona was chosen in 2011 as one of the 100 most influential people in Israel by The Marker, due to her work in promoting and implementing equality in the labor market in Israel.

Noa Bar Rose
Noa Bar Rose is the Recruitment and Human Resources Manager for Matrix's north site and Babcom Software. She specializes in recruitment of high-tech professionals and in employment diversity. Noa leads both companies' participation in diversity forums such as Ma'antech and their efforts to recruit within Israel's Arab and Orthodox populations. Prior to Matrix and Babcom, Noa served as a recruitment, diagnosis and placement coordinator at the ANASH Institute, and as an organizational and research consultant at the Ministry of Finance.