7 ms·

Mentor startups in Gaza

86 points by notyourgrandma 12y ago

untog 12y ago
Awkward domain name in this context.
trhway 12y ago
i wonder whether there are student exchange or similar programs between Israel and Gaza. Specifically in this case - my understanding that Israel has pretty booming tech scene and one would expect that sharing the experience with Gazans would be a win/win for both sides.
- arikrak 12y ago
  Nice idea, but not practical. Before the first intifada, a large number of Gazans worked in Israel. Afterwards, Israel put up security restrictions to prevent terrorism. Hamas also restricts travel to Israel since it's afraid people will develop positive attitudes to Israel or become collaborators.
- pron 12y ago
  There are constant collaboration efforts, though with the West Bank rather than Gaza (which is ruled by Hamas): http://www.forbes.com/sites/richardbehar/2013/07/24/peace-through-profits-a-private-sector-detente-is-drawing-israelis-palestinians-closer/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/richardbehar/2013/07/24/peace-th...
- gadders 12y ago
  I don't think that is likely to happen given the conflict between the two countries.
  - gadders 12y ago
    Actually, on their "How do we get in an out of Gaza" section it says: >>We currently cannot bring people to Gaza if you have a West Bank ID or Israeli passport. We can bring people who have an East Jerusalem ID. Out of interest, I wonder if they accept Jewish mentors.
    - golergka 12y ago
      You have to be insane to be a jew get into a territory that is governed by organisation that basically has "kill all jews" in it's charter.
      - gadders 12y ago
        That was what I was thinking as well.
        imontauk 12y ago
        The only ways for foreigners to get into Gaza is when they work for an international humanitarian organization or when they are journalists. I run Gaza Sky Geeks and live in Gaza. I have seen Jewish Americans come frequently, both as humanitarian workers and as journalists.
        minthd 12y ago
        Imon, what about remote work from gaza? how's the situation ? Because assuming there's the right talent and enough stability to work, this seems like something that could attract many employers, both from financial/talent perspectives and from the doing good perspective. And it could be very scalable, maybe even having real impact on the region.
- golergka 12y ago
  As a developer from Israel, I'd like to participate in something like this — but I don't think that there's any opportunity for me to do this. From what I understand, even if someone tried to do something like that on the other side, they'd risk execution for "collaboration" if they did this.
  - aidos 12y ago
    Do you have anything to back that up? I'd be interested in reading about it. Edit: I can see there's an article here that sounds like the root of this sort of statement but I can't read any details because I'm in a really remote place with very little internet. Over the last couple of days I've discovered that the wired world no longer cares for those with 7kbs connections :-) http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/08/hamas-kills-11-suspected-informers-israel-201482285624490268.html http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/08/hamas-kills...
    - golergka 12y ago
      Yeah, it's things like this. Not the easies thing to google as Gaza doesn't exactly has any unbiased journalists; hopefully, I'll be able to provide you with some sources later in the evening.
    - tek-cyb-org 12y ago
      I'm sorry but that article has nothing to do with the topic at hand. Every country on earth executes informants.
      - aidos 12y ago
        That's sort of the point I was making though (even though I couldn't see the article, that's the story that seemed to dominate when I searched in Google). On paper, that's "collaborating" with Isreal leading to execution (GP: "they'd risk execution for "collaboration" if they did this"). I suspect that there was a (horrible) case like this that was promoted within Israel to drive the sort of talk that I was responding to. An incident is taken out of context, rebranded and sold as normal behaviour by a demon state. I'd like to see the articles about people in Gaza being killed for getting support from people in Israel.
oceanfinance 12y ago
LOAN OFFER Do you need an urgent loan? Apply Now and get your cash urgently by replying with your request! Do You Need Any Kind of Loan? Apply Now. * Arrangements to Borrow Your Required Loan Amount * Choose between 1 to 20 years to repay. * Choose between monthly and annual repayment plan .. * Flexible loan terms and conditions. All these plans and more,contact us now. Email: oceanfinance2014@gmail.com Regards Management
pvaldes 12y ago
Sorry if I'm being rude, but this sounds like a really bad joke. "This building is the new place for your new startup, the burocracy is atrocious and humiliating; not people neither prime matters can enter or go out freely from here, and the entire place is systematically ravaged and firebombed each two or three years killing your workers, otherwise is fine." "Last year this nice new zone is flattened and 'cleaned' of people... 1000 or maybe 2000 people were killed, I don't remember... and now we want you (again) to give us your money and effort to clean our mess. We need reclaim the area rebuilding this new free space ASAP to secure the place. Thanks" Just being as cold blooded and logic as I can... Can someone provide a reason to invest in such unstable place? Will you advise someone to create his/her new startup in a warzone? Why?
- wazoox 12y ago
  To support people of Gaza through something really helpful and not politically laden, I'd guess.
  - pvaldes 12y ago
    If we really want to help the people of Gaza we need first to put the people that killed children, women and innocent men of Gaza, in front of an international trial. And stop voting to them. Is as simple as that. We need also to stop tolerating to be labelled as "anti-semitic behaviour" to bona fide criticizing Israel for breaking repeatedly a lot of international laws about human rights, each three years, and for treating palestinian people as human cockroaches. In the last years USA and Europe were repeatedly urged to pay with trucks full of money the last "Gaza reconstruction". We paid for rebuilding exactly the same UN schools and hospitals that Israel bombed meticulously the last year, in some cases even with UN workers inside. Is reasonable to asume that if we pay again, the new schools and hospitales will be bombed again in the next two or three years, with the silliest excuses. There is also the problem that Israel controls the economy of Gaza, so there is not any guarantee that the money for palestinians will not be used instead in buying new bombs to replace that were dropped. I'm aware that I'm being sour and harsh, but in my opinion, and is just an opinion, the sort of Warsaw Ghetto that became Gaza, need a little more that well-meant investors and little kisses at this moment.
jlebrech 12y ago
they only thing i can see being a good opportunity in Gaza is something like capsule hotels. they'd be impossible to hide rockets in and when they nearby buildings are destroyed they'd get new customers. Israel could be guaranteed the neutrality of those buildings so as to never be targeted.
lordnacho 12y ago
So, what are conditions like? Is there a talent pool? Is infrastructure working (Do they have brownouts, are there a lot of people with internet)? Is it easy for investors to get their money in and out?
- notyourgrandma 12y ago
  Lord - Conditions are no-doubt tough, but there is internet infrastructure, and there is most definitely talent. Brownouts do occur in the evenings. Gaza Sky Geeks also has a generator so that entrepreneurs in the co-working space can work late. Investing is not an issue. There's a new $9M fund that just formed to focus on Gaza. Check out the Indiegogo page - https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/save-gaza-s-only-startup-accelerator https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/save-gaza-s-only-startup-.... It has a ton of info

untog 12y ago

Awkward domain name in this context.

i wonder whether there are student exchange or similar programs between Israel and Gaza. Specifically in this case - my understanding that Israel has pretty booming tech scene and one would expect that sharing the experience with Gazans would be a win/win for both sides.

arikrak 12y ago
Nice idea, but not practical. Before the first intifada, a large number of Gazans worked in Israel. Afterwards, Israel put up security restrictions to prevent terrorism. Hamas also restricts travel to Israel since it's afraid people will develop positive attitudes to Israel or become collaborators.
pron 12y ago
There are constant collaboration efforts, though with the West Bank rather than Gaza (which is ruled by Hamas): http://www.forbes.com/sites/richardbehar/2013/07/24/peace-through-profits-a-private-sector-detente-is-drawing-israelis-palestinians-closer/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/richardbehar/2013/07/24/peace-th...
gadders 12y ago
I don't think that is likely to happen given the conflict between the two countries.
- gadders 12y ago
  Actually, on their "How do we get in an out of Gaza" section it says: >>We currently cannot bring people to Gaza if you have a West Bank ID or Israeli passport. We can bring people who have an East Jerusalem ID. Out of interest, I wonder if they accept Jewish mentors.
  - golergka 12y ago
    You have to be insane to be a jew get into a territory that is governed by organisation that basically has "kill all jews" in it's charter.
    - gadders 12y ago
      That was what I was thinking as well.
      - imontauk 12y ago
        The only ways for foreigners to get into Gaza is when they work for an international humanitarian organization or when they are journalists. I run Gaza Sky Geeks and live in Gaza. I have seen Jewish Americans come frequently, both as humanitarian workers and as journalists.
        minthd 12y ago
        Imon, what about remote work from gaza? how's the situation ? Because assuming there's the right talent and enough stability to work, this seems like something that could attract many employers, both from financial/talent perspectives and from the doing good perspective. And it could be very scalable, maybe even having real impact on the region.
golergka 12y ago
As a developer from Israel, I'd like to participate in something like this — but I don't think that there's any opportunity for me to do this. From what I understand, even if someone tried to do something like that on the other side, they'd risk execution for "collaboration" if they did this.
- aidos 12y ago
  Do you have anything to back that up? I'd be interested in reading about it. Edit: I can see there's an article here that sounds like the root of this sort of statement but I can't read any details because I'm in a really remote place with very little internet. Over the last couple of days I've discovered that the wired world no longer cares for those with 7kbs connections :-) http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/08/hamas-kills-11-suspected-informers-israel-201482285624490268.html http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/08/hamas-kills...
  - golergka 12y ago
    Yeah, it's things like this. Not the easies thing to google as Gaza doesn't exactly has any unbiased journalists; hopefully, I'll be able to provide you with some sources later in the evening.
  - tek-cyb-org 12y ago
    I'm sorry but that article has nothing to do with the topic at hand. Every country on earth executes informants.
    - aidos 12y ago
      That's sort of the point I was making though (even though I couldn't see the article, that's the story that seemed to dominate when I searched in Google). On paper, that's "collaborating" with Isreal leading to execution (GP: "they'd risk execution for "collaboration" if they did this"). I suspect that there was a (horrible) case like this that was promoted within Israel to drive the sort of talk that I was responding to. An incident is taken out of context, rebranded and sold as normal behaviour by a demon state. I'd like to see the articles about people in Gaza being killed for getting support from people in Israel.

oceanfinance 12y ago

LOAN OFFER Do you need an urgent loan? Apply Now and get your cash urgently by replying with your request! Do You Need Any Kind of Loan? Apply Now. * Arrangements to Borrow Your Required Loan Amount * Choose between 1 to 20 years to repay. * Choose between monthly and annual repayment plan .. * Flexible loan terms and conditions. All these plans and more,contact us now. Email: oceanfinance2014@gmail.com Regards Management

pvaldes 12y ago

Sorry if I'm being rude, but this sounds like a really bad joke. "This building is the new place for your new startup, the burocracy is atrocious and humiliating; not people neither prime matters can enter or go out freely from here, and the entire place is systematically ravaged and firebombed each two or three years killing your workers, otherwise is fine." "Last year this nice new zone is flattened and 'cleaned' of people... 1000 or maybe 2000 people were killed, I don't remember... and now we want you (again) to give us your money and effort to clean our mess. We need reclaim the area rebuilding this new free space ASAP to secure the place. Thanks" Just being as cold blooded and logic as I can... Can someone provide a reason to invest in such unstable place? Will you advise someone to create his/her new startup in a warzone? Why?

wazoox 12y ago
To support people of Gaza through something really helpful and not politically laden, I'd guess.
- pvaldes 12y ago
  If we really want to help the people of Gaza we need first to put the people that killed children, women and innocent men of Gaza, in front of an international trial. And stop voting to them. Is as simple as that. We need also to stop tolerating to be labelled as "anti-semitic behaviour" to bona fide criticizing Israel for breaking repeatedly a lot of international laws about human rights, each three years, and for treating palestinian people as human cockroaches. In the last years USA and Europe were repeatedly urged to pay with trucks full of money the last "Gaza reconstruction". We paid for rebuilding exactly the same UN schools and hospitals that Israel bombed meticulously the last year, in some cases even with UN workers inside. Is reasonable to asume that if we pay again, the new schools and hospitales will be bombed again in the next two or three years, with the silliest excuses. There is also the problem that Israel controls the economy of Gaza, so there is not any guarantee that the money for palestinians will not be used instead in buying new bombs to replace that were dropped. I'm aware that I'm being sour and harsh, but in my opinion, and is just an opinion, the sort of Warsaw Ghetto that became Gaza, need a little more that well-meant investors and little kisses at this moment.

jlebrech 12y ago

they only thing i can see being a good opportunity in Gaza is something like capsule hotels. they'd be impossible to hide rockets in and when they nearby buildings are destroyed they'd get new customers. Israel could be guaranteed the neutrality of those buildings so as to never be targeted.

lordnacho 12y ago

So, what are conditions like? Is there a talent pool? Is infrastructure working (Do they have brownouts, are there a lot of people with internet)? Is it easy for investors to get their money in and out?

notyourgrandma 12y ago
Lord - Conditions are no-doubt tough, but there is internet infrastructure, and there is most definitely talent. Brownouts do occur in the evenings. Gaza Sky Geeks also has a generator so that entrepreneurs in the co-working space can work late. Investing is not an issue. There's a new $9M fund that just formed to focus on Gaza. Check out the Indiegogo page - https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/save-gaza-s-only-startup-accelerator https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/save-gaza-s-only-startup-.... It has a ton of info