VCinJerusalem

Where Google Goes, the Dollar is Not Far Behind

Google has represented the decade we are now winding down, and tracked the resurgence of the American economy after the blows of NASDAQ implosion in 2000 and then of course 9/11. With the succesful growth of Google, its IPO took off, and while I thought it was a short at 80, stock price continued to climb.

While the dollar did not follow the same meteoric rise over the past 6-7 years as the Google stock price, Google is many ways was keeping the dollar propped up, overshadowing the many serious problems in the American economy and government (not the least the American invasion and occupation of Iraq, costing the American taxpayer, which includes me, more money than it would take to feed all the hungry people in the world).

Clicks. Click throughs. PPC. Adwords. Adsense. These are the ingredients of Google's billions of dollars of profits (and still insane valuation). What it boils down to is the ultimate American value point: marketing. The Google guys convinced the world that clicks=$$, and until the emperors cloths start to fade noone knows he is standing there naked (or nude, if you prefer). But how well tested is the core Google theory? What are conversion rates really like? None of "know," tremendous amount of guesswork involved. Look back to my post on Jaxtr for a taste of emptiness of usage--10 million users and no revenue to speak of, in my eyes that is not a business.

Now, let me stress that while I know little about the public markets, I know far less about the global currency market. When my children ask me about the dollar falling in value against the Shekel, I blabber for a bit about "shakiness in the American economy," but actually have no idea what I am saying. I do know, however, that much like Google, America marketed itself well, even in the face of some astonishingly stupid moves in the world. In 1990 we defended one dictatorship from another (to this day not clear why). In 2001, in response to 19 Saudi men bombing New York and Washington the US went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Go explain that one to your kids.

Now people are losing confidence in Google, and in the Greenback. As long as you cashed out and your life is all in dollars, nothing to  worry about.

For those of us who live in the world, and I mean in the world...multi-currency,  multi-lingual,  multi-national,  the  rapid deterioration of the  Google stock price and  the dollar  remind  us  that we cannot rest  all our hopes on one player. Going global means being global, and even living in Jerusalem (in the center of the world) I am feeling left behind. Time to move savings in multiple currencies. Time to figure where the next waves are coming from -- because Google Greenbacks are so....what do we call this decade?

When I have None, Rely On Other's Words

When I am lack for words for myself, as I have been the past few days (really weeks, but hit home more this past Thursday night), as I passed the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva minutes after 8 teenagers were slaughtered while they studied in the library. I again passed there yesterday morning and afternoon. And then word came our that their killer was a Palestinian Jerusalemite from Jabel Mukaber, a village less than a mile from my house.

With so many conflicting thoughts racing around in my brain, trying to stay focused on my immediate family, my venture business, was so moved to receive the following note from a friend in California, for whom we are her only connection to Jerusalem:

 

Jacob, I just had to write to tell you how sad I was to read today’s news about the murders in Jerusalem.   I know how hard you and your family have worked for peace, and how especially devastating it must be to see it eroded within your own city, and in such an ugly and senseless way.  I am praying for reason and a shared humanity to prevail over ignorance and hatred, and am ever more grateful to know people like you and Haviva who live your lives in peace and teach your children love. 

           Wishing you the best,
            Martha

I certainly could not have said it better. Amen Martha. Amen.

We Even Make Good Wine

While the usual discussion in these pages is about start-ups, and how Israel is an incredible breeding ground for tech entrepreneurship, we have also gone back to our roots.

I was first introduced to Castel Winery  by my good friend Elie Wurtman, and we actually entertained the thought of opening a winery ourselves. Probably good that we stopped at the drawing board with that one, but Eli Ben Zaken and his peers have blazed a new trail for Israeli wine. Yet another example of the "new Israel," as a center of creativity and a global sense of the aesthetic.

Take a look at this story from this past weekend's Wall Street Journal (thanks to Jules Polonetsky for pointing it out):

Israel's New Revolution in Quality

By WILLIAM ECHIKSON
SPECIAL TO THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
February 22, 2008

It started as a hobby. Eli-Gilbert Ben-Zaken, an Israeli restaurateur and poultry farmer, planted a few grape vines on a hilltop next to his house in the Judean hills in 1988. He chose the name Domaine du Castel after a nearby crusader fortress and, starting with a mere 600 bottles, attempted to make high-quality, French-inspired wines.

In the beginning, Mr. Ben-Zaken's quest looked quixotic. Wine was produced in ancient times in Israel -- archaeologists have found antique wine presses in the Galilee and Judean Hills -- and the Rothschild banking family reintroduced grape cultivation at the end of the 19th century. But for most of the country's history, the Israeli industry was dominated by sweet wines of poor quality that taste like alcohol-tainted grape juice -- tired red wines with cooked, herbaceous flavors.

Israeli winemaker Eli-Gilbert Ben-Zaken in his cellar

Today, Mr. Ben-Zaken and a small group of other Israeli pioneers are creating world-class reds and whites that are gaining increasing recognition from critics both at home and abroad. Ever more-prosperous Israelis are demanding better drinking choices, while connoisseurs in the U.S. and Europe in search of something different are intrigued enough to taste these "new" world wines from an ancient land.

"We were real pioneers -- the Israeli market used to be a prisoner market for poor-quality kosher wine," Mr. Ben-Zaken, 63 years old, recalls. "It's different these days. Everybody is trying to make something good."

Traditionally, Jews drank mostly for Shabbat blessing and this wine was made sweet because a bottle had to last for several days and still be drinkable. In modern Israel, winemakers had a captive market that demanded kosher wines and little in terms of quality. Israelis traditionally put little emphasis on gastronomy.

The country's economic boom over the past two decades has changed that, creating more of a market for the finer things in life. Israel's reduction of travel taxes prompted a wave of visits to Europe and exposure to good food and good wine. Import taxes were lowered and many of the world's most famous international wines finally began to become available in the country. Annual per capita consumption of wine has doubled in the past two decades to about seven liters.

A new generation of wineries and winemakers has emerged to satisfy Israelis' new appreciation for quality wines. Before 1980, Israel counted only about 20 wineries. One company -- Carmel -- dominated the industry, vinifying about 70% of the country's total grape harvest. Today, more than 200 smaller wineries are spread across the country, from the Golan Heights in the far north to the Negev Desert in the far south. Sweet wines now represent a minority of the market.

In Europe, supermarkets still tend to stock the mainstream Israeli brands. But increasingly specialty wine stores or Jewish stores are carrying a wider selection of highly rated Israeli wines. (For details on some stores in Europe and tasting notes on some wines, see accompanying article.)

In addition to Castel, some of the best names to look for include Margalit, Tzora, Chateau Golan and Clos de Gat. Even Israel's largest and oldest wineries, led by Carmel, have invested in new production of high-quality, European-style wines. Carmel has launched the well-respected wineries Ramat Daltan, Zichron and Yatir.

Mr. Ben-Zaken's Domaine du Castel was the first winery to plant vines in the Judean hills, in the center of the country. Now, more than 30 wineries flourish there. The Judean's Mediterranean-style hillsides -- where olive groves also flourish -- benefit from relatively cool summers, which make them suited to quality winemaking. For his wines, Mr. Ben-Zaken has given the hills a French name: Haute-Judée.

Domaine du Castel regularly ranks among the best Israeli wines in international tastings. Its wines are exported to the U.K., Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Bottles sell for €30 or more. Mr. Ben-Zaken often shows off his wines in St. Emilion during the Bordeaux region's annual primeur tastings, and he recently traveled to Brussels.

"Castel is the king of Israeli boutique wineries," says Philippe Weinberger, an Antwerp-based importer and wine-shop owner who sells a wide range of top-ranked kosher wines. "He was the first one to do this and he pushed the big guys -- the big companies such as Carmel -- into making better wine." At his Antwerp shop, Mr. Weinberger says, he sells top-flight Israeli wines to Jews "who want to taste great kosher wine" and non-Jews "who just want to try something new."

The diminutive, bearded Mr. Ben-Zaken grew up in Alexandria, Egypt, having no experience with wine. In the 1960s his family moved to Italy, where he acquired a taste for fine food and wine. Both he and his wife Monique, also from Egypt, attended the University of Geneva, which nurtured his Francophile tendencies.

In 1970, the Ben-Zakens settled in Israel, on a small farm with a chicken coop about 17 kilometers from Jerusalem, where Mr. Ben-Zaken opened a restaurant called Mamma Mia. "It was the first restaurant serving fresh pasta in Israel," he says. The restaurant required a wine list. He began to taste seriously, traveling often to French and Italian wine regions, and was inspired to plant his initial vines.

During a 1985 trip to Burgundy, Mr. Ben-Zaken was staying in Puligny-Montrachet and asked for a bottle of the local wine at the hotel's restaurant, not knowing the village was home to one of the world's most famous Chardonnays. When the wine was served, it proved a revelation -- "the first time I tasted a white wine aged in oak that was not just fruity but had much more complex flavors."

For his own wine, Mr. Ben-Zaken has adopted a similar French style. His reds blend the five Bordeaux grape varietals led by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. His whites are 100% Chardonnays and are crafted to resemble Burgundies. One of his two sons, Ariel, joined the winery after studying oenology in Burgundy. His son-in-law also works at the winery. All Domaine du Castel wines are aged in French oak barrels.

The winery now has 15 hectares under cultivation and produces about 200,000 bottles each year. Mr. Ben-Zaken has stopped raising poultry and turned the old chicken coop into a modern cellar and winemaking facility. When in 2002 the intifada put his Mamma Mia restaurant on the front lines of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, forcing him to hire security guards and chasing away many of his customers, he closed it and concentrated full-time on making wine.

Mr. Ben-Zaken is a secular Jew, and at first, he didn't make kosher wines. But many of Domaine du Castel's customers began asking for wines that respect Jewish dietary laws, so Mr. Ben-Zaken changed his production process to get rabbinic approval. Although much debate continues to swirl about what makes a wine kosher, most insist on rabbis or their assistants supervising the wine's production and prohibit the use of animal byproducts such as gelatin, which is used to clarify wine.

The domaine's wines are intriguing -- impressive but not always successful. At a recent tasting in Brussels, the 2005 Chardonnay, which costs €39 a bottle, seemed crisp and cool, with a nice buttery finish. But one of the tasting participants, Brussels wine-seller Paul van Dievoet, said too much oak masked the fruit's full flavors. "It's hard to justify such a high price," he said.

The reds received similarly mixed reviews in Brussels. Both the 2005 Petit Castel at €32 a bottle and the 2004 Grand Castel, at €54, are clean, impressive wines, with full flavors -- from floral violets to fruity cherries -- with licorice, clove and other spices in the finish. "These are more Bordeaux than real Bordeaux," said a surprised Mr. van Dievoet. Despite the high quality, he remained dissuaded by their high cost.

None of the criticism matters much to Mr. Ben-Zaken. His wines' high prices reflect the low output and strong demand for top Israeli wines. Most of his vintages are sold out and he has begun mimicking Bordeaux growers in selling them en primeur -- before bottling, while still aging in barrels.

Accolades continue to pour in. Wine author and expert Hugh Johnson awarded the domaine his highest four star rating and named the red Castel Grand Vin one of his 200 favorite wines in his 2008 pocket wine book. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate magazine gave the domaine many of the best notes in its December, 2007, Israeli tasting. Mr. Parker grades on a 100 point scale, with anything over 90 considered superb. The red 2005 Grand Castel received a 92, the Petit Castel received 90 points, and white 2005 "C Blanc du Castel" won 91 points, with the Advocate reporting "generally good balance, some brightness, some depth, and a respectable finish that lingers and has some intensity."

When German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Israel last year, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert served her Castel. She liked it -- and placed an order for several cases that are now being delivered to Berlin.

A Bright Spot in Israeli Politics: My Friend Shlomo

In the midst of all the frustration of stalled out peace talks (once again), the biting self-critique of the state of our army and military decision making process in the "Winograd Report," and the general lack of charismatic leadership in the Israeli political pantheon, there are my bright spots.

One of the them is Shlomo Molla, as of yesterday a new member of Knesset, the Israeli parliament. Shlomo replaced Avigdor Yitzhaki, who resigned in wake of the Winograd report. Shlomo is the only Jew of Ethiopian origin in this Knesset, and only the second in history of State of Israel.

Below is Shlomo's formal bio, but let me add a few words. I first met Shlomo in 1988, four years after he arrived in Israel as part of "Operation Moses." Shlomo literally walked to Israel, trekking 600 kilometers across Sudan to reach Israel from Gondar. He saw many fall along the way, and knew little Hebrew when he got here as a teenager. Within four years he was not only fluent in Hebrew (and English), but organized and led the Ethiopian Students Association. I helped organize Shlomo's first trip to the United States (to speak on college campuses), and remember how amazed he was at the skyscrapers (we didn't have those back then in Israel, and certainly not in Gondar...).

What connected Shlomo to me then and now is the belief that through the modern State of Israel we make this world a better place. Sometimes that belief is shaky, and sorely tested, but we [still] believe. Shlomo has devoted his life to the Jewish people and tikkun olam--I am so glad he is now in the knesset, representing not only the success (with all its warts) of the aliya from Ethiopia, but so much more.

I look forward to his service in the Knesset, we are a better people for him being there!

Shabbat Shalom.

Mr. Shlomo Molla (WZO) Board Member

Shlomo (Naguse) Molla  was born in Ethiopia and made Aliyah to Israel in 1984 from Sudan in "Operation Moses". He is a member of the Zionist Executive and heads the WZO Department for Zionist Institutions.   Prior to his current position, Shlomo was the Head of the Ethiopian Division of the Aliyah & Klitah Department in JAFI. In the past he was the Supervisor of Ethiopian Immigration and Supervisor of Absorption Centers and Ulpanim in Northern Kibbutzim; he also served as the Head of the Absorption Center in Tiberias and the Coordinator of distressed population, WUJS.   Shlomo has a LLB Law degree from Kiryat Ono College and a BA in Social Work, from Bar Ilan University . His Volunteering activity included running to the Knesset as a part of the Kadima Party in 2006; he was a  Member of the advisory committee for civilian opposition at the Ministry of Interior; Treasurer of non-profit organization for defense law in Ethiopia; Member of committee to advise Ministry of Health on war conditions and Co-Chair for the Organization of Ethiopian students.   Shlomo Molla is a member of the Board of Governors since June 2006.

You're No Friend Of Mine: "Friends" on Facebook, Or Bugs In The System

I receive "friend" requests every day on Facebook, as I am sure many of you do. Often I ignore "spam" friends, this time the name was so interesting I decided to ask this stranger was that was asking to be "friend" (see my opening line below). Now, I leave it up to you to figure out how the story below even got started...how does one ask to be my friend without knowing? Unless of course Facebook has been ridden with bugs, viruses, hacked beyond belief, which I am sure is the case. With a few more stories like the one below, Facebook will start to fade, and todays $15 Billion valuation will be tomorrow's Pointcast (for those of you that remember that story). Can Marc Z and his "friends" prevent the downfall? Possibly, but they need to get serious about stopping the friend pollution.

who r u? why r u friending me?

Between Edye Cook-Skidmore and You

 

Jacob Ner-David

2:26pm Jan 25th

<no message body>

 

Edye Cook-Skidmore

7:36pm Jan 25th

Report Message

I have no idea how I requested you.  I am new to facebook.  My son is Seth Cook are you at Aish?

 

Jacob Ner-David

11:17pm Jan 27th

no, not at aish. And I do not know your son...

 

Edye Cook-Skidmore

Today at 6:03pm

Report Message

Sorry I have no idea how I would have requested you. I get to Jerusalem at least once a year to see my son. Maybe we have a friend in common? Take care!

Death Over Life? Auschwitz Gets More Tourists Than Jerusalem...

OK, so maybe I exaggerated in the headline, but not by much. Unfortunately the Jerusalem municipality doesn't have very accurate tourism statistics (ok, they have no statistics at all!), but a fair leap to say that Jerusalem did not get much more than 1 million tourists in 2007.

And the former Auschwitz Death Camp , which today is a Polish government run "museam,"  collects tickets at the "door," and they know exactly how many  people visited: "a record number visited....more than 1.2 million in 2007." According to museam spokespeople, the biggest group came from Poland itself (many Polish schools today require students to visit Auschwitz).

It will take me some time to process this, but immediately what I thought when I saw this headline is to think that the real living Jerusalem has to compete with a former death camp for tourists...

Some more food for thought: on the holiest day (or at least the most celebrated) of the Christian calendar, Christmas, the grand total of tourists visiting the birthplace of Jesus (Bethlehem, about ten minutes from house by bicycle) was...around 22,000. And see here for how proud the Israeli foreign ministry was about that!

While I could go on about the culture of death, and the negation of life in favor of a worship of persecution, I will not. I simply would like to hope and pray that 2008 will bring peace to Jerusalem the living, and many more tourists celebrate life. Amen.

Free Wifi...To Be or Not To Be? Does Free Pay? WiFi in Jerusalem

Every time I see another story about free Wifi, I wince. I spent way too much time in the free wifi discussion and reality to read all these stories without taking it a little personally.
Read on to understand ...and to get a "scoop" on life in Jerusalem.

A little background.

Four years ago, motivated by a desire to do something good for Jerusalem, I joined up with some friends (including Mati Herbst, Shai Kavas) to create UnwireJerusalem , a grand project to bring free WiFi access to key areas of Jerusalem. First of all, we were way before our time, a good two years before our friends at Google started to make noise about free Wifi (see here for details on their Mountain View project). Our project was completely non-profit, we recruited companies such as Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Checkpoint (NASDAQ: CHKP ), Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO ) Golden Lines (NASDAQ: SMLC )and Compumat  to donate equipment, some cash, and human capital (employee time). Later on we enjoyed some support from the Jerusalem Development Authority and Boot-Net, led by Robby Leon.

When we started we had a few principles:
1. Service needed to be free for end users
2. Coverage was focused on outdoor areas
3. No dependencies on any governmental bodies

With those in mind, we approached business owners in certain areas of downtown Jerusalem, and asked them to host WiFi access points and simple ADSL modems, with all costs associated with the connections for those born by us, except for electricity. Obvious bonus for these business owners (mainly restaurants, coffee shops, etc.) was getting free WiFi in their establishments as well...

It worked out quite well, and in November 2004 we formally launched Unwire Jerusalem. Since then we have had monthly usage in the thousands, and sometimes in the tens of thousands.

Recently I took the very painful and difficult decision to pull the plug on Unwire Jerusalem...yep, we turned off the lights, yanked the plug, cut the cord. Let me try to explain why, and where I think all this (i.e. "free" internet connectivity) is headed.

1. Municipal Support
We had none. We went to literally dozens of meetings with various city officials, and not a one seemed to understand what we were doing and/or why. That we we felt a sense of civic responsibility seemed to mystify most of the city management we met with, and they constantly suspected us of a hidden agenda. Oh, some of the them said nice words, from the Mayor on down, but then completely failed to follow up or do any of what we asked for, even the most minimal. But wait, you say, wasn't one of the principles above no dependency on government? Yes, for the initial launch, but we always wanted some cooperation. And long term, yes, to get serious we needed government buy-in, if it was for public signage or even more for outdoor antenna. As we were not interested in running a municipal network, but rather a service for plain old citizens and visitors, could not get anyone to focus.

2. Business Model
We wanted to keep it free, but were also running the project as a non-profit, with a lot of big names but no major sponsor. Without a Google like backer, my friends and I could not keep up the sustained effort required to keep the network running. The basic costs are (after initial set-up and equipment) connectivity and network maintenance. Connectivity we received from 012  (local Israeli  ISP)  for the first 2 years as a donation. And then they wanted to be paid. We thought about rolling out all kinds of ad support, but could not find ad model that would really operate seamlessly, or that would really generate funds to cover to core operating costs. And bottom line, there was no working full time to implement  such a system.   

3. Need - Or, we created great momentum
When we started (4-5 years ago) there was virtually no free WiFi in Jerusalem, and as I was working out of coffee shops back then, felt it  every day...Today the  reality is very different. I like to think we were part of the momentum that resulted in many establishments directly sponsoring free WiFi, some like Aroma that made it a standard in any of their franchises. Pretty soon free WiFi became the norm in Jerusalem. Now, outdoor wifi is still limited, meaning if I don't want to fork over 20 shekel ($5) for a latte and a cookie, signals are going to be weak. But they are there. Especially downtown, which was our focus anyway.

4. The WOW! Factor
When we envisioned and launched Unwire Jerusalem part of our motivation was to initiate a WOW! response, to push the needle a bit on how Jerusalem was looked at -- as proud Jerusalemites we wanted to show that we are here and now. We succeeded in that, garnering massive publicity and good feeling. Together with momentum I cited above, not much more WOW! factor to milk out of this project.  While possibly we should have pushed more for BOT (Build Operate Transfer)model with municipality, again, we did not want to be dragged down by that in the beginning. And at this point we have given up on the municipality. Perhaps if my good friend Nir Barkat wins the mayoral elections later this year we can revisit...

Based on the above, decided that we had accomplished what we set out to do, and I for one (and may partners in creating Unwire Jerusalem) could not justify spending more time (or money) on it, so we notified 012 to pull the plug a few days ago.

Now comes the bigger question: Does public access free wifi make sense? Well, I believe it does, just as public toilets make sense (by the way, see this April's fools initiative by Googlers...priceless! http://www.google.com/tisp/). Should local governments pay for local toilet facilities in highly trafficked areas? Sure. Could there be some ads in there? Yeah, why not, but that shouldn't be the determining factor!  Consider malls, which are essentially little privately managed towns. All the malls I have been to have toilet facilities that are free to use. And the people that run malls know that they need to be there--and figure the costs into the business model of the mall.

Internet connectivity is a basic service today -- without it difficult to make your way in the world. Municipalities should do all they can to make sure that some level of "free" connectivity is in place (not only WiFi, but banks of computers for public use as well--not everyone has a laptop, no matter how cheap they are becoming).

I obviously could go on and on about this subject, having invested untold hours over the past 4-5 years. And perhaps I will write more in the future.

For now, however, want to look back on what we did with Unwire Jerusalem, smile, and thank all of those who helped along the way. 

But Is It Scaleable? Jerusalem as a Start-up

One the core questions we ask when analyzing a start-up idea is the scalability. And we talk about scalability, we focus on two areas: the technology and the people.

OK, so obvious what is meant about the technology...sometimes something works nicely in a demo implodes with the stress of real deployment. The early  wizardry of Google was figuring out how to quickly (and cheaply) add computing power.  Today is not so different, as Sergei and Larry are focusing on how to power [literally] their business cheaper and more efficiently.

Now we also focus on the people. Are these the people that can scale with the move from idea to business? Can they scale along with the business? It's a very different thing to manage a company of three than thirty, three hundred, or three thousand. What I love is the 0-30 stage. After that I don't scale so well.

As we await the visit next week of President Bush to Jerusalem, and the focusing of the world media on the earthly Jerusalem, we should think for a minute about the scalability of Jerusalem, both in terms of its "technology" (the physical city itself, it's infrastructure) and its people.

On a physical level, Jerusalem is a city on a hill (actually many hills). With a current population of roughly 750,000, Jerusalem each year enjoys somewhere between 1-2 million tourists. In modern times we have never gone above 2 million. Now, just for comparison, Manhattan has about 2 million residents (and is relatively flat), but gets 47 million tourists a year. Are we ready for that scale on a physical level? Nope. Can we scale up? Maybe.  But it won't happen by itself. Takes a lot of planning, marketing, strategic thinking. Much of our tourism is centered around historical sites...can they take a 20 fold increase in traffic? Maybe.

And what about the people? Well, historically Jerusalem was a  city of  mass pilgrimage.  My good friend  Sami Abu Dayyeh,  owner of  Netours (largest tour operator of religious tourism in Holy Land), believes that if we the people of Jerusalem learn how to work together, we can bring in tens of millions of tourists without major problems. We could have charter flights coming directly to Jerusalem, with cheaper hotels on the outskirts of town, with smart planning for entrance to various holy sites. Just think, people wait hours on line for a ride at Disneyland (and with technology many rides have timed admission to avoid the lines). More people visit Disneyland Paris in a given year than Jerusalem! If we, the people living here, share a common vision, and put in place the right management, Jerusalem is imminently scalable.

But if we continue to argue about who owns which rock, we will remain where we are now--with a conflict that is very scalable, unfortunately, and a reality that is very limited.

May Jerusalem be blessed with  management that can take it  to the next level and beyond. I'll help where I can...

CEO needed for MEET, one of my favorite NGOs....

While I already posted this to Facebook , some people are still not there yet (Thank God), so also using this medium to shout out about a job opening at MEET . MEET is one of my favorite NGOs, MEET stands for Middle East Education Through Technology. Started by a group of MIT students, MEET is an example of doing, not just talking (or even worse, complaining).

When faced with the multi-generational conflict between Zionism, the State of Israel, and Palestinian nationalism, it is quite easy to get overwhelmed, frustrated, and burn out (believe me, have experienced all of that). And trying to "solve the conflict" can lead sometimes to disastrous consequences, such as the failure of Camp David II back in 2000. While we pray that the Annapolis ceremony will lead to actual progress on the macro level, true peace and coexistence will only come from programs like MEET.

I have watched MEET grow from idea, to pilot, to early stage start-up. Now they are moving to the next level, and if I was not otherwise engaged right now I would jump at this opportunity. It's that exciting. If you want to make a difference, or know someone like that, please urge them to be in touch with my friends at MEET. Details below.

CEO for MEET

Leveraging on MEET's expertise in technology and proven educational model we are looking for a CEO to lead the organization during an exciting period of growth, enhancing MEET's impact. The CEO will report directly to MEET's executive board and will be stationed in Jerusalem.

Position Summary

We are looking for a passionate leader with strong, performance driven management skills. The CEO will focus on developing and strengthening the MEET program and organization, preparing it for future growth.

For immediate consideration please send resume with both "CEO for MEET" and full name in the title to: [email protected]

Responsibilities

 

• Define short and long term priorities; turn them into a yearly work plan and oversee its implementation
• Introduce and manage key processes for sustainable growth
• Oversee and play a pivotal role in all aspects resource development
• Oversee implementation of current educational programs, managing a team of up to twenty international staff and volunteers
• Drive growth of current model and future developments
• Create a multi-year financial plan, manage all finances

Requirements

 

• BA or BS degree from a leading institution
• At least 3 years of proven track record in managing an organization/ business unit with at least a $500K budget and a team of 10 or more
• Demonstrated strong performance in prior roles, with increasing levels of responsibility and independence
• Strong teamwork and communication - able to lead and motivate an international team of employees and volunteers
• Superb organizational skills, ability to lead critical processes within a growing organization
• High level vision and strategic planning abilities
• Superb interpersonal and teamwork skills
• Independent, self motivated, a leader
• Results oriented, data driven professional
• Excellent presentation & sales skills
• Ability to achieve goals in limited time with limited resources
• Language skills: Mother-tongue level of written/spoken English; Knowledge of Hebrew/Arabic (both a plus)
• Interest in technology
• Passionate about working in the third sector

Role's Critical Success Factors

 

• Strengthening organization's structure and processes
• Raising resources for the organization
• Developing and cultivate sustainable relationships with all stakeholders
• Effective work with Executive board

Tel Aviv is flat (sort of)...Jerusalem Surprisingly More Organized

Today I ran in the Tel Aviv [half] Marathon. I came expecting a flatter running route (as compared to hilly Jerusale), and more organized. First of all,  due to the flatness, even with the humidity factor, ran  a personal  best,  1 hour and 53  minutes.  But more organized...nope.

Jerusalem often gets  a bum rap...and in many ways it  deserves  it!  But lets not get into that  now.  Lets talk about Tel Aviv, often held out as the paragon of the modern Israeli city. We in Jerusalem talk about the flight to the "center of the country" but we really mean Tel Aviv (center in the psychological sense, Jerusalem is more mid-way from top to bottom of the country). Tel Aviv has skyscrapers, a municipality that pours money into culture and education (and of course has the beach, we will never have that!).

But running today in Tel Aviv I saw the city and its management in a different light. Start with the race...it was a balagan (big mess) in the beginning, noone knew where to go for sign-in, where to stand, etc. And then during the race, they ran out of water! Thank God it was not hot (even started raining at one point). And then I realized that the front runners were going to come right at us...yes, the route was one way, turn around (at Jaffa) and return. Meaning the front runners faced a wave of us coming at them...with no real divider between us.  I actually collided with one runner, as I tried to reach for water (it was on the wrong side, on the left).

At the end, again a balagan, they ran out of medals (after I finished, thank goodness). Noone knew where to return the electronic chip. It was not clear where there was water. And there was no food (in Jerusalem we are treated to bread, olive oil, zatar, ice pops, and a lot of water!).

So lets remember that perception is not always the same as reality. Looking forward to Jerusalem [half] Marathon....