Cause for celebration: For the second consecutive year, the Ziv Aviram Foundation is holding a startup competition in the Middle East. Aviram, one of the greatest philanthropists of Israeli high-tech, insists that it is precisely through this field that something can be moved in the complicated Middle East. This year's competition was held in Morocco, and the final, held in Marrakech, was won by Israeli startup QD-SOL, which is fighting climate change by developing technology for the production of green quantum hydrogen.
QD-SOL's technology utilizes solar energy to produce green hydrogen from water without the need for electricity, making it a sustainable solution for industry and the environment. The prize for the winner of the competition: half a million dollars and professional guidance from Aviram.
The foreign ministers of the countries that signed the Abraham Accords at the Negev Conference last year. Reduce the cycle of hostility, photo: (Photo by Jacquelyn MARTIN / POOL / AFP
"Believes in social involvement"
Aviram admits: "To start over something I'm involved in is a privilege and it's a great pleasure. Everyone has to choose the place where they can contribute, and I raised my flag here. Starting something from scratch is much more exciting than closing a big deal, for example. Companies that haven't entered this field, where the company also contributes something to society, don't really understand what they're losing."
Israeli high-tech is waking up. You are involved in social activities in Israel, you are involved in international activities for the country. Where have you been all these years?
"I don't want to speak for all of Israeli high-tech, I do believe in social involvement, and we convey a message of doing good – not just about profits. I think that more and more companies in Israeli high-tech understand this, and it's happening around the world as well, of course.
"I was exposed to this completely by chance, at Mobileye, and I told myself that there was no way my next thing wouldn't have social involvement and an element of doing good. It's a matter of choice, and I can say that in the end this decision lifts everyone up - from management to suppliers. The business sector definitely has social responsibility."
Still, the image of Israeli high-tech is that you are disconnected, more interested in business and less in social.
"The Israeli high-tech people, and I'm talking about the people I know and have met, as well as myself, come from love of Israel. Everyone chooses the place where they want to contribute to the cause. We in the family chose to deal with the issue of the Middle East, and I see the change before our eyes. I think that if there is a meaningful peace, in which our neighbors feel that they receive from us, from the Start-Up Nation, the opportunities to grow, that will change the Middle East.
"We're only in the second year of the prize, and it's too early to say, but things are starting to move, and when we reach 10,000 startups, think about how many social circles we'll be able to reach."
Some might say you're hallucinating.
"So shall we give up in advance? Shall we raise our hands? In the end, we have to do the deed. Will we go a lifetime without saying we tried? I actually feel great support from my colleagues in Israeli high-tech."
Is the younger generation in tech more connected to social issues than your generation?
"The younger generation has more awareness of the environment, of greening, without polluting the world, something that my generation and I had less awareness of. But they're not very different from my generation in terms of business thinking, where I don't really see any difference. But it's easier to reach out to them and talk about topics that haven't been talked about before."
For Aviram, entering the philanthropic world led to an encounter with what he calls his "greatest hero" - former US President Bill Clinton. The two talked for an hour, and Aviram did not hide his great admiration for the 76-year-old man.
Connection with Clinton
The two are valued at billions of dollars in common, and they share the philanthropic direction, but also the sense that ultimately it is the people who will drive processes for big changes, and less the politicians sitting up there – even though Clinton was a political man. According to the former president, "All our lives we wake up in the morning and want to move towards something new. I think that at our age and status, the desire to advance and succeed appeals to the philanthropic world."
In a conversation with you, Clinton talked about how hope in the Middle East must not be lost.
"Bill Clinton is a central figure in the vision of the Middle East. He is a hero of me and of many Israelis. It serves as a symbol of what we want to convey, even in the philanthropic world. He understands, together with us, that the more countries enter a cycle of normalization, the less this cycle of tension and hostility in the Middle East will be. The more normalization we create, the better the situation will be."
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