Mission
The Israel Venture Network (IVN) is a venture philanthropy network of high-tech entrepreneurs and executives from Israel and the U.S. with the goal of increasing Israel's national competitiveness by advancing its educational systems and by promoting other social programs.

History
In the last ten years, the business world has been dramatically altered by the ambition, creativity and innovation of the high-tech sector. This is especially true in Israel - which is second only to the United States in the creation of new businesses and high tech start-ups.

But Israeli society, along with Israeli business, faces serious challenges in ensuring that the benefits of the new economy are available to all. While there is more wealth in Israel than ever before, over a third of Israel's citizens live below the poverty line. This growing gap between rich and poor reinforces ethnic and religious tensions, jeopardizes potential for future economic growth, and threatens the democratic principles on which Israel was founded. Simply put, if Israel is to continue to compete as a global business leader, it cannot afford to waste its human resource potential.

In response to this challenge, the founders of the IVN channeled the collective expertise and influence of established technology leaders into a high-impact organization. Involvement with the IVN offers a unique opportunity to further the democratic and pluralistic fabric of Israel, advance an educational system that provides students with the relevant skill base for today's global economy and promote an Israeli culture that values volunteerism and philanthropy

For more information about activities in your geographical area, please contact our IVN node leaders.

Silicon Valley
Eric Benhamou, Chairman of 3COM, Chairman of Palm, IVN Chairman
Guy Gecht, Chairman and CEO of Electronics for Imaging
Vincent Worms, Founder of Partech International
Zvi Alon, President and CEO of Netmanage, Inc.
Bobby Lent, Former VP of Ariba
Contact: SiliconValley@israelventurenetwork.org

Israel
Shlomo Dovrat, Founder of Carmel Ventures
Nir Barkat, Founder of BRM Capital
Benny Levin, Former CEO and founder of Nice Systems
Nachman Shelef, Partner with Benchmark Capital
Itsik Danziger, President of Comverse Technologies
Contact: Israel@israelventurenetwork.org

Boston
Howard Edelstein, UBS Warburg
Israel Drori, CEO of MeetU.com
Contact: Boston@israelventurenetwork.org

So. California
Yossi Dashti, Broadcom
Contact: SoCal@israelventurenetwork.org

New York
Yossi Beinart, Founder of ShieldIP
Contact: newyork@israelventurenetwork.org

IVN Report 2002