War ‘could go another six months’
Fuld said Israeli business has 'experienced antisemitism but technology investors are continuing to invest'.
Israel’s start-up culture is withstanding the Gaza war, according to Hillel Fuld, Israeli blogger and tech analyst, who predicts hostilities could go another half year.
Speaking to The AJN from Israel before his visit to Australia this month for Magen David Adom (MDA), Fuld, a US-born high-tech marketer and religious traditionalist, reflected, “Something we’ve seen throughout our history … is that the more our enemies persecute us, the more we flourish.
“Surprisingly, the technology ecosystem in Israel continues to deliver and even over-deliver … Despite an existential war going on, we broke records in mergers and acquisitions. We broke records in funding. It’s not easy, because half of the country is in reserves.”
Pressed about global resistance to Israeli products, Fuld said Israeli business has “experienced antisemitism … [but] technology investors are continuing to invest”.
Asked for his outlook on the war’s goals and timeframe, Fuld responded, “The objectives are to remove Hamas from our borders … to obliterate Hamas … and simultaneously to bring our hostages home” but conceded these objectives could be “mutually exclusive”.
“But we are seeing the end of Hamas from a military, diplomatic, political, and social perspective. I would say within six months the war will probably end, if not less.”
On the future of Gaza, Fuld said, “I can only hope that we rectify the historic mistake of the [2005] disengagement where we forcefully removed 10,000 Israelis from their homes … That was a tragic mistake and a horrible historic error on the part of Israel.”
Asked about Charedim not being obligated to serve in the IDF, Fuld was equivocal, “It’s often presented as black and white but this is a nuanced issue.” Genuine Torah students aside, “many Charedim are not sitting and learning Torah, they’re just taking advantage of the exemption – those people must draft”.
Fuld’s older brother Ari died in a 2018 Palestinian terrorist attack at Gush Etzion Junction. “Ari, in his last breath, saved a woman and became a national hero … So while it’s devastating and tragic, it’s also a source of pride that I have a brother who’s a national hero.”
On MDA, Fuld stated, “While you think of MDA as a lifesaving organisation, they’re also a super technological organisation. Some of the tech is absolutely world leading. They’ve saved millions of lives, and anything I can do to support this incredible organisation is an honour and a privilege.”
Magen David Adom Australia appeal launch, June 12: trybooking.com/DAPHO
Australian Friends of Magen David Adom event, June 16: events.humanitix.com/honouring- mda-s-lifesaving-heroes-an- evening-with-hillel-ful