Finding Optimism: Tel Aviv, High-Tech, and the Power of Inclusion

Recorded early last week—before the latest difficult events—this unusually hopeful Tel Aviv Diary dives into the long arc of Israeli high-tech and where it can go next. Marc sits down with his longtime “dog-park friend” Itzik, a born-and-bred Tel Avivi whose path runs from physics and Air Force intelligence to law, a stint at AOL/ICQ-era business development, and now managing a venture fund that backs Arab-Israeli founders. Together they push past the easy myths about ICQ “starting” Startup Nation, trace the earlier lineage, and unpack why doing R&D inside the army mattered.

The conversation turns practical and optimistic: autonomous buses running on vision-based AI, earthquake early-warning at a fraction of today’s costs, and the quiet revolution of Arab-Israeli participation in CS and engineering—fueled by new jobs in the north and targeted investing. It’s a grounded case that expanding opportunity can lift Israel’s economy and social fabric—even now. A rare dose of sunlight, when we could all