Why we are taking our startup to Tel Aviv | Hacker News Reader

Why we are taking our startup to Tel Aviv

leostartsup.com

22 pointsLeonW25 comments

I'm curious, what is it like living in Tel Aviv if you aren't Jewish and are from the USA? The reason I ask is this article seems to focus on the benefits of cultivating a startup in Tel Aviv. Are there cultural disadvantages to folks who are not Jewish?

This is a serious question, but I'm already feeling like I'm treading lightly on egg shells just asking this...:)

Not an issue at all. I grew up in Tel Aviv and Israelis love Americans, esp. those doing tech related work.

I used to fly to Tel Aviv regularly when I worked at an internet company with a big presence there.

People were almost universally warm and welcoming. It was common to get invited to weekend gatherings or to go out and get drinks at the marina after work.

I have a German last name that is similar to a common Jewish name, so people would very regularly ask if I was Jewish. I would explain that I wasn't; it could have been uncomfortable, but never was. In fact, it was nice not being Jewish because nobody ever pressured me to move there.

Jerusalem is a totally different story. I didn't get the feeling it was a friendly or safe place for outsiders. I wasn't comfortable there.

I also hated flying into or out of the country because of the security interviews; it seems very invasive to an American.

But Tel Aviv is very non-religious, open, laid-back and friendly. The technical talent is also very strong. Everyone speaks english it seems, even people working at Burger King.

In short, I never really had the desire to move there, because I'm not really a hot weather beach guy, but I could see why it would appeal to others to do so.

It's awesome. I'm not Jewish (a Christian-raised atheist) and I spent a month there in Dec. 08. You have to realize that Judaism is both a culture and a religion. Most Israelis are not religious. They celebrate Jewish holidays but you won't see them in a synagogue.

Israelis are a super laid back people that say what's on their minds. Tact isn't really part of the culture. They go to five star restaurants and weddings in T-Shirts and jeans. Family is very important and if one adopts you you'll be stuffed full of amazing food and then sit around the table drinking coffee and mint tea and talking. It's a lot of fun.

From what I understand it's impossible to immigrate there and gain citizenship unless you're Jewish.

You are wrong: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_nationality_law#Natural...

Not impossible, just very difficult.

What are the practicalities immigration/visa wise of taking a business to Israel as a non-citizen?

Hi Peter, we all have European passports, so we can head there for 3 months as a holiday without the need for a Visa.

Ahh, for some reason I misinterpreted it as being where you'd chosen to make a more permanent base. Bouncing around countries sounds exhausting, though probably fun for the right group :-)

Ah can understand that, I think travelling the world is very powerful for us in many aspects. The most important one though being that we can discover which culture, country we feel most comfortable in, as opposed to where I'm born in, kind of related to this article: http://sivers.org/singapore

Isn't it an issue that you'll be working while there?

Am I strange that I like rain, especially with thunderstorms? I like variable weather, not sun every day.

I'd rather go to Tel Aviv in March.

From past experience I know HN folks don't like to discuss the Palestinian Israeli issue but I wonder how you feel about the growing public discomfort with the Israeli states actions. Do you think it may cast a negative light on your start up? Particularly with respect to a growing call to boycott Israel as was sone in South Africa, regardless of whether you agree with such calls or not.

hmm, that's interesting, I believe we aren't bothered by the conflict at all, I don't believe it's something we will have to deal with.

With all the misinformation that's out there about the conflict, living in Tel Aviv will give you an opportunity to see the reality of the situation. An yes, you should be safe in Tel Aviv unless Hamas or Fatah decide to start suicide bombings again (but they haven't in many years). If you travel to the south, you should learn what Tseva Adom means.

60 minutes has an interesting take on the current situation in tel aviv:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7409182n

Surely if he wanted to see the reality of the situation he should visit the occupied territories. I wonder whether one could even succesfully manage a start up in occupied Palestine.

Sometimes I wonder whether the hacker spirit is best exemplified in people under opressive circumstances who have to adapt and hack to survive.

No one who isn't a member of an oppressed minority ever has to 'deal with' policies of oppression. You can still contribute to the effectiveness and reach of those policies though - glad for your sake you're able to distance yourself.

There is too little consciousness of the economic and social context of the work technical people do.

While you're not "dealing" with the conflict, I hope you take a look over the giant wall that Israel has built--not only between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories--but around every single Palestinian city.

In order to get in and out of every city, Palestinians need to get permission from 20-year-old Israeli soldiers. Every single Palestinian is treated like a terrorist--children, old people, families. When the soldiers decide to close the gates, no one gets in or out.

I was there for three weeks. It's the world's largest prison. And it's funded by U.S. tax dollars and people who invest in the "Jewish" state. The expansion of Israeli settlements continue as more and more Palestinian land is confiscated for this technical reason or that.

Israel should be treated as a pariah until they end the occupation and give one person one vote instead of treating an entire population like prisoners.

You've probably set some kind of record for the number of incorrect things you've managed to pack into a single post. I wonder if you believe them all or if you are a troll.

You've used the word "growing" twice in your comment where it's probably more wishful thinking than an accurate description of reality.

You might be correct, thats an interesting point you've picked up. I might re-read my comments to see what else can be extrapolated and what biases I'm susceptible to.

For me I think this will be one of the more interesting aspects of the move. I know very little about the culture and the conflict - bar what I have read briefly on wikipedia and what gets fed through the news channels.

I hope to learn a lot more in the time there.

In my opinion it's because 1) generally speaking, politics is not considered a good topic on HN, 2) people often bring up the Palestinian-Israeli conflict even when it has little or no relevance to the article in question, 3) it usually comes with an anti-Israeli slant, and often descends to comparisons with the South African apartheid, Nazi Germany, North Korea, etc.

In short, it's rarely relevant and it easily leads to flamewars.

Imagine that every time we had a story about a startup located in the US, someone would mention the large number of black people the US imprisons every year. Or the number of civilian casualties in the Iraq war, which dwarves the total number of casualties in the whole history of Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

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