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NEW YORK – We could easily have thought it was another colorful party at a Tel Aviv club, but it was Manhattan – and it was Halloween. About 600 costumed Israelis gathered in the Miznon market of Chelsea, the local one-year branch of the world-famous chain launched by renowned Israeli chef Eyal Shani.
Party-goers spread to the rest of the hip market – which attracts millions of tourists and locals each year – and they almost all seemed to speak Hebrew. The music was courtesy of Israeli DJ Omri Anghel (brother of the famous journalist Itay), known for the funny Hebrew video clips he produced in New York, and his appearances on Reshet's satire "Future TV".
The party was also organized by Israeli companies: the start-up of Ran Harnevo, Homeis (a social network that aims to facilitate links between members of "foreign-born" communities and their country of origin). origin); SOSA, President Guy Franklin's innovation pole for Israeli technology companies; and the LeumiTech banking company, which paid the money.
It is not new to walk around Manhattan, hear a lot of Hebrew and feel that Israel, especially the state of Tel Aviv, moved here. In fact, I wrote about this phenomenon two years ago and since then, the flow of Israelis has only intensified. The reasons are economic, professional, personal, or simply due to the suffocating feeling of Israeli life, traffic, or politics – but it is a subject for a different article.
Another event of the Israeli cultural, commercial and social calendar, which took place just a few weeks ago, was an unforgettable encounter organized by Hahaverim Shel Dikla (Friends of Dikla). Dikla is an Israeli entrepreneur and marketing and branding consultant, Dikla Goldstein Malamud, organizer of business and social events in Israel and New York.
This one took place in a handsome building on the Lower East Side, designed by Israeli architect Eran Chen and built by Dvir Cohen Hoshen, owner of real estate development company Adam America. The visit of the penthouse overlooking the southern part of Manhattan was followed by a $ 150 dinner prepared by Tomer Avital, the (excellent) chef of the recently closed Balaboosta restaurant, founded by Einat Admony.
The evening – part of the network and part of the meeting – was held in Hebrew and was preceded by a speech by Noam Bardin, CEO of Waze, who had settled in New York a few days ago. months earlier after he was fed up with the suburbs of Silicon Valley. The second speaker was Oded Grinstein, who created a nonprofit organization called My Child's Cancer, which helps parents of sick children find the right medical care after their own daughter has recovered. of a cancer.
A week before the Dikla event, I went to a fundraiser for Shanti House, an Israeli nonprofit organization that helps homeless and runaway youth. Mariuma Ben Yosef, Shanti's CEO, came from Israel for this event, funded by Sam Ben-Avraham, an Israeli-American businessman involved in fashion and real estate. The facilitators were Guri Alfi, who moved to Los Angeles, and the former model Adi Neumann, sister of Adam Neumann, co-founder of WeWork.
Many Israelis were also present, including the model and designer Neta Alchimister, who had gone by plane specifically for the event. Chief Assaf Granit, who had just arrived from London, had just opened his third restaurant (he is now planning to open a second restaurant in Paris). With him, the chief Eliezer Mizrahi of Machneyuda and Elior Ben Harush of Hasadna, two famous restaurants of Jerusalem. Granit plans to open a restaurant in New York in 2019 or 2020 and is confident that it will find a location and investors in a short time.
Food and more
In any case, these days, one can easily lead full Israeli life in the Big Apple. At Holyland Market in St. Marks Place, you can find many Holy Land food items. Hebrew is taught in many schools, including the Abraham Joshua Heschel School, a pluralistic Jewish school. The Stephen Wise Free Synagogue of the Reform Movement, located in the city center, encourages Israelis to join and offers services and activities in Hebrew as part of a program called Chofshi in Manhattan.
You can send your children to the activities of Israeli Scouts (aka Tzofim). If you need a summer camp, Kimama is also here. There are online forums for Israeli business women, for Israeli women involved in film and other industries, and for Israeli mothers in New York. The Hebrew tours of local galleries are organized by Maya Yedid and Tal Barel. If you tap on local TV channels, you'll see Michal Divon, who was used to appearing on i24 News in Israel and now hosts a show on Channel 12 in New York, which features information about the Bronx and Brooklyn.
How many Israelis live in the United States and New York in particular? This is not an easy question to answer. Shoham Nicolet, CEO of the Israeli-American Council, which has branches in the United States, estimates that number between 600,000 and 800,000. There are others who say that this figure is closer to $ 50,000. a million; some say it is much lower. About 150,000 Israelis live in New York alone.
High tech hot
Nevertheless, the hottest story between Israel and New York today is without a doubt the high technology. Manhattan has about 400 Israeli or Israeli-run businesses or start-ups, and their numbers are growing. In 2007, there were only seven or eight companies of this type here. Only a few weeks ago, Jerusalem Venture Partners and SOSA won a call for tenders for the creation of global cybersecurity companies. About 1,000 people attended the hastily organized JVP celebration in SoHo, half of them Israeli.
The next day, SOSA also organized an event, albeit a smaller one, "reserved for the smaller ones", at the W Hotel near Union Square, in the presence of senior municipal officials. One of the key speakers was Nadav Zafrir, former commander of the IDF Intelligence Unit (8200), who moved to New York to lead Team8, a platform for reflection and creation of company he founded. Among the wave of Israeli high-tech experts flooding the city, Zafrir is a star, but he's only one of many alumni of the same prestigious unit of the city, perhaps to be by the hundreds, who meet periodically to network and feel a little at home.
That same evening, Shiboleth LLP, a law firm that has worked with SOSA for many years, organized its own event, which included a reality-TV contest between high-tech companies. Zafrir also spoke about this event.
Notable successes of Israeli high technology in Manhattan include Adam Singolda's Taboola, which has about 1,000 employees, and his competitor Outbrain, founded by Yaron Galai. The former musician Yoni Bloch, the most recent actor of these circles, founded Eko, along with Barak Feldman, who creates interactive commercials in which viewers can "control" the story. The retail giant, Walmart, has invested $ 250 million in Eko as part of its fierce battle against the online retailer Amazon, an incredible achievement for the firm led by Israel.
Talkspace, an online therapy platform founded by Oren and Roni Frank, is another booming business. Time magazine included it in its list of the 50 largest companies in the health sector.
But without a doubt, the biggest achievement in this field is WeWork, whose market capitalization is currently around $ 20 billion. The company, founded in 2008 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey in New York, whose shared workspaces are visible around the world, is considered one of the most successful startups of this decade. Many are wondering if the growth has been too fast and the bubble is going to break, but the fact is that WeWork continues to grow. The Japanese company Softbank Corp. is currently considering a $ 15 to $ 20 billion investment in the company.
Beyond the field of high technology, and outside of New York, many areas of American life have ties to Israel. For example, next weekend, the Israeli-American Council, founded in 2007 and "serving and representing" some 250,000 Israelis living in the country, will hold its fifth conference in South Florida, attended by 3,000 people , including Americans. Vice President Mike Pence.
The establishment of the IAC is an interesting story. For years, most of the people who took part avoided Israeli-oriented activities and events. But IAC now has 20 branches across the United States and its conference will bring together Israeli personalities from all walks of life, including author Meir Shalev; Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked; President of the Jewish Agency Isaac Herzog; Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein; Miriam Peretz, winner of the Israel Prize; MK Nachman Shai (Zionist Union); Sheldon and Miriam Edelson (the biggest donors of the IAC), etc. The singer Yehuda Poliker will perform.
Who would have dreamed that so many prominent Israelis would come to a conference of yordim? The truth is that hardly anyone uses this derogatory term for Israelis leaving their home country. If, in the past, such individuals squirmed when called so, they hold their heads high. It seems that being an Israeli immigrant to the United States has become totally legitimate.
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