The American Israeli in Me

The American Israeli in-joke at home has always been a motto that stuck with me. It goes something like "Al ta-get-u kol kach excited", a personalized Hebrew-English (or Heblish) concoction that basically translates as "Chill". Hebrew is typically considered more spiritual than lingo, but try walking the streets of Tel Aviv and you might get a different idea.

I was born in Israel, and grew up on a constant transatlantic commute to the US and back again.

As the new economy hit my mideast home, an interesting trend emerged. Israelis, frustrated by the limitations of a small local economy and inspired by the opportunities of innovation, used technology as a stepping stone to global success. Public corporations like Checkpoint and Comverse were launched out of Israel to dominate a whole new marketplace. Startups mushroomed in old Bauhaus apartments in Tel Aviv, spawning the instant messaging revolution with a little viral app called ICQ.

Although I had never shown much interest in business before, suddenly I realized I could make a living writing stuff for random technology companies. After all, the techno babble wasn't too hard to get around since I had majored in computer science anyway. I'd always liked writing and crafting my own take on things. Everything clicked, and the world was my oyster, or cactus, as the Sabra's equivalent might be.

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