Gavriel Dan spent a number of years covering social movements in Israel, the wider middle east and Europe. He is considered an expert in embedding himself with various groups and causes in order to get accurate and rich information.
Below is a series of videos put together by the Jordanian Opposition Coalition which is led by Mudar Zahran. They were filmed from inside Jordan showing a growing protest movement from ordinary Jordanians against their king and his family.
A majority of Jordanians are Palestinianss, which has led many to believe that it is far better to focus on making Jordan Palestine. If the protests continue to gain steam then it is reasonable to assume that the next ruler of Jordan may very well be a Palestinian, thus ending the conflict once and for all with Israel.
As part of my ongoing series of interviews with up and coming Israeli tech leader I had the opportunity to sit down with Liat Sade-Sternberg, CEO and Fuse.it.
Hi Liat. Thank you for speaking with us.
How has the road from early stage startup to a growth stage company been in the tech industry?
Everything as a startup is challenging. In order to stick around and create value for your company, you have to be creative and fast moving every step of the way. Once you can actually see there is an opportunity and changes in the market, you have to react very fast. The road from Fusic to fuse.it was an immediate reaction once we understood there was a better opportunity in our industry.
Due to Israel’s reputation in the hi-tech scene, do you feel extra pressure to succeed?
I don’t necessarily think there’s an extra pressure to succeed, but I think that the Israeli startup ecosystem is a very supportive and very welcoming environment. There are so many other startups and people in your shoes that it helps you gain the confidence to get it done. The pressure is common for most of the startups – getting funding, hiring the most suitable team members etc. The main differentiation in the Israeli ecosystem is when you market in the US and you have to be closer to your market.
How has being a female entrepreneur in the tech industry affected your success?
It’s hard to tell. When discussing fuse.it, I don’t speak about myself as a female leading a startup, I just lead the startup as anyone else would. The main difference I have encountered isn’t because I am a female, it’s because I am a mom. Getting drinks after work is not something that I’ll typically do with other entrepreneurs or investors because I am going home to my kids. I am more focused during my day and try to be very efficient on the job.
What was the moment in time when you began to believe in your startup? Like this is going to succeed.
From the very beginning. If you don’t believe in it from the start, you won’t be able to take it to the next level. It’s your job to convince brands and investors that your product will give them value. If you can’t see the value from the start – you will have a very hard time convincing others to see it too.
How did you come up with the idea for Fuse.it?
There were a few indications that led to the idea of fuse.it. We had the music experience from the past with Fusic, but as we remade the app – we saw a need for other content, such as entertainment and videos. It’s great to interact with music, but so many people don’t know how to sing and are happy to engage with other content. This gave us the idea to take the product that we already had and expand it into something bigger. Before we did that we had meetings with potential partners, demos that we shared with users and once we had the right indications we started to move.
Can you tell us about it?
The everyday user cannot create viral or unique UGC, only 1% of the users actively create new content, while the other 99% of the participants only lurk. The fuse.it app brings viral UGC creation abilities to the everyday user, using patented AR, audio and aftereffect technology with one-click experience for the end user.
fuse.it users can interact with a range of different 3D animated characters and personalities, to easily create unique, funny and quirky videos. With just one tap the characters come to life, enabling users to record themselves interacting with them in their own surroundings to create videos they can share with their friends. The fuse.it proprietary solution automatically utilizes single camera footage to project the augmented reality characters in the app.
Additionally, fuse.it allows people to become part of their favorite videos and pop culture, such as memes and breaking news clips, by letting users insert themselves directly into the action and dictate how scenes play out. Users can have ‘conversations’ with politicians and media personalities, sing and dance with celebrities, become part of famous memes and create their own viral news clips. fuse.it technology allows users to be blended into any video in real-time using smart camera input manipulation, from 3D transformation to color effects and more.
What are your future plans for Fuse.it?
Our main focus in the coming months is to grow and bring on board more partners.
Do you have advice for young entrepreneurs?
Listen to the feedback you get from users, potential investors and potential partners.
Do deep research on the market before you jump into the venture.
Meet with the people you’re targeting with your startup.
THEN start working on it. It’s easy for YOU to fall in love with your start up, the hard part is convincing others to as well.
Find good mentors and people with experience and involve them in your dream, it will save you a lot of time and mistakes.
TEAM – hire the smartest and most talented people to join your team.
Congressmen David McKinley of Virginia and Scott Tipton of Colorado and their wives were detained along with their wives by Israeli police after a compaint by the Islamic Wakf that they picked up an Olive Branch.
Although Israel has security control over the Temple Mount, the Israeli government has allowed the Jordanian run Islamic Wakf to essentially determine the rules for non Islamic visitors to the site. The Temple Mount is the holiest site to Jews and is the focus of their prayers.
“The situation on the Temple Mount has reached a new low,” said Im Tirtzu Director of Policy Alon Schvartzer. “This is a disgraceful reality that has long crossed the point of absurdity, and we cannot allow it to continue.” “Israel must remember that it has sovereignty over the Temple Mount, and not the Waqf. The time has come to provide freedom of worship to Jews, Christians and all those who wish to worship peacefully on the Temple Mount.”
(Communicated by the Prime Minister’s Media Adviser)
The ministerial committee on the integration of Israeli citizens of Ethiopian origin chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Monday, 19 February 2018), in an historic step, approved a decision to – for the first time – provide for the status of the overall religious services for Israeli citizens of Ethiopian origin.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “At today’s meeting we will finally provide for the status of the kesim who have led the Ethiopian Jewish community for hundreds of years. This arrangement should have been implemented a long time ago, and I am pleased that we have the opportunity to do so now. I think this is part of the same step, the same package of steps that we are enacting to aid our brothers and sisters in the Ethiopian Jewish community. The change is very welcome and there will also be other things that we will do at this meeting.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu added, “The heritage of Israel is a mosaic of many communities. This community has a special status precisely because it kept this heritage even in complete isolation. I find this moving and close to my heart. Therefore, this is an historic undertaking. We will continue this important journey for all of us, for our brothers and sisters.”
The outline that was approved includes a historic recognition of the kesim as spiritual shepherds for Ethiopian Jews and thereby provides for their status as part of the package of religious services. This step constitutes recognition of the ancient and unique heritage of Jews of Ethiopian origin, also in the area of religious services.
The decision also includes an orderly outline for the integration of rabbis of Ethiopian origin into religious councils so as to bring about their optimal integration in the network of religious services and to improve religious services available to Israeli citizens of Ethiopian origin as well as to the general public.
Construction and Housing Minister Yoav Galant briefed the committee on the successful implementation of the mortgage assistance plan for families of Ethiopian origin and the urban renewal plan. Under the plan, NIS 120 million has been allocated for housing loans to 200 families and couples of Ethiopian origin per annum, for four years.
In 2017, the first year of the plan, 184 couples and families used the assistance to purchase apartments in communities throughout the country. Additional families and couples are in the process of applying for the assistance. In order to facilitate optimal realization of the assistance, couples are also entitled to advice in purchasing apartments and taking mortgages from the Israel Interest-free Loan Fund. Regarding the urban renewal plan, achievements in five neighborhoods – at an overall investment of NIS 120 million over five years – were presented. Since the plan was approved last month, agreements have been signed with the three local councils where the neighborhoods are located.
Regarding the ministerial committee:
93% (66 out of 71) actions set by the committee have been implemented to date.
The ministerial committee monitors all actions under the government plan for integrating Israelis of Ethiopian origin. The plan includes 71 actions worth NIS 165 million per annum (not including housing). The actions are being implemented by ten ministries and agencies and entail all aspects of life. Among the plans approved by the committee: Scholastic enrichment in order to increase matriculation eligibility, boosting efforts to locate gifted and outstanding students and integrating them into appropriate frameworks, increasing the number of IDF and Israel Police officers, integrating academics into high-paying private sector jobs, and issuing subsidy coupons for children’s extra-curricular activities (since last September over 3,500 children have been participating in a variety of arts-and-crafts, music, sports and science activities).
The left-wing organizations spearheading the legal battle against the Netiv Ha’avot neighborhood in Gush Etzion have received over 47 million shekels from foreign governments over the past several years, according to a new report released by the Zionist organization Im Tirtzu.
In 2016 the High Court of Justice ruled that 17 structures in Netiv Ha’avot neighborhood, including 15 homes, a carpentry shop and monument for fallen IDF soldiers, were not built on state land and must be demolished by March 6th.
According to the Im Tirtzu report, the legal battle over Netiv Ha’avot began in 2008 when left-wing NGO “Peace Now” filed a petition to the High Court of Justice contesting the neighborhood’s legality.
Multiple petitions against the neighborhood have since been filed by “Peace Now” and “Yesh Din,” including a petition against the relocation of the 15 families to portions of the neighborhood built on state land.
The report states that “Peace Now” and “Yesh Din” have received over 47 million shekels ($13.4 million) from foreign governments and entities, including the European Union, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium, Norway, Holland and Switzerland.
Im Tirtzu contends that this funding is part of an ongoing effort by European governments to undermine the policy of the Israeli government by means of anti-Zionist Israeli NGOs.
“It is inconceivable that European governments operate in Israel’s judicial system by means of radical anti-Israel NGOs, rather than going through the proper diplomatic channels,” said Im Tirtzu Chairman Matan Peleg.
“This European attempt to alter Israel’s internal policy not only harms Israeli sovereignty, but is an affront to the Israeli public who democratically elected its government. This subversive activity and use of lawfare against Israel must end immediately.”
(Communicated by the Prime Minister’s Media Adviser)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Sunday, 18 February 2018), addresses the Munich Security Conference and a showed a piece of the wreckage of the Iranian UAV that was shot down by Israel on 10 February. (Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif was present.) Following are his remarks:
“This is a beautiful city. It’s filled with impressive monuments, richly endowed museums, beautiful architecture. And due to this conference, over the past four decades, Mr. Chairman, Munich has become synonymous with security. That’s important, because, as I said last night, without security, nothing is really possible—not freedom, not prosperity, not the peace we cherish and crave.
But for the Jewish people, two infamous things occurred in this city. In 1972, 11 of our Olympicf athletes were massacred at the Munich airport. In many ways, this act of savagery heralded the rise of international terrorism, and we’ve all been battling it ever since.
And 80 years ago, another event took place here, with far ranging consequences. A disastrous agreement was signed here that set the world on a course towards history’s most horrific war. Two decades after World War I, two decades after a war that claimed 60 million lives, the leaders who met in Munich chose to appease Hitler’s regime rather than confront it. Those leaders were noble men. They thought they were fulfilling their highest responsibility to keep the peace. But the price of their action would soon become apparent.
The concessions to Hitler only emboldened the Nazi regime and facilitated its conquest of Europe. Rather than choosing a path that might have prevented war, or at the very least limited its scope and its scale, those well-intentioned leaders made a wider war inevitable and far more costly. Sometime after the war Roosevelt asked Churchill, how would he call this war? And he answered immediately without hesitation, the Unnecessary War. He said there was never a war more easy to stop.
In the wake of the Munich agreement, 60 million people would die in World War II, including a third of my own people, six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust by the Nazis and their collaborators. We will never forget and we will never allow the rewriting of the historical truth.
[Hebrew] We will not forget; we will not forgive; we will always fight for the truth.
Today we gather two-and-a-half years after another agreement was signed in another city in the heart of Europe. There too, noble men and women, high-minded leaders hoping to avoid war, signed an agreement that brutalizes its own people and terrorizes its neighbors. Let me be clear. Iran is not Nazi Germany. There are many differences between the two. Well, for one, one advocated a master race, the other advocates a master faith. Jews in Iran are not sent to the gas chambers, although religious and ethnic minorities are denied basic freedoms. And there are obviously many other differences. But there are also some striking similarities. Iran openly declares its intention to annihilate Israel with its six million Jews. It makes absolutely no bones about it. Iran seeks to dominate our region, the Middle East, and seeks to dominate the world through aggression and terror. It’s developing ballistic missiles to reach deep into Europe and to the United States as well.
Henry Kissinger said that Iran must choose between being a country or a cause. Well, the regime in Iran has chosen to be a cause. The commander of the Revolutionary Guard, Ali Jafari, said, we’re on the path to the rule of Islam worldwide. That means right here too. This is, in my judgement, the greatest threat to our world. Not just to Israel, not just to our Arab neighbors, not just to Muslims far and wide, but to you as well. Because once armed with nuclear weapons, Iran’s aggression will be unchecked and it will encompass the entire world. Look at what they are doing now, before they have nuclear weapons. Imagine what they will do later if G-d forbid they’ll have them.
Just as was true 80 years ago, an agreement that was seen as appeasement has only emboldened the regime and brought war closer. The nuclear agreement with Iran has begun the countdown to an Iranian nuclear arsenal in little more than a decade. And the sanction relief that the deal provided has not moderated Iran. It’s not made them more moderate internally and it’s not made them more moderate externally. In fact, it’s unleashed a dangerous Iranian tiger in our region and beyond.
Through its proxies, Shiite militias in Iraq, the Houthies in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, Iran is devouring huge swaths of the Middle East. Now, there has been one positive consequence of Iran’s growing aggression in the region. It’s brought Arabs and Israelis closer together as never before. In a paradoxical way, this may pave the way for a broader peace and ultimately also for a Palestinian-Israeli peace. This could happen. But it will not happen if Iran’s aggression continues to grow, and nowhere are Iran’s belligerent ambitions clearer than in Syria. There Iran hopes to complete a contiguous empire, linking Tehran to Tartus, the Caspian to the Mediterranean. For some time I’ve been warning about this development. I’ve made clear in word and deed that Israel has red lines it will enforce. Israel will continue to prevent Iran from establishing a permanent military presence in Syria. Israel will continue to act to prevent Iran from establishing another terror base from which to threaten Israel. But Iran continues to try to cross those red lines. Last week its brazenness reached new heights, literally new heights. It sent a drone into Israeli territory, violating Israel’s sovereignty, threatening our security. We destroyed that drone and the control center that operated it from Syria, and when our places were fired upon, Israel destroyed Syrian anti-aircraft batteries. Israel will not allow Iran’s regime to put a noose of terror around our neck. We will act without hesitation to defend ourselves. And we will act, if necessary, not just against Iran’s proxies that are attacking us, but against Iran itself.
Later today you will hear from Mr. Zarif. He’s the smooth-talking mouthpiece of Iran’s regime. I give Mr. Zarif credit. He lies with eloquence. Last year at this conference, Zarif said that, I’m quoting: “Extremism is driven by lack of hope and respect.”
Well, if that’s true, why does the Iranian regime deny its people hope and respect by jailing journalists and activists? Zarif said, it was erroneous to label Iran radical. If that’s true, what do you call a regime that hangs gays from cranes in town squares? Zarif said that conflicts in Syria and Yemen do not have a military solution. If that’s true, why does Iran send fighters and arms to fuel violence precisely in those places? No doubt, Mr. Zarif will brazenly deny Iran’s nefarious involvement in Syria.
Iran also denies that it committed an act of aggression against Israel last week, that it sent a drone into our airspace to threaten our people. Well, here’s a piece of that Iranian drone, or what’s left of it after we shot it down. I brought it here so you can see for yourself. Mr. Zarif, do you recognize this? You should. It’s yours. You can take back with you a message to the tyrants of Tehran: Do not test Israel’s resolve.
And I have a message for everyone gathered here today too. I want you to support the people of Iran. I want you to support those in the region who want peace by confronting an Iranian regime that threatens peace.
I’ve been speaking to the people of Iran with video messages. The response is amazing. I saw this before the recent demonstrations. I asked our intelligence people to explain to me how it is that we were getting names of people supporting what I said, from Iran, risking their lives, their families. I said something is happening there. Those people want freedom. They want a different life. They want economic prosperity. They want peace. They don’t want this far-flung Iranian aggression. And I’ve explained we have no quarrel with the people of Iran, only with the regime that torments them. And I take this opportunity to send our condolences of the families of the 66 Iranian civilians that lost their lives in the plane accident today. We have no quarrel with the people of Iran, but we are absolutely resolute in our determination to stop and roll back the aggression of Iran’s regime.
Let us pledge today, Ladies and Gentlemen, here in Munich, not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Appeasement never works. The hour to prevent war is getting late, but it is not too late. I am convinced that one day this regime will fall, and when it does, the great peace between the ancient Jewish people and the ancient Persian people will flourish once again. When that happens, the people of Iran will breathe free, and the people in the region will breathe a sigh of relief. But today we must speak clearly, we must act boldly. We can stop this dangerous regime. We can roll back its aggression and by doing so, create a more peaceful, a more prosperous and a more secure world for our region and for our future.”
Dozens of activists from the Zionist organization Im Tirtzu held a counter demonstration today at Netiv Ha’avot against left-wing protesters from Peace Now who arrived to call for the destruction of the neighborhood.
According to Im Tirtzu, they arrived to demonstrate against the “subersive” activities of Peace Now andother far-left NGOs who are using funding from European governments to petition the Israeli courts against the neighborhood.
The activists held signs reading “the destruction of Netiv Ha’avot, brought to you by European governments,” and chanted slogans including “You are pawns of Germany, how are you not ashamed?”
“Netiv Ha’avot is the quintessential example of the subversive activities of foreign government-funded NGOs against Jewish building in Judea and Samaria,” said Im Tirtzu Director of Policy Alon Schvartzer.
“Peace Now received over 18 million shekels in recent years from European governments, and the flood of judicial petitions against the neighborhood is the result.”
Schvartzer added: “The future of the State of Israel must be decided upon through internal discussion, and not by the subversive and anti-democratic activities of foreign government-funded NGOs.”
I had the opportunity to sit down with Gil Eyal, CEO and CoFounder of HYPRBrands. Gil is a successful CEO of a fast growing startup located in New York. As a CEO with roots in Israel, it was fascinating interview from both a technology angle as well as learning how Israeli can fare in the American startup scene..
Thanks Gil for speaking with us.
Can you tell me how the road from early stage startup to a growth stage company been in the tech industry?
Very challenging, but the challenges have changed. If early on the main challenge was to convince people that the world I’m describing will exist, today it’s all about the numbers.
Our vision was always different than most of the industries. We believe in a world where there are millions of influential individuals that are easily approached by anyone with a brand or agenda and can be utilized to get messages across to interested individuals. We believe humans are wired this way – we surround ourselves with people we trust and consult in them before deciding where to eat, what to drive and how much to spend.
This new world requires a large amount of technology – discovery, evaluation, outreach, measurement – all of these become non-trivial when you shift from a world of 5,000 celebrities to ten million influencers.
Due to Israel’s reputation in the hi-tech scene, do you feel extra pressure to succeed?
I think being Israeli has been a strong net positive. The Israeli community is extremely helpful and you develop thicker skin after working in an Israel environment for years. The pressure to succeed has to be internal or you can’t make it as a founder. There are too many tough moments – too many ideas that pop in your head and for a second look like they might be better than the one you’re working on because you’re currently stuck in a dip.
I definitely feel a responsibility to represent Israel in a positive way – especially in areas where stereotypically Israeli founders are expected to struggle. We pride ourselves on the culture at HYPR and on our relationship with our investors and customers.
Can you tell us a bit about HYPR? How did the idea come to you?
As a marketer at heart, I’m a data fanatic. Over the years, I’ve gotten used to having access to more and more sophisticated audience demographic data and targeting solutions. Then I found myself in a talent buying role for a startup named Mobli, which was an early player in the photo and video sharing space in 2010.
I ended up doing deals with several hundred big name celebrities and social media stars. No one called them influencers back then, and there wasn’t much I could find about their audiences. I just knew they had a lot of followers and expected them to drive their fans to Mobli by using the product.
The truth is I should have known we would only have partial success because I knew nothing about the audience. I would never buy ad space in a magazine without knowing who reads it. Why would I be blinded by a vanity metric like the number of followers without knowing who they are, whether they’re active and whether they’d have any interest in my product?
I knew I wouldn’t be the only one with this problem. As influencer marketing was becoming mainstream I knew people would be looking for the same kind of data they see in other areas of marketing. The idea for HYPR came from wanting to apply traditional marketing fundamentals to an industry that had no data. HYPR’s audience demographic data is sourced through partnerships with some of the largest social networks in the World, coupled with groundbreaking technology that treats influencer profiles the same way Google treats websites. HYPR uses a combination of image recognition, voice transcription and natural language processing to combine with first party disclosed data from over four billion different accounts, to create the most accurate and timely analysis of the influencer world.
What’s is it like being an Israeli hi-tech leader outside of Israel?
As someone who grew up partially in the US and partially in Israel, I feel at home in both places. It has been amazing seeing how the New York tech scene has grown, and how Israeli startups have begun to make their mark, with more than 400 Israeli startups in NYC alone. I try to be accessible to young founders – especially ones that plan on moving to NYC, with advice and introductions.
People tend to lump things in groups. Everything I do reflects on Israel and on Israelis and that’s always something I’m aware of.
What has been the most challenging aspect of finding success in the hi-tech scene been?
For me it has definitely been the psychological aspect of running a company. It’s a very lonely role even if the people around you want to be supportive. Making decisions without all the information is a daily task and not for the faint of heart. The ups and downs of startup life were not meant for normal human consumption and it takes a long time to get used to them.
Despite the announcement of President Erdogan of Turkey, the Kurdish dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continue to be a serious thorn in the side of Erdogan’s dream of recreating the Ottoman Empire.
The Kurds were meant to be crushed in a manner of days as a result of the Turkish invasion of Afrin dubbed operation “Olive Branch,” but instead of retreating they have pushed back heavily against the Turkish army.
On Saturday (February 10th) alone eleven Turkish fighters involved in Ankara’s invasion of Afrin were killed. Another eleven were injured on the same day, according to the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF).
Two service members were killed when a T129 ATAK attack helicopter was shot down by YPG/YPJ fighters. The helicopter crashed in the Turkish province of Hatay.
The rest of the Turkish fighters were killed or injured in clashes with SDF forces in defending Afrin from the TAF.
Of course the TAF’s general staff claimed that 1,266 ‘terrorists’ have been ‘neutralized’ in Afrin since the start of Operation Olive Branch on January 20. These numbers are completely unsubstantiated and more than likely inflated to help Erdogan with his citizens as the operation is not going well.
It is hard to see how Erdogan can claim he will have th operation wrapped up in a short time. Every day that goes by without a decisive victory as the potantial to turn “Operation Olive Branch” into a serious quagmire for the neo-Ottoman autocrat. Unless Russia and Syria do more than passive allowance of Turkish attacks in Kurdish controlled territory, Erdogan will either have to pull back and accept defeat or go in under full capacity and doing so risk direct conflict.
Syria is becoming the testing ground for the neo-Cold War that is far closer to an active war between the super powers. Afrin, Deir ez-Azur, and the Golan are ground zero for the coming conflagration.
Security forces caught and eliminated Ahmed Nassar Jarrar, the murderer of Rabbi Raziel Shevach in Jenin early this morning (Tuesday, 6 February 2018). The complex intelligence and ground operation begain immediately after the January 9th attach.
“I praise the security forces for the determined and complex operation they carried out last night to apprehend the terrorist, who was ultimately eliminated. Several days ago I told Rabbi Raziel Shevach’s widow that we would catch the murderers and last night the mission was completed,” Prime Minister Netanyahu stated after the news was cleared for publication.
Jarrar was the main operative in the terrorist cell that carried out the January 9th shooting near Havat Gilad. He personally participated in the attack.
Security forces tracked Jarrar to Yarmoun where he was hiding. During the attempt to arrest him, Jarrar emerged armed from the structure he was hiding in and was shot by the security forces. An M-16 and a pack with explosives were discovered on his person. There were no injuries to the IDF forces who participated in the operation.
With the elimination of Jarrar and the government’s recognition of Havat Gilad as an actual community, focus is shifting to finding the murderer of Itamar Ben-Gal, who was stabbed last night by an Israeli Arab in Ariel. Ben-Gal is a father of five and well respected teacher from Har Bracha.
“The security forces will catch whoever tries to attack Israeli citizens and we will deal with them to the fullest extent of the law. So it will be with the murderers of Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal,” the Prime Minister said in connection with the ongoing manhunt in the Ariel area for Ben-Gal’s murderer.
