A Personal Note

This has been a tough couple of weeks for many of us and I wanted to share some perspectives. I apologize for the length but wanted to cover the broader political and national context and then provide an update on the Israeli tech ecosystem and the Viola family.??

Saturday October 7 will go down as the day of the deadliest, most cruel terror attack in the history of the world!?

A couple of thousands of blood-thirsty Hamas terrorists managed to surprise Israel, cross the border and attack many villages and military outposts. The Hamas terrorists committed some of the worst atrocities since the shocking and cruel attacks by ISIS. They slaughtered whole families, raped and murdered young women, burned a group of children with their hands tied, beheaded man and children and committed other incomprehensible acts of barbarian cruelty. More than 1400 people were murdered in these attacks. Over a thousand of them were innocent civilians, including dozens of infants and babies, many helpless elderly people and over?300 youngsters who attended an open-air music festival.?

In fact, more Jews were murdered on October 7th than on any other day since the Holocaust!? Hamas did not spare anyone and dozens of Israeli Arabs, tourists and workers from many different nations were also murdered in this brutal attack.

In addition to the dead, thousands of people were wounded, many of them are still fighting for their lives. Hamas also kidnapped over 200 Israelis and foreigners including babies, women and elderly and are holding them in the terror tunnels of Gaza to try and blackmail Israel into freeing Hamas murderers from Israeli prisons.?

?Hamas is a fanatic religious organization whose stated goal, like ISIS, is to kill Jews.?We actually believe Hamas and their supporters are the worst enemies of the Palestinian people and their legitimate fight for self-determination.?

Here in Israel, we are experiencing many emotions: We are enraged by the sight of sheer evil, we are deeply saddened as we mourn our casualties, we pray for the wounded and are worried for the fate of the helpless children, men and women and children held hostage by the Hamas regime.?

We are all still shocked by the incomprehensible way the far superior Israeli military was taken by surprise. When this is over, we will find out what happened, make the necessary adjustments, and hold those responsible accountable.?But make no mistake - Israel’s military is strong, capable, and determined and has the support and backing of the entire Israeli nation.

People may forget but in 2005 Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza. In 2007 Hamas overthrew, in a violent coup, the Palestinian Authority. Since then, Israel tried to co-exist with Hamas ruled Gaza. Israel provided electricity and clean water and allowed continuous trade into and out of Gaza. Over the years Hamas used all these resources to build an active murderous terrorist base in Gaza, it fired tens of thousands of missiles all over Israel and made the lives of the people living near Gaza a nightmare.

No more! Israel is now forced to go to war. The only possible outcome for us, for the people of Gaza and for the whole region, is to eliminate the murderous rule of Hamas in Gaza!??

We are encouraged by the vast and unequivocal support we are getting from the leaders and many people in the United States, Europe and many other countries around the world including some of our newer friends in the region.

This war is not only our war. Very much like the war against ISIS, all humanity should unite in the fight against barbarian fanatic Islamist terror. This terror can and will spread to more places around the world unless we declare a just and determined fight to stop it.?

Heartbreakingly, this war will require more casualties on our side and significant loss of lives on the other side. Israel is a moral democracy and follows international laws, and I am confident we will go to extreme measures to reduce the loss of innocent lives in Gaza.??

After the initial shock, Israel is now fully functioning. The Israeli military has called many to reserve service, and the motivation and determination of the people in uniforms is inspiring.

This is where we see the start-up nation at its best. The same agility for which Israeli entrepreneurs are so famous for, is now being implemented by a vibrant civil society to manage this crisis. In a matter of hours since the Hamas attack on Israel, a civilian organization has emerged. Hundreds of thousands of people are now working around the clock to supply and distribute food, clothes, and other supplies to the soldiers and to the families who had to seek shelter away from the south. Special effort is extended to the support of the families who lost their dear ones and attend to the many wounded in the hospitals.?

The Israeli high-tech industry is at the core of many of these activities and we could not be prouder of this wonderful nation in these hard moments.?

So, what does this mean for the Israeli high-tech industry?

We have been through many national crises before and have always been able to maintain fully functional almost uninterrupted business continuity throughout those times!! Today is no different. Thanks to the Israeli defense systems (including the famous Iron Dome) we are able to largely sustain day to day lives and operations. Israeli companies’ work is obviously disrupted as some employees are called to military reserve, and we are all preoccupied with the situation. Still, with a lot of peer support and with the famous Israeli agility, companies are acting swiftly, moving some key functions abroad, prioritizing tasks and continuing to build great products and transformative companies. ?

Here at Viola, in parallel to supporting families and the civil society effort, we were back to operation quite immediately. We continue to work with our portfolio companies to help them cope with the situation and even continue to work on new investments!?

The loss of lives has touched almost every household in Israel. Many of us personally know people who lost their lives or families who lost their loved ones.

For me personally, it was especially painful to participate in the burial of Danielle Waldman, the cheerful, bright magical 24-year-old daughter of my close friend Eyal Waldman . Danielle, whom I’ve known since childhood, together with her wonderful boyfriend Noam were killed by five armed cruel terrorists who sprayed their car with bullets as they were trying to escape the music festival they attended. Her father Eyal, founder of @Mellanox (now 英伟达 ) and one of the leaders of the Israeli tech ecosystem, is a keen supporter of peace and opened engineering operations not only in the West Bank but also in Gaza! On Danielle’s grave, Eyal inspired all of us by vowing to make Hamas pay for what they did and eliminate their regime – but also to continue and pursue peace.?Eyal’s words are a symbol of Israel’s spirit.?

Israel is strong, vibrant, and united. We are on the moral and right side of history.?

Israel will continue and prosper and continue to be a leading tech innovation hub.?

We appreciate the moving friendship and support extended to us during this period and look forward to better days.??

Shlomo Dovrat

and the entire Viola Team

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