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WITH THE HELP OF G-D AND "STEVEN SPIELBERG" A First Glance Into This Unconventional Yeshiva Walking amid Jerusalem's Old City's stone structures undoubtedly leaves one with a special feeling. You are in Old Jerusalem. The feeling grows as you near Aish HaTorah, located towards the end of the Jewish Quarter. The Temple Mount, the golden Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall promenade can all be seen through the yeshiva's balcony. "Our location is no coincidence", says Rabbi Ephraim Shore, CEO of the Jerusalem Fund of Aish HaTorah in Israel. "If you want to sell pizza then you open a up shop downtown. But when you want to teach Judaism, a location opposite the Jewish nation's holiest site is most appropriate". Shore, who has a clear American accent and wears a white shirt and black yarmulke, lacks the typical markings of a Chareidi man; no side-locks, beard or hat. He is 39 and lives south of Jerusalem in the Orthodox settlement of Beitar, with his wife and five children. He came to Israel from Toronto, Canada a year and a half ago and has been Aish HaTorah Israel's CEO of the Jerusalem Fund ever since. "Our goal is to prevent assimilation and ignite Jewish pride through Jewish education", he says, summing up in one sentence the institution's philosophy to which he belongs. Aish HaTorah imparts the usual Jewish studies and philosophy. However, its structure differs than that of other organizations. Aish HaTorah's branches are spread over a number of continents, with branches in the United States, Europe, Australia and Israel. Each year 100,000 people learn within its setting. These are not full-time students who learn all day, every day but rather people who come to learn once a week for an hour or so. Aish HaTorah's yeshiva in Jerusalem houses students who come to it as tourists and wish to combine their visit to the Holy Land with a week or a month of Jewish studies. Some reside in rented apartments next door to the yeshiva. At lectures, one can find students not wearing a yarmulke as well as men and women in one classroom, discussing a variety of subjects and even the question 'Is there a G-d?'. There is no doubt that Aish HaTorah is atypical in the world of Orthodox institutions. One of the main reasons for this is the organization's connections with power houses throughout the world. The younger crowd is not the only arena from where the organization attracts its supporters and students. Politicians, multi-millionaires, students and professors from elite universities throughout the world are all sought after. The organization, whose personnel until now had avoided exposure to the media, opened its doors this week to Ma'ariv. They are now willing to provide an explanation for the co-ed outreach programs, the Internet site that provides answers to questions regarding the most controversial questions according to Jewish law, why movie and television stars come to its side, and what, in their opinion is the damage done by reports claiming that Aish HaTorah makes people religious and is affiliated with the political right wing. In recent days, construction of the new Outreach Center has been taking place right next door to the yeshiva. So far, a theatre has been built in honor of Kirk Douglas, who has donated two million dollars to the building. Aish HaTorah's lobbyists in Hollywood are currently busy trying to convince Jewish director Steven Spielberg to produce a movie that would be shown to every tourist group arriving at the center. The subject at hand: the Jewish contribution to humanity. The plan is for the highlight of the tour to take place following the movie viewing: a walk to the wall of the ruins of the Temple concluding with touching the stones of the Western Wall. Aish HaTorah makes no effort in hiding its connections with glamorous Hollywood celebrities. Quite the contrary; Hollywood stars adorn its brochures, and in addition to the fact that such pictures are good public relations and assist in opening certain business executives' doors, their official purpose is to bring Jews closer to getting acquainted with the fundamentals of Judaism. For example, the organization offers short lectures in Jewish philosophy who's list of participants includes Jason Alexander, Eliot Gold, Fran Dresher and Larry King. The rabbis in America who present these lectures are modern, but not Reform or Conservative. "Learning one-on-one with a rabbi is what's "in" these days in the States", says Shore. "Celebrities will come, learn for an hour a week and then visit Israel and they become our international ambassadors. Some may donate to Aish HaTorah and help the organization with forming further contacts". With or without a yarmulke, Men and Women too Aish HaTorah was founded 30 years ago by Rabbi Noah Weinberg. Since then, some of the most well known Jewish businessmen, politicians and entertainers have been among the organization's friends and supporters. Among the Board of Directors' members are Michael Minikes; CEO of Toys R US, Michael Goldstein; Vice President of Goldman Saks Investment Bank, Bob Hormats; Universal's CEO, and Ron Meyer; and Merv Adelson of Time Warner. Aish HaTorah's introductory brochure will inform you that the institution believes that "... the State of Israel is a divine gift". The Israeli flag is raised and students and faculty who are permanent residents are expected to fulfill their mandatory obligations to the country, including army service. Also written in the brochure is that "Aish HaTorah condemns religious coercion and violence towards both Jews and non-Jews". One of Aish HaTorah's goals is to bring young men and women from all over the world to Israel. The organization brings approximately 3,000 Jews annually to Israel. As well, one of Aish HaTorah's programs has brought "...more university students than any other educational student program" to Israel each summer. The organization is also in charge of Aviv Network, which provides assistance to new Russian immigrants by way of financial aid, absorption, learning Hebrew, employment and housing. Each year 30,000 immigrants are exposed to the organization's activities. Aish HaTorah claims that it is directly responsible for the immigration of approximately 500 families to Israel. These families are active in Maagalei Havana, another Aish HaTorah project whose purpose is to "strengthen Jewish pride and identity throughout the Diaspora and prevent as much as possible, the growing rate of assimilation taking place in numerous communities". Aish HaTorah's activities have already earned its workers the title of outreach activists. Its opponents say that the organization acts in a very sophisticated manner, but with an always-active outreach mechanism present. However, their methods are at the other end of the spectrum to those of Rabbi Amnon Yitzchak, whose approach emphasizes fear of the unknown. Either way, Aish HaTorah rejects the definition of "making people religious". "We do not define our success according to the number of people who become observant," counters Shore. "Ninety-nine percent of the people who study with us do not become fully observant. They might leave us more traditional than they were before. However, becoming observant is a very individual process. We do not put pressure on anyone or tell people how they should live. Rather, we emphasize every person's right to learn about Judaism and thereby enrich their knowledge. Anyone not familiar with Judaism, with this tremendous treasure that was granted to him, has a great loss on his hands". "We consider ourselves successful when people who come to us understand that Judaism can provide them with something positive. If following their experience with us, people come out with more joy in their hearts, will raise their children happily, will know how to be better businessmen or how to find their husband or wife in an objective and wise manner, then we have succeeded. From our perspective, that is Judaism's true goal: to help people live better. That is the reason we allow men and women to sit in class together and that is why we do not require men to wear yarmulkes." Kotel tunnels, the weekly Torah portion, and Sex Too The organization puts out great effort in order to get young men and women interested in its activities. One of the ways it accomplishes this is through a highly developed Internet site, with over 180,000 visitors each month. Visitors get to view answers to almost every topic in Judaism. Among the services provided by the site are virtual tours of the Kotel tunnels, information about Jewish mysticism, parenting, children's stories, rabbinical advice, discussions of the weekly Torah portion, a variety of innovative discussions, a science section, movie critiques, sports, current affairs, men and women relationships and even a section about sex. In a recent survey of Internet surfers, Aish HaTorah was selected as Netscape's Rave Site of the day and U.S.A. Today dubbed it the "hottest site" around. The site is directly linked to CNN and the Jewish Agency's sites. One of the site's greatest successes, which has reached hysteria proportions in the United States, has been the establishment of dating forums. The concept as, "created by Aish HaTorah's R & D center", is called "SpeedDating". Created in order to provide a meeting place for young Jewish men and women to date, it is an answer to the growing assimilation problem. Back in the States it has already been dubbed as "...the latest hit of the dating world". In SpeedDating, a group of 20+ singles meet at a cafe and conduct a round of short, 8-minute blind dates. While on the mini-date, each person must quickly answer questions written on the table. At the end of eight minutes the men switch tables while the women remain seated. In this way, it is actually possible to conduct seven blind dates in an hour for just twenty dollars. A very cheap investment for getting the chance to find your mate. Every participant receives a name tag and identification number. At the end of the evening, if two people are both interested in one another they get to go out again. This method is claimed to have increased the chances of finding a Jewish mate in the Diaspora. The craze began in LA, spread to the East Coast in New York and from there to other states, and has even reached Australia and South Africa. Businessmen, entrepreneurs and Al Gore Too Another Aish HaTorah project is the recruitment of business entrepreneurs who will make donations to Israel and to the organization itself. The organization's success in having brought over to Israel an entire entourage of business moguls is quite atypical to the usual scenery of Israeli yeshivas. Last October a mission took place whose goal was to form connections between the Israeli and American high-tech industries. The mission was headlined "In order to advance Israeli economy and society". The first speaker at the conference was vice president Al Gore whose speech was broadcast from Washington. Also at hand was Ran Cohen, Minister of Trade and Commerce (Meretz). Among the evening's distinguished guests were Len Leader, of America On-Line, President of AOL Investments. AOL is one of the old-time giants in the international hi-tech industry with a market value of 102 billion dollars. The same conference also included Brian Halla, president and chairman of National Semiconductors, Anthony Perkins, chairman and senior editor of Red Herring and other business giants. At the conclusion of their visit to Israel, AOL and others had invested over 30 million dollars in two Israeli hi-tech companies. Aish HaTorah claims that the success it has had in bringing in such donors is a result of its successful teachings, as well as the organization's lack of religious coercion and the work it conducts towards impeding the growing assimilation rate. "We have ideals and people like that", they explain. Businessman Leslie Dan, one of Aish HaTorah's primary donors, says that eighty percent of Aish HaTorah's donors are either Reform or Conservative. Beyond the business personalities, U.S. President Bill Clinton, vice-president Al Gore and former Israeli Prime-Ministers Yitchak Rabin z"l, Shimon Peres and Binyamin Netanyahu can also be found among the organization's supporters. Their pictures are in every Aish HaTorah pamphlet and video. The question is, if this is really so, then how did Aish HaTorah manage to earn a reputation for being an extreme right-wing organization whose purpose is to buy as many buildings as possible in the Old City so that it is completely occupied by Jews, following in the approach of El'ad and Ateret Cohanim settlers? One reason has to do with a 1995 incident when then Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Yitzchak Rabin z"l came to the Western Wall for a paratroopers' basic training graduation ceremony, of which a number of the unit's fighters were killed in the Beit Lid terrorist attack. According to a report published in Ha'aretz, the words 'traitor' and 'murderer' were yelled to Rabin from Aish HaTorah's balcony. Rabin's assistant, Eitan Haber who was present, confirmed this version of the story. However Aish HaTorah vehemently denied the report and would not give up. It sued Ha'aretz and succeeded in obtaining a correction. Haber has not taken back his version of the story, however Shore has met with him in the past and is currently working on arranging for a meeting at the Center. "Back then, the building from which the name-calling supposedly took place was under construction and anyone could have gotten in there. Our students were not the ones who called out names. In the worst case scenario, if someone did yell from the yeshiva's premises, it does not mean that this is the organization's opinion," says Shore. In any case, Aish HaTorah has since made it a habit of warning students not to talk politics. When events take place by the Kotel promenade, balconies are locked and no (outsiders) are allowed near them. "Perhaps we get labeled as extremists due to people's tendency to classify all religious Zionists as right wingers," says Shore. "Until now we haven't done anything about it out of fear of dealing with the Israeli media, who is known to be anti-religious to say the least. But we have come to see that running away from the media can also hurt us. Also, after Rabin was murdered, newly elected Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Mayor Ehud Olmert who is also affiliated with the right were present at an Aish HaTorah conference, which gave the impression of a devoted right front. And this is not true. It's simply not true".
Source: Ma'ariv HI-TECH Three military helicopters of the Hashemite kingdom slowly descended onto a helipad in the heart of Amman. Waiting for them was a group of rabbis and a few people who make their livelihoods from hi-tech - people whose bank accounts exceed several million dollars; the officers of Silicon Valley's chess armies. And behold who was waiting for them on the tarmac: Lennert Leader, chairman of AOL Investments; Anthony Perkins, President and editor-in-chief of the Internet magazine Red Herring; Isabelle Maxwell, the "daughter of" an President of Comtouch; Daniel Rosenzweig, president and CEO of Zdnet; G.D. Smith, vice-president of Drugstore.com; Cliff Sobel, chairman of the board of Net2Phone; Ken Goldman, senior vice-president of At Home/Access, and their families. The helicopter flights and tour of Petra were contributions from King Abdulla and his brother Crown Prince Faisal to Aish Hatorah, an organization dedicated to spreading love of Torah and of Eeretz Yisrael both amongst Jews and other nations. It would appear that this lofty goal somehow struck a chord with Abdullah and Faisal, great-grandsons of King Abdulla. Aish Hatorah's mission was successful. Not that anything was being obscured from non-Jews; most of the visitors were in fact Jewish. The result was 80:20 in favor of the Chosen People. And make no mistake. Aish Hatorah did not have to pay for these hi-tech leaders' excursion. The week's visit, described as a family tour, was a combination of a working vacation and a sweeping audio-visual experience of the Holy Land. It is reasonable to assume that someone higher up had to bear the costs, nevertheless the visitors must have had to pull out their check books both prior to the tour and upon it's completion , for the benefit of Aish Hatorah. Incidentally, this organization has a foundation named Keren Yerushalayim. But pay attention to the English translation: The Jerusalem Fund. It's not difficult to confuse it with Teddy Kollek's Jerusalem Foundation. Several years ago Isaac Stern was invited to receive an award from an organization named the Jerusalem Fund. He phoned his good friend Kollek to thank him. Kollek didn't know what he was talking about. "What prize?" asked Kollek of the embarrassed Stern. Stern arrived to receive the prize at the Knesset, and was furious that Kollek was not invited. It was explained to him that there was no connection between the organization, the ceremony, and Kollek. Indeed, presentation of prestigious prizes is one way of overcoming the natural reluctance of global personalities to be invited to any events which exude a smell of narrow interests. Aish Hatorah utilized this well-worn approach of presenting prizes at their event. On Thursday, they hosted a conference and medal awards named in honor of Albert Einstein at Jerusalem's hi-tech center at Har Hotzvim, in the presence of the city's Mayor, Ehud Olmert. Pay attention to the delegation's name: The Albert Einstein Hi-tech Mission was the official name given to this one-week family tour. Could there be a better trademark reflecting this Jewish genius, exceeding even his American patriotism? These visitors were not deterred by the prospect of having to produce their check books. For this reason alone, Aish Hatorah's achievements are indeed noteworthy. We need to keep in mind that the visitors are sought after by the top organization in the world. Despite the connections, reputations and allure of all the Hambrechts and Kwists, and Kesselmans who are prepared to fly these type of visitors to deluxe vacations at the host organizations' expense - despite all this Aish Hatorah succeeded where other had failed. It is reasonable to assume that the yeshiva had some help. They were assisted by the black kippa-wearing Jerusalem "Mafia' of the venture capital community, associates of Jerusalem Global's Shlomo Kalisch and Michael Eisenberg of Israel Seed. Together, these locals organized themselves to get the visitors onto flights to the Holy Land, to teach them some Torah, to feed them Glatt sandwiches, and to seat them at business meeting s with the elite of Israel's hi-tech industry. Aish Hatorah's summer camp schedule was hectic. On Sunday last week the delegation landed, was accommodated at Jerusalem's Hilton hotel, and were transported hastily to cocktails and dinner in Herod's palace in the Old City. Rabbi Noach Weinberg, the leader of the organization greeted them. The next day, after breakfast, the group was gathered for a lecture on the subject of Israel as an Internet superpower. Afterwards followed a series of meetings with a variety of Israeli start-ups. This in turn was followed by a comprehensive tour of Jerusalem with the day's schedule concluding with an emotional historical performance at Masada. There was a also a panel on developing strategic partnerships, and a visit to the settlements across the Green Line. For Lennert Leader, President of AOL Investment, himself a Jew, this was his first visit to Israel. "This was an incredible experience, full of power from the first day. (unclear sentence)." Leader was impressed with Aish Hatorah."They did an excellent task of selecting the appropriate start-ups. They gave us a list of 10, and we met with 6 of them." Jordan was the highlight of the Albert Einstein Hi-tech Mission. Their busses easily passed border control and glided into the Hashemite kingdom. The visitors were expecting to see a replica of the might Mississippi as they approached the Allenby Bridge crossing, and were amused to see the Jordan "creek" pass under the wheels of their busses.
Source: Globes THE JEW IN PETRA How do they succeed so well, Aish Hatorah in Jerusalem? Global hi-tech industry leaders (preferably Jewish) that no other organization has succeeded in bringing to this part of the world, ran about freely and happily on the hills of Jordan..... A strong smell of incense greeted the visitors to the royal palace, coupled with lots of formal protocol. This was not the palace where King Abdulla resides, but nevertheless, a palace. Servants floated amongst the visitors, offering fresh fruit juice and home-baked cookies. The journalists were herded into a corner of the reception room. The tour guide briefed them: "Please do not ask Prince Faisal any questions. It is forbidden to ask even one question. I plead with you not to ask his Royal; Highness any questions." Prince Faisal arose to greet the visitors. Faisal, the brother of King Abdulla, is responsible on behalf of the Hashemite kingdom for the realm of science and hi-tech."You may address him as Your Royal Highness", advised the guide, " he will enter from the right side of the room; everyone should rise. No one is permitted to sit cross-legged. After he finishes his speech he will shake everyone's hands - I emphasize everyone's. From the moment the prince leaves the room, no one is permitted to re-enter. A few brief comments regarding the prince. He is a pilot, he commands the air force, and he is also responsible for the automotive sector - including motor racing. He is married to princess Alia, who is an extremely pleasant woman, and they have three children. He is very intelligent and very active. He is a very simple person. He stops at traffic lights and doesn't honk." Prince Faisal enters the room and seats himself on the dais. Before he has an opportunity to begin speaking, the Rabbis approach him bearing a gift from the Albert Einstein Delegation - a dreidel designed by an Israeli artist. One of the visitors remarked that it was good that they hadn't brought him "Shmura Matza".After the formal thanks and greetings in a refined British accent, his Royal Highness presented the Jordanian vision of hi-tech development to his visitors. The Crown Prince: " The Internet brings people closer together. The Jordanian population is well-educated and it is possible to remove barriers utilizing technology. The king is actively advancing this agenda. There is a specific group of people who are checking out legislation concerning software and technology. We have a defined plan for removing the monopoly in accessing the Internet. There are 8 -12 Internet services suppliers in Jordan and uninterrupted access to the Internet". Faisal invited his guests to initiate joint ventures with Jordan in all sectors of the economy - from hi-tech through agriculture. In concluding, he reminded those present that the Jordanian press is free, perhaps too free. The media representatives were not given the opportunity to react. " I do not like to speak in public", acknowledged the prince, " If you would like to ask me questions, you could probably get much more information out of me...". The questions rapidly flowed from the audience - with the exception of the quarantined reporters. Those present wanted to know additional information on Jordan's hi-tech sector; the prince was very pleasant and courteous - but didn't really know the answers. Afterwards he shook hands with all the visitors ("Please shake his hand lightly and move on," instructed the guide...). Following a group photograph on the steps of the palace, the visitors changed cloths at a nearby hotel, and consumed dry sandwiches - certified Mehadrin from Jerusalem's Hilton hotel. The honored guests were flown by helicopter to Petra. Unlike them, the newspaper reporters were treated to a guided bus tour of archeological site in Amman - like second class residents of the Hashemite kingdom - together with a few unfortunate functionaries who didn't make the helicopter flight. Aish Hatorah's staff explained that the visitors had paid substantial amounts of money for the privilege of flying by helicopter. Truth be told, King Abdulla footed the bill." The king has met with Aish Hatorah delegations on almost every occasion that we have visited Jordan," explained Aish's director. " The only time he could not meet with us was when he was hosting Shimon Peres." The Royal palace requested that part of the delegation visit the kingdom's capital; for that reason we were taken to Midbeh where we viewed the famous mosaic map of the Mediterranean region and to Mount Nevoh. We didn't even approach Petra, not even from afar. The tour of the kingdom was similar to our experience at the palace - mostly instructions and restrictions....... We departed from Jordan at the end of this surrealistic encounter: Opposite a sky tinged in pink shining above the darkened Amman, a group of American tourists was viewing an ancient Roman amphitheater adjacent to a slum neighborhood; with a Muslim supplicant spread out on his prayer mat opposite a minyan of Jews praying Mincha and guarded by a group of Jordanian policemen. At the conclusion of the visit, the delegation crossed over the border to the Judean desert, to enjoy an evening of Druze music, Klezmer tunes and folk dancing performance, dinner and well-earned sleep. Searchlight illuminated the desert night, and a fire display with the words Albert Einstein delegation emblazoned across it, concluded the Jordanian portion of the visit. Why did Aish Hatorah take this group of business leaders to Jordan? Does this not negate the Zionistic sparks in their hearts? To the contrary: What could be more simple than showing Israel as the crown Jewel in the hi-tech crown of the Middle East, at the expense of King Abdulla? Source: Globes TORAH AND WORK The visit of the high-tech business leaders to Jordan was handled like a military operation. Aish Hatorah, an Ultra-Orthodox organization hosted last week a group of hi-tech industry leaders - most of them Jewish - in Israel and Jordan. One of the highlights of the visit was a reception held for them by Crown Prince Faisal. Thereafter the visitors were flown by helicopter for a short tour of Petra. The delegation consisted of some 40 Jewish hi-tech industry leaders and their families. The non-Jewish participants were invited primarily due to their substantial influence in the American hi-tech sector; amongst them Lennert Leader, president of AOL Investments. The delegation members participated in a conference sponsored by Aish Hatorah, while at the same time meeting with dozens of Israeli hi-tech industry leaders and start-up entrepreneurs. Ephraim Shore, Chief Financial Officer for Aish Hatorah's Jerusalem Fund noted that Aish Hatorah is a world-wide Jewish organization that aims to encourage Jewish pride through educational initiatives. Despite rumors to the contrary, Shore is emphatic that the organization is Zionistically oriented(They encourage their students to make Aliya). Shore notes that over the past five years, the organization has hosted several delegations of business leaders in a variety of sectors. This year the organization decided to focus on the hi-tech industrial sector, for the purpose of encouraging increased business activity between Israel and the United States. Shore notes that the participants themselves covered the majority of the costs incurred in this visit.
Source: HA"ARETZ FIRE (AISH) AND TORAH It is difficult to grasp how any Israeli organization - business or voluntary - could succeed in bringing a substantial group of international business leaders to Israel the way Aish Hatorah, an institution based on teaching Judaism in a modern modality, in an open and understanding way, has. During October Aish will host such a conference, whose purpose, according to Rabbi Ephraim Shore, Aish's head, is "... to develop ties between American and Israeli hi-tech industries, while at the same time advancing Israel's civic society and its economy. Aish Hatorah was established some 30 years ago by Rabbi Noach Weinberg. Close to 100,000 people can be counted amongst its alumni and present students. Amongst its supporters can be found some of the most prominent global Jewish businessmen and women, politicians and entertainers. The organization operates center in the United States, Europe and Israel, and amongst former members of its International Board could be found Michael Milken, of Beare-Stearn Investment bank, CEO of Toys R'Us, Michael Goldstein, and CEO of Goldman - Sachs, Bob Hormat. Rabbi Shore notes that Aish Hatorah brings VIPs to Jerusalem in order to enhance international recognition of Israel. "This year we decided to do something different, to focus on hi-tech in order to encourage business networking between Israel and the United States. We have asked the invitees to bring with them ideas for strategic joint ventures." Amongst the Israeli organizing committee are to be found some of the leading high-tech industry personalities - Yigal Erlich, CEO of YOZMAH, David Rubner, CEO of ICE, and Shlomo Kalisch of Jerusalem Global. They will accompany the overseas participants on their touring itineraries, while also organizing the joint meetings. Aish Hatorah maintains close links with the Ministry of Industry and the Israel Investment Center; according to Shore both these bodies are actively supporting the conference' organization. While it is difficult to forecast the chances for successful business ventures emerging from the gathering, nevertheless both the positive media image of the conference - as well as Aish Hatorah's centrality in ensuring its implementation - will be reflected in the keynote speech to be broadcast live via satellite by US vice president Al Gore from Washington to Jerusalem. In any event, the best news is that even the Ultra-Orthodox understand that ensuring sources of income for their community does not contradict their religious beliefs - as may be seen from several major initiatives aimed at training Yeshiva students to work in the high-tech sector. Source: RESHET COMPUTERS AOL ASSESSING POTENTIAL FOR COOPERATION WITH 5 ISRAELI START UP COMPANIES The world's leading internet service provider, AOL, is at present checking out the possibility of strategic cooperation with at least 5 Israeli start-ups and is considering the possibility of some acquisitions. Chairman of AOL investment, Lennert Leader, who arrived in Israel today for the global high-tech conference being held later this week in Jerusalem, sponsored by Aish HaTorah , met yesterday with start-ups, "GuruNet" from Jerusalem, "Art news" from Tel Aviv, and "Deal Time " and "Babylon". GuruNet, established only some 10 months ago has developed an integrated dictionary and encyclopedia. When an Internet surfer highlights a word or concept on the screen, a window is opened and a range of translation and background information becomes available. In the event of a commercial name being highlighted, the user is immediately connected to the relevant Web site. Art News is a publishing company specializing in collating video clips using Wide Band technology. Deal Time specializes in electronic commerce, specifically in software and hardware, but also cosmetics, beauty and health products, equipment for nursery schools and recreational equipment. Babylon has developed a computerized dictionary and Versaver focuses on computerized versions of books. AOL which has become well known for its purchase of Mirabilis' ICQ program for more than $400 million, has invested some $5.1 billion in acquisitions in 51 companies. 26 of these companies were privately owned while the remainder traded on stock exchanges. AOL has 20 million subscribers of whom 3.2 million reside outside the U.S. Leader announced that this year there was an increase of 75% in hi-tech companies supported by Global Venture Capital Funds and it is expected that in the coming year investors will have a greater say in determining business directions. Source; Maariv |
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