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                 GAMLA:  NEWS AND VIEWS FROM ISRAEL
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Volume 8 Issue 22                                    Jerusalem, Israel
10 Av, 5767 *                                         * July 25, 2007


Inside:

Gamla Editorial:

1. GOOD NEWS ISRAEL: Israel's high tech sector shares its profits
with people in need

2. Fayad gov't now facing a real crisis

3. Is peace with Syria worthwhile?


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GOOD NEWS ISRAEL
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Israel's high tech sector shares its profits with people in need
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Susan de la Fuente   (Israel21c.org)

The news last week that Israeli startups raised $842 million in the
first six months of 2007 - the highest level in five years - was
music to Baruch Lipner's ears. That's because the executive director
of Tmura, the Israeli public service venture fund, knows that some of
that money is going to end up funding social projects and charities
throughout the country.

During the five years since its inception, Tmura (meaning 'making an
exchange') has shown that the denizens of glass-fronted office towers
do care about weaker sectors of society.

The concept is simple, elegant and unique - high-tech start-ups make
pledges to Tmura to help the causes of youth and education in Israel.
Early-stage startups usually donate 0.5% of their equity, while more
developed companies contribute 0.1-0.5%. If the company succeeds,
Tmura sells its share allocation and donates the proceeds to approved
charities.

According to Lipner, although the organization's immediate goal is to
encourage Israeli philanthropy, its long-term aim is to generate a
ripple effect of social improvement. So, far the results have been
more like a tidal wave. In its first five years, Tmura has donated a
total of nearly $2 million to 18 non-profit organizations (NPOs).

A brief reminder about the visionary of this endeavor: former New
Yorker Yadin Kaufmann was a pioneer in the Israeli venture capital
(VC) community when he co-founded Veritas Venture Partners in 1990.
Enthused by the work of the Entrepreneurs' Foundation - a non-profit
organization (NPO) operating in Silicon Valley and other high tech
centers in the USA - Kaufmann transferred the concept to Israel five
years ago by setting up Tmura.

Lipner, who has a VC and high-tech background, shifted to the
non-profit world as a result of "looking for something more on the
idealistic side while remaining within the industry environment."
Tmura was a perfect fit. Lipner's office space in the Azrieli Center
is donated by the prominent law firm of Gross, Kleinhendler, Hodak,
Halevy, Greenberg & Co. The generous sponsorship of VC firms and
numerous pro-bono service providers in the high tech arena enables
the company to run with a low overhead.

Tmura clearly benefits from a golden window of opportunity to recruit
high tech companies that are just getting off the ground. Although
startups sign a warrant transferring stock-options to Tmura, they
have no cash outlay until they go public or are bought out. The
present tally is that over one hundred start-ups have signed
warrants, while 11 companies have made good on their commitments to
Tmura following a liquidity event. Company number 12 is expected to
"exit" shortly, Lipner told ISRAEL21c.

Representatives of some of the companies who have signed on with
Tmura over the last five years expressed their satisfaction at
investing in society without rocking their balance sheets.

KiloLambda Technologies - an optical nanotechnology company in the
early stages of market development - was the first company to join
Tmura in 2002. CEO Doron Nevo, explained that he received positive
vibes when approached by Kaufmann. Proud that KiloLambda gave the
first vote of confidence, Nevo has encouraged other companies to sign
up.



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==========
HEARD SAID
==========

IDF source on "smuggling" of arms between Syria and Hizbollah while
the UNIFIL looks on:

"This is not smuggling, but the open transfer of weapons, a veritable
industry."


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ARTICLES
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Fayad gov't now facing a real crisis
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Khaled Abu Toameh, THE JERUSALEM POST


The crisis in the Palestinian Authority deepened on Sunday as the
Palestinian Legislative Council failed to convene for the third time
in the past two weeks for a vote of confidence on the government of
Salaam Fayad.

In response, Hamas called on PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to dismiss
Fayad and appoint a new prime minister, saying the present government
was "illegal."

"The term of Fayad's government has expired as far as the Palestinian
constitution is concerned and Abbas must search for a new prime
minister," said Ahmed Bahr of Hamas, who serves as acting speaker of
the parliament.

The PLC session scheduled for Sunday was cancelled because the
required quorum of 67 legislators was not met.

The failure of the council to convene poses a constitutional crisis
for Fayad's government which, according to the PA Basic Law, must be
approved by parliament.

Fatah legislators and representatives of other factions boycotted the
meeting, forcing Bahr to call it off on the grounds that the required
quorum had not been met.

Fayad himself arrived at the PLC chamber in Ramallah, but he and the
Fatah legislators decided to boycott the session.

"Fayad's government is now facing a real constitutional crisis," said
independent legislator Mustafa Barghouti. "The government needs the
approval of the parliament so that it can carry out its duties."
Hassan Khraisheh, deputy speaker of the PLC, said the only solution
to the current crisis was reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas. He
said Sunday's session was called by Fayad with the hope that the
council would vote in favor of his government.

Azzam al-Ahmed, head of the Fatah parliamentary list, accused the
Hamas-controlled administration of the PLC of siding with the Hamas
militiamen who staged a "coup" against Fatah in the Gaza Strip last
month.

Meanwhile, Syria-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal warned that his
movement was running out of patience following the arrest of dozens
of Hamas members in the West Bank by Abbas's forces.

"What is happening in the Gaza Strip is unfortunate," he said. "But
we warn all against underestimating Hamas's power in the West Bank.
Hamas is very strong there. Anyone who thinks that Hamas is weak in
the West Bank is making the same mistake that others made in the
past."

In yet another blow to Abbas, a spokesman for a Fatah armed group
announced on Sunday that his men would not hand over their weapons to
the PA security forces.

"We won't stop the struggle against the Israeli occupation and we
won't surrender our weapons," said the spokesman, Abu Muhammad, who
represents a group calling itself the Abu Ammar Brigades.

He said his group does not recognize the so-called Israeli amnesty
for the Fatah fugitives in the West Bank. "We're not criminals to
deserve a pardon from Israel," he said. "We are here to resist the
occupation and this is our natural right."

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Is peace with Syria worthwhile?
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Giora Eiland (YNET)

Basher Assad's recent address, as well as Ehud Olmert's response, has
renewed discussion over the question of whether Basher Assad is
serious about peace; does he really mean what he says?

With all due respect to this question, this is not the issue that
needs to take center stage in the Israeli public discourse. Even the
question of whether Assad is capable or not is not so important. The
real issue is: Is an Israeli-Syrian peace agreement, assuming it is
possible, good for Israel?

Such a peace agreement, assuming that it would be similar to the one
almost achieved in 2000, would be predicated on the return of the
Golan Heights to Syria in exchange for four things:

Peace reminiscent of the peace agreement with Egypt; security
arrangements; a Syrian assurance that that it would not support
terror against Israel; and an assurance that the streams of the Golan
will continue to flow (cleanly) into the Sea of Galilee.


Is such as agreement worthwhile?

Vis-a-vis the benefits of peace there are six reasons why we should
have reservations towards such a possible agreement:


�?The agreement does not solve a single one of Israel's other
security problems. It doesn't impact in any way the Iranian threat,
nor does it quell the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (the opposite is
true,) and contrary to the situation in 2000 it does not ensure the
disarmament of Hizbullah in Lebanon.

�?A peace agreement with Syria would not impact the relationship
between Israel and the Arab world and would not contribute to our
international legitimacy, just as the peace agreement with Jordan did
not.

�?It is reasonable to assume that a peace agreement with Syria,
normalization and open borders, would expedite the end of the
artificial Alawite minority regime in favor of the Sunnis (which
comprise 80 percent of Syria's population.) When the Sunnis take
over, with the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood, it is entirely
unclear whether they would adhere to the agreement signed by the
"illegitimate infidel Basher Assad."

�?The fourth reason is US support. The US would not oppose an
Israeli-Syrian peace process, but contrary to the past it would not
be prepared to finance it. In all our previous negotiations �?with
Egypt, the Palestinians and even (in our last attempt to achieve
peace) with Syria �?it was clear that a major part of the
compensation would be provided by the Americans and not by the Arab
side. Now, without such compensation, the agreement is far less
attractive.

�?The most important reason of all is security-related. Through
in-depth familiarity with the security arrangements discussed in
2000, I believe that it cannot provide Israel with minimal level of
required security.

�?And finally, the Golan Heights is one of the few areas that allow
us to "get out for some fresh air," to enjoy a real trip that
includes landscape, water and Jewish history.


Some will say we can tour the Galilee, and that we would also be able
to visit the Golan Heights under Syrian rule. This is true, but after
resettling the residents of the Golan Heights in the Galilee much of
the natural landscape will be lost.

And with regards to touring the Golan Heights under Syrian rule �?BR>just see how many Israelis visit Jordan to realize that it's not the
same.

To sum up, is such a peace agreement worthwhile despite there being
reservations? �?This is a legitimate discussion that should be made,
on condition that we understand that this is the real issue and not
the question of "how much Assad really wants peace."

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Giora Eiland is a retired IDF major-general and former head of the
National Security Council


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