
Wireless in Gaza: the young entrepreneurs beating the blockades - bootload
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/07/gaza-young-entrepreneurs-web-based-startups
======
reuven
As an Israeli, I'm delighted to see Gaza citizens building businesses, gaining
skills, and making money. This is in the mutual interest of Palestinians and
Israelis alike.

I wish that it were somehow possible for Israelis to help the Gazans in their
attempts to build such businesses, but realize that this is (for now) sadly
unrealistic.

For now, I wish them great success, and am excited to see them start the
process of giving Gaza a flourishing civilian economy.

~~~
ezequiel-garzon
I applaud your attitude, and firmly believe you are part of a quiet (or less
vocal) majority on both sides. Although this [1] project seems to have
evaporated, things like that and your comment give great hope.

[1]
[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/technology/29compute.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/technology/29compute.html)

~~~
adambenayoun
I'm Israeli too - I applaud and support the Gazan startup economy. I know this
is the only hope to build a solid bridge between the Israeli and Gazan
community.

I wish both sides could be more vocal.

------
gjm11
For anyone thinking "oh, that's a clunky title", it may be worth pointing out
the pun it's making. Milton's poem _Samson Agonistes_ (a telling of the
Biblical story of Samson) contains the following famous[1] lines (from Samson,
lamenting his capture and blinding by the Philistines):

    
    
      Ask for this great Deliverer now, and find him
      Eyeless in Gaza at the Mill with slaves,
      Himself in bonds under Philistian yoke;
    

and the phrase is second-order famous [2] because Aldous Huxley wrote a book
called _Eyeless in Gaza_.

(The title would be more than a clever but pointless allusion if, e.g., the
article were about wireless networking use by Israeli spies in Gaza. But I
can't imagine such an article surviving long without degenerating into the
usual flamewar.)

[1] That is: famous among those among whom such things are famous.

[2] See [1].

------
thenipper
Whoa! I work for Mercy Corps, the agency funding this. It is really awesome to
see something from work here. I'm obviously biased but I think it is a great
program that is really helping the people of Gaza. Additionally the focus on
women and helping them enter the work force is really great.

As jacalata said they are doing a fundraiser that ends in about 20 hours if
you want to help out:

[https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/save-gaza-s-only-
startup-...](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/save-gaza-s-only-startup-
accelerator)

~~~
seivan
Well, with 200 million euro annually pumped there by Sweden alone I'd be
surprised if we didn't see stuff like this.

While now we can't feed Syrian refugees because the UN is out of money. Not to
mention the genocide on Christian Arabs, or kidnappings for sex-slavery of
over 7000 female Yezidis by Arabic and Somalian islamists largely from Europe.

But hey... lets riot and collect money for Gaza.

~~~
bjourne
Actually 282m SEK 2014 or about 30m € in total aid to the Palestinian
territories: [http://www.sida.se/English/press/current-topics-
archive/2014...](http://www.sida.se/English/press/current-topics-
archive/2014/10-million-sek-to-gaza/) So you're off by a factor of 10 but it's
still a lot.

~~~
seivan
Sweden donated 1.37 billion SEK 2007. That makes approx 200 million Euro. My
bad for assuming it had continue to be that large, I assumed because recent
recognition.

[http://www.svd.se/opinion/brannpunkt/sverige-okar-
bistandet-...](http://www.svd.se/opinion/brannpunkt/sverige-okar-bistandet-
till-palestina_693023.svd)

Additional reading [http://motbilder.blogspot.se/2007/12/dns-mrkliga-rkning-
om-p...](http://motbilder.blogspot.se/2007/12/dns-mrkliga-rkning-om-
palestinskt.html)

~~~
bjourne
That's for the whole of Palestine while you implied it was all for Gaza. 1.37
billion SEK = 143 million EUR which you can check for yourself in two seconds
using the google query "1.37 billion SEK in EUR" so there is no excuse for
giving a wrong number. This for the period 2007-2008 so two years not one. I
think it's classified as "emergency relief" (there was a war going on), the
running year-to-year aid is much lower.

------
ars
It's interesting that even during the height of the recent Gaza war Israel
maintained the Internet connections to Gaza.

May increased communication and ventures like the article mention bring Gazans
the democracy they desperately need.

~~~
pavlov
Are you sure that the Internet connection to Gaza goes through Israel?

I would have assumed that it's via Egypt instead, as Gaza has a land border
there as well.

~~~
hrasyid
Yeah and the Egyptian regime is more interested in providing internet to
Gazans than Israel?

Actually, I'm curious, how does Gaza get its internet? Any source/reference
mentioning this?

~~~
aidos
The wikipedia page [0] claims that there are 4 ISPs providing internet in
Gaza.

I believe that in the case of electricity, Israel is obliged to provide power
to the region under international law (since they control its borders).

[0]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip)

~~~
smcl
Not to get too political\opinionated but Israel does not have a particularly
strong reputation for respecting international laws regarding Palestine (West
Bank or Gaza) which makes it even more surprising if they continued to supply
power.

~~~
frozenport
Does this change your opinion?

~~~
JupiterMoon
Didn't Israel bomb the power station in Gaza?

~~~
Smokey28
Which is now up and running a shocking _46 weeks_ ahead of schedule. Don't
believe everything you read.

~~~
JupiterMoon
Not sure I follow you logic here. Because something got repaired then it is OK
that it was smashed in the first place? Can you clarify?

~~~
Smokey28
Sure thing. Your assumption that "it was smashed in the first place" is based
on a news report, my assumption being that you are not a Gaza power station
employee. In a case where something was fixed nearly a year ahead of the
reported schedule, in one of the slowest moving industrial zones on Earth,
which is more likely: A) A miraculous feat of engineering happened or B) The
damage was not as widespread or destructive as initially reported, if even
present at all.

My "logic" was not a value statement on whether the attack was justified -
rather a suggestion that before you go posting certain events as fact, you
should realize that not everything published is a definite fact.

------
Yadi
Kudos SkyGeeks folks! I'm from North Iraq I know how much of dedication and
hard work it takes to leverage a startup.

Don't speak the politics language, when you do business or become an
entrepreneur open your doors to everyone. I'm sure there would be people from
Israel or any other region be willing to invest in your talents and skills.

Follow the dream & passion don't let the other trivial stuff staph! you.

------
imontauk
Hi all - I'm the director of Gaza Sky Geeks. Great to see this conversation
taking place. Thanks to all of you who have supported our work! A new piece
was just written about us by NPR, and if you Googled "Gaza" yesterday, this
was one of the top search results:
[http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/12/14/370139...](http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/12/14/370139477/gaza-
tech-incubator-finds-success-in-international-crowdfunding)

Our crowdfunding campaign has been extended until January 8. If you haven't
already supported and told your friends about it, please do! It's at
[http://www.gazastarts.com](http://www.gazastarts.com).

I'll also be in the Bay Area from Dec 22 - Jan 6, and while I'll be primarily
focused on friends & family, I'd be happy to set up a coffee side chat if
entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley want to hear what it's like to launch startups
in Gaza.

For those of you in Israel, I pass through Jerusalem frequently and Tel Aviv
occasionally, and can also meet up there.

When I arrived to Gaza over a year ago, I had no idea what I'd find. What's
made me so dedicated to Gaza Sky Geeks is the untapped potential I see. As we
nurture startups in Gaza, one of our goals is to develop expertise in
launching startups in frontier markets more broadly. Do reach out to us at
info@gazaskygeeks.com if you'd like to engage with our work.

------
aidos
Right, I'm going to post this at the top level in the hopes that the extremely
intelligent people of HN see it and remember why we're all here.

As I said below:

This is not the time or place for raising the political issues. I'm keeping my
political opinions out of it on this forum and I wish everyone else would have
the good sense do the same.

If there's ever an article about Gaza on the front page of HN it's removed
within a couple of hours because people start banging on about politics. I
could quite happy argue about it all day long, but not here, and not now.

~~~
bjourne
Why are talking about politics so bad? If you _dont_ talk about politics and
if you are not allowed to mention Israel's complete blockade of the Gaza Strip
then how can you understand why running a startup incubator there is such a
feat?

Many of the extremely intelligent people on HN are here because they want to
change the world in some way. Hopefully for the better. Politics is one of the
most powerful tools for improving the world. So not talking about politics
makes no sense.

~~~
ecommercematt
Without discussing politics, people with widely varying perspectives on Gaza
understand that the present reality of life in Gaza poses extra challenges for
those engaged in the inherently challenging pursuit of starting a startup.

To understand why "talking about politics" is harmful on this site, let's
review this excerpt from your post:

"if you are not allowed to mention Israel's complete blockade of the Gaza
Strip"

Hacker News isn't a good place for me to point out my many disagreements with
your analysis, but to illustrate my point, I'll point out that: 1) the
blockade isn't "complete," 2) Egypt also shares a border with Gaza and
enforces a blockade, and 3) that making a claim that you're "not allowed to
mention Israel's ____" is either an instance of, or (very probably) merely
resembles, bigoted, anti-Jewish narratives about Jewish control of speech, the
press, etc. I assume it just bears resemblance to bigotry, but can you
understand why to some people particularly sensitive to anti-Jewish prejudice,
this would make them a little bit uneasy?

"Why are talking about politics so bad?"

It isn't bad to talk about politics, but based on my feedback, do you see why
your comments above lead to off-topic discussions for Hacker News?

You know what really offends me, though? That damn auto-playing ad on the
article!

~~~
bjourne
Connecting what I wrote with anti-semitism, that's just.. no I wont respond to
that.

Afaik, the blockade maintained by Egypt and Israel is almost "complete. " As
in the amount of imports/exports are only a few percent of the pre-blockade
levels. Computers and batteries are among the blockaded goods so the laptop
the girl in the photo is using, is almost certainly smuggled through using one
of the tunnels.

Now waxing on what I _think_ about the blockade, that's pretty useless I
agree. But stating that it is there, and it has a huge detrimental impact on
the people of Gaza that's pretty useful to know, don't you think?

~~~
ecommercematt
I didn't "connect what you wrote with anti-semitism." I asked if you can
understand how something you said could make some people uneasy because it
resembles a narrative frequently used to malign them. You "just.." "won't
respond to that," which is a shame.

While it might be "pretty useful to know," about the blockade, you weren't
helpfully stating a fact that someone might not know in order to be "useful."
Given the blockade's prominent role in the article (the word "blockade" is in
the title and it occurs 3 other times throughout the article), you weren't
informing anybody; you were editorializing. Why didn't you mention Egypt's
role in the blockade in your comment, singling out Israel as the lone
offender?

If someone were relying on your comment to learn about the situation as you
seem to be suggesting was your intent, they would be under-informed about the
major actors in the situation and perhaps misinformed about the nature and
severity of the blockade. Your use of the term "complete" to describe the
blockade ranges from subjective to incorrect, depending on one's perspective.

Is the conversation we're having ideal for HN? I don't think so, but I think
it is the inevitable consequence of "talking about politics." Talking about
politics is quite different than merely informing people of facts requisite
for understanding a given situation, despite your attempts to conflate the
two.

~~~
bjourne
The conversation is not great because you are talking about me and guessing my
motives, not about the subject. Afaik, everything from computers, cell phones,
livestock, canned fruit and of course people are blockaded. Maybe that doesn't
make the blockade "complete" but how would you characterize it then?

~~~
ecommercematt
You haven't done me the courtesy of answering my direct questions, which is a
shame. Nonetheless, I'll answer yours. The term blockade itself without a
modifier seems like the best term for it without going into details (you
modified it twice in less than accurate ways: 1) labeling it as Israel's
without mention Egypt's role in it and 2) calling it complete).

The restrictions on shipments of goods into and out of Gaza vary pretty
regularly, which is the main reason I found that term to be an instance of
editorializing rather than informing.

Since what can cross into and out of Gaza changes so frequently, is it only
sometimes a complete blockade? When massive shipments are allowed in, would
the blockade have exited its status as a "complete" blockade? Then what level
of restriction needs to be met before it resumes its status as a "complete"
blockade?

If you aren't aware of the varying policies, exceptions, and pretty regular
massive shipments of goods allowed during the blockade, you should be able to
find plenty of instances with minimal Googling.

Note that I'm not calling it a "mild blockade" or a "partial blockade" or
anything like that and I might even call it a "restrictive blockade" or even
"very restrictive blockade." I don't seek to minimize the blockade, just to
accurately represent it.

~~~
aidos
You're arguing against the loaded language used in discussing the blockade,
that's fair. So let me just leave this link here [0] for anyone who wants to
understand it themselves. I think we can at least all agree that it makes for
a tough time for people trying to create a startup.

Regarding the anti-semitism - you really did make that connection to bjorne's
comment, unfairly and dangerously, I would say. Bjorne said _' if you are not
allowed to mention Israel's ___'_, which I took to relate to the restriction I
imposed on discussion of politics. You made the leap that it was _" bigoted,
anti-Jewish narratives about Jewish control of speech"_. I see that you've
_technically_ distanced yourself from the actual accusation, but even raising
it is implication enough.

I'd suggest that your comment provides a far more dangerous narrative; the one
in which any criticism of a state is labelled as racist. I think that
America's____(treatment of untried prisoners) is a total disgrace, that
doesn't mean I'm anti-christian or anti-american. Let's leave race and
religion out of it.

[0]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockade_of_the_Gaza_Strip](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockade_of_the_Gaza_Strip)

ps I know I said we shouldn't talk politics, so it's hypocritical of me to get
involved, but I feel it's not as big of a deal now this is off the front-page.

~~~
ecommercematt
I didn't say that he was coming from a place of bigotry, in fact I said that
he almost certainly wasn't. This isn't a technicality, it is explicit in the
text of my comment. What I did was ask a question, which he never answered and
I'll now ask you: can you understand why to some people particularly sensitive
to anti-Jewish prejudice, this would make them a little bit uneasy? Please
don't project a narrative we both disagree with onto me and the question and
do me the courtesy of simply answering it.

