Growing Forward, Together
This is the flagship gathering of the Israeli-Jewish tech community in Manhattan.
For many in the ecosystem, it is the Israeli tech event in New York — a moment in the year where founders, investors, and senior leaders come together not to pitch, but to think, connect, and reflect.
The event takes place about a month after Mayor Mamdani stepped into office, at a time when questions of leadership, responsibility, identity, and long-term vision feel especially relevant — for Israelis, Jews, and builders operating in a complex global reality.
Held at the World Trade Center, in collaboration with Silverstein Properties, the evening is designed as a high-level, thoughtful conversation that brings together founders, investors, executives, and decision-makers from across the Israeli tech ecosystem in NYC and beyond.
This is not a conference and not a pitch night.
It’s an intentional space for values-driven leadership, real dialogue, and meaningful community.
Who We Are – Bereisheet Tech
Bereisheet Tech is the largest Israeli tech community outside of Israel.
Active for over a decade, the community includes 1,500+ members, hosts ~50 in-person events annually, and operates across 20+ content-driven sub-communities (Founders, AI, Product, VC, Fintech, Job Market, and more).
We operate as a non-profit, built around real connections:
between founders and investors, between Israel and the U.S., and between people who are actively building companies — not just talking about them.
For many Israeli tech leaders in New York, Bereisheet Tech has become their professional and community home.
The Spirit of the Evening
The event is held in the spirit of Tu Bishvat — growth, roots, responsibility, and renewal — and explores how Jewish values and Israeli innovation intersect with leadership, capital, and technology in times of uncertainty.
Through learning, dialogue, panels, and a keynote conversation, we’ll explore:
How leaders build and scale with conviction
How values show up in decision-making and capital allocation
How community strengthens resilience and long-term impact
This evening is about building what lasts — together.
The event will be held in English.
All donations are non refundable.
Program
Event Host: Adi Neumann
Israeli-born Adi Neumann brings a unique perspective shaped by years in global culture, entrepreneurship, and deep spiritual study. After building and working in startups and impact ventures, she has spent the last several years devoted fully to the inner dimension of Jewish wisdom. With over 18 years of Kabbalah study and five years of teaching, she presents the weekly Torah portion as a living framework for meaning, responsibility, and modern life.
Part I | BINA – Roots, Values & Innovation
In partnership with BINA
A unique opening session connecting Parashat Yitro and the Ten Commandments to Israeli high-tech, leadership, responsibility, and innovation.
Led by:
Ran Oron is a New York based architect, artist, poet, and educator. A former helicopter navigator in the Israeli Air Force, Oron arrived in NYC 35 years ago, graduated from The Cooper Union School of Architecture, and founded ROART, an architectural & design studio. His diverse work Includes the Abraham Joshua Heschel School, the Gottesman Library at Yeshiva University, and residential and institutional projects across New York City. Oron taught architecture at Pratt Institute for twenty years, lectures internationally, and exhibits his art worldwide. His first book of poetry and drawings, He Could See a Bird Outside If He Looked Through His Window, was published in 2023. Ran is Deeply involved in Jewish renewal, he founded BINA House in New York and leads ongoing Torah conversations connecting Judaism, art, and language. He is an architect who thinks like a poet and a poet who thinks structurally. A builder of buildings, texts, and meaning he believes that every true project is ultimately about finding one’s way. Ran is the proud father of three sons.
David is one of the most sought-after advisors, consultants, speakers, and mentors in the global marketing community. He is currently the Executive Vice Chair at Stagwell Global. Since joining the holding company powerhouse in October 2023, David has brought his fast network of clients and years of experience with him. Previously Partner and Co-Founder of DoAble, David is also a prolific writer and published children’s author. He is a designated LinkedIn Influencer, where he ranks among the most widely read business leaders in the world. As former CEO and Chairman of Y&R, David propelled Y&R to a top-five global creative firm during his time there. He is credited with expanding their global footprint and helping to unify Y&R and VML into one marketing powerhouse: VMLY&R. David’s involvement in the advertising industry has spanned more than 40 years. After Y&R, David became a founding partner of one of the first digitally focused omni-channel startups, Genesis Direct. In 2000, he took that experience to Wunderman, serving as Vice Chairman. While there, he helped them transition into WPP and become a digital/data powerhouse. Shortly after that, David returned to Y&R as Global CEO. David had worked with large brands during his time in the industry, such as Microsoft, Dell, IBM, Altice, Citibank, AT&T, Kraft, and Pfizer. David is active in the industry as a former Chairman of the Advertising Council’s Board of Directors and, for many years before, a Director-at-Large of the 4As. He has served as Jury President at Cannes three times and was a member of the Titanium Jury. David has won numerous awards, including a Gold Marcom Award for his Video Book “Close Your Eyes” with music written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary. He serves as a keynote speaker at major global events, a motivational speaker, and advises industry leaders worldwide. In 2013, Fast Company named David one of the 10 Most Generous Marketing Geniuses. He currently serves on the Board of Directors at UNICEF and the International Special Olympics. David is also a Board Member of American Eagle Outfitters’ . David serves as an advisor to many start-ups and fast-growing companies, including Cinch Markets, Fiverr, 888, and Update AI. David and his wife, Debbie, currently reside in New York City and have two daughters, two sons-in-law, and five treasured grandchildren: Henry, Teddy, Gemma, Goldy, and Sadie.
Part II | Investors Panel – Israeli resilience as a catalyst for innovation
Moderator:
Gil Eyal is the Head of Marketing and Innovation at Silverstein Properties (Inspire), helping shape hospitality, innovation, and tenant experience across one of the largest real estate portfolios in the U.S. He is an active investor in the Israeli tech scene, backing consumer and technology companies through Sticker Ventures. Gil specializes in influencer and celebrity-driven marketing, overseeing over 200 celebrity-led endorsement deals, working with names like Leonardo DiCaprio, Gal Gadot, Serena Williams, Zendaya, Steve Harvey, and many more.
Panelists:
Charlie is a founding Partner with Silvertech Ventures, a venture fund and Hub affiliated with the Silverstein family. Silvertech has a portfolio of around 30 companies, primarily from Israel in the cyber, enterprise, and health fields. Most visible Silvertech investments include: Semperis, Vi, and TheGuarantors. Charlie is a well-known investor and advisor to technology companies and was a Partner with the Israeli/US venture firm BRM, whose partners are best known for co-founding the security company Checkpoint. Prior to Silvertech, he was an active personal investor and was the seed investor and board member in Payoneer. Prior to BRM Mr. Federman spent 15 years, culminating as Chairman with Broadview. At Broadview, he advised on more than 100 acquisitions of software companies and was instrumental in establishing its affiliated venture relationships and growth in Europe and Silicon Valley.
Yael Barsheshet is a Partner at Deep33, leading the AI Infrastructure vertical at the $150M fund. Yael is backing founders building the layers that make AI scalable, reliable, and cost-effective in production. Previously, she was a Principal at Hetz Ventures (>$500M AUM), where she led seed investments including Upriver, Aligned, and Majestic Lab. Before VC, she was Director of Product at Zebra Medical Vision (acquired by NNOX). Earlier, she spent 11 years in elite Israeli intelligence units including Unit 8200, finishing as a Cyber Operations Commander (Major), and is a graduate of the Zell Entrepreneurship Program.
Miri Segal-Scharia is the founder and owner of MS-IR, a leading Investor Relations boutique based in NYC. Miri has nearly 3 decades of experience working with international companies, ranging from late-stage startups to publicly traded companies, across a wide range of industries. MS-IR past and current clients include Nova, InMode, Bank Leumi, OPC Energy, Gain Capital, Valens Semiconductor and many others. Prior to founding MS-IR, Miri served as a Vice President at Strategic Growth International (SGI), a global Investor Relations boutique based in NYC. Before joining SGI, she was a partner at a leading Israeli Investor Relations firm where she successfully managed IR strategies for prominent companies. Her clients included M-Systems, Lipman, Fundtech, Elbit Medical Imaging, XTL Bio Tech, and many others. Over the years, Miri has advised and supported hundreds of companies through initial public offerings, secondary equity offerings and debt financing.
Itay Inbar is a Partner at Greenfield Partners, where he leads the fund's New York-based investment team and drives its U.S. expansion. Since joining in 2021, Itay has led several key investments, including Torq, Eleos Health, Goodship, DustPhotonics, Panorays, and others. Before joining Greenfield, Itay was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs as part of the Israel coverage team, where he worked with management teams across sectors on IPOs, M&A, and other private and public capital raises. Itay is a Major (Res.) in the Intelligence Corps of the Israeli Defense Forces, where he was awarded numerous excellence awards for leading innovative research projects.
Part III | Founders & Executives Panel – Building Through Uncertainty
Moderator:
Guy Franklin, founder of Israeli Mapped in NY, leads the world’s largest Israeli founders community outside of Israel, with more than 400 active, connected founders, and regularly connects them with U.S. corporations, funds, and American investors. In recent weeks, Guy was invited to open trading at both the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and the world’s largest stock exchange, the New York Stock Exchange. Last week, he was also invited to the President’s Residence in recognition of his contribution to the Israeli tech industry on the international stage.
Panelists:
Yael Ron is the Chief Hospitality Officer of Residential Properties for Silverstein Properties. She is responsible for managing the company’s hospitality and residential divisions. An acclaimed hospitality executive, Yael has successfully led hotels across the globe from Tel Aviv to San Francisco and New York. Prior to joining Silverstein, she served as Managing Director of the Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York, where she was in charge of all operational aspects including recruiting of the core team, curating the brand culture and managing the business plan, budget and all marketing channels. Prior to that role, she was the General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, where she became the property’s first female general manager, and one of only nine female general managers in the Ritz-Carlton portfolio.
North America President of Sapiens. Yariv Hasar is a seasoned executive leader with extensive and diversified experience of more than 30 years in technology management. Before joining Sapiens, Yariv served as the General Manager at Pagaya, a publicly traded fintech company, for which he led AI and ML research, product, engineering, data, product, and partnerships operations. Prior to that, he was at Amdocs, serving as the Global Delivery Division President, overseeing the company’s transformation projects, along with the global delivery organization, the customer success unit, and the account management organization worldwide.
Eran Leib is the Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer of Backline AI, a cybersecurity company pioneering Autonomous Vulnerability Remediation. He is a serial entrepreneur with two prior successful exits: Whitebox Security (acquired by SailPoint) and Apolicy (acquired by Sysdig). Eran is focused on applying autonomous AI agents to solve real operational security challenges, moving from scanning to fixing vulnerabilites at scale.
Kfir L Godrich is the Founder of mAIndfulness – a Think Tank focused on the intersection of AI elements in fintech, infrastructure and ideation. Till lately, Kfir served as Managing Director and Chief Innovation Officer for BlackRock. He was responsible for driving firm's innovation agenda, connection with the broad financial and technology ecosystems, including partnerships and ventures that accelerate growth. At BlackRock, he was responsible over the last 12 years for Technology, Information Security, Enterprise Services, Aladdin Data, and AI Labs. He also served as a member of BlackRock's Global Operating Committee. Prior to that, Kfir served as CTO for Hewlett Packard Co. (HP) Technology Services, where he was responsible for road-mapping technology for company's Consulting and Support business units, as well as Advisory Board for HP Labs. His international experience lays in complex systems. Over the years Kfir's work spanned chronologically from C4ISR to Data Centers, Alternative Energy, Fintech, Cyber, Data and Analytics and ML/AI. He received National Security awards, has been recognized as AI Pioneer at the United Nations, World Top 100 people in AI, and has a rich portfolio of technology IP. Kfir began his career in the IAF after completing Electrical and Computer Engineering studies at Ben Gurion University.
Keynote Address
Michael Eisenberg has spent nearly 30 years investing in Israel’s most innovative entrepreneurs and championing the Israeli high-tech ecosystem. He is the co-founder and General Partner of Aleph ,an early-stage venture capital fund based in Tel Aviv with $850M under management. Aleph’s investments include Lemonade (NYSE: LMND), Windward (LON: WNWD), Melio, Dream, and Empathy. Prior to Aleph, Michael was a partner at Benchmark Capital and responsible for their Israeli portfolio, where he invested in and sat on the boards of some of Israel’s leading startups, including Wix. A fixture on Forbes’ Midas List of top global venture capitalists, Michael also hosts the popular podcast Invested , where he talks with global business leaders about how values, humanity and technology intersect and shape the future. He publishes frequently on X ( @mikeeisenberg ) and is a recurring guest on outlets like CNBC, where he speaks on Israel’s innovation economy, geopolitics, and global investment trends. Michael has also published 9 books (7 in Hebrew and 2 in English, “The Tree of Life and Prosperity” and “The Vanishing Jew”) and lectures regularly on venture capital, Israel, and entrepreneurship. Beyond his investment work, Michael is deeply committed to strengthening Israel’s social resilience and building a better future. He established and chairs the Nevo Network, a professional fellowship program to elevate immigrants to Israel working in high-tech, and is also the chairman of HaShomer HaHadash, Israel’s largest volunteer organization. Michael lives in Jerusalem with his wife, and has eight children and eight grandchildren.
We Support:
A Good Option, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, solicits equity donations from US tech start-ups and their founders, senior employees, and investors – and donates the proceeds from eventual ‘exit events’ to US Jewish and Israeli charitable causes, among other nonprofits. Every donor can recommend that their proceeds be allocated to the US or Israeli nonprofit organization(s) of their choice. A Good Option aims to engage young Jewish tech entrepreneurs and investors in philanthropy via a community of like-minded ‘tech givers’ and to provide a new source of funding for worthy nonprofits.
Photographs by:
DADA STUDIO provides high-level photography and video for New York’s Israeli tech community, focusing on visual presence and professional identity. Led by Ohad Kab, we are honored to be the visual partners for this year’s gathering at the World Trade Center.