Tsofen High Technology Centers Ltd is an Israeli-registered public benefit company based in Nazareth, northern Israel, established as a joint Arab and Jewish nonprofit organization promoting hi-tech in Israeli Arab society, as a lever for economic development and the creation of a shared society in Israel, based on equal participation in a sustainable economy. Tsofen's mission is to integrate Arabs into Israel’s hi-tech sector and bring hi-tech centers to Arab cities.
Tsofen was formed in Nazareth in 2008 by Smadar Nehab, a hi-tech entrepreneur, Sami Saadi, an independent CPA, and Yossi Coten, a former Amdocs executive. Saadi remained one of two Co-CEOs until stepping down at the end of February 2022.[1][2] Currently operating from offices in Nazareth and Kafr Qasim, the current Co-CEOs are Maisam Jaljuli, who replaced Saadi in July 2022,[3] and Revital Duek, who replaced Paz Hirschmann in 2019. Tsofen's board, which is half Jewish and half Arab, and whose members include professionals with backgrounds in hi-tech, academia, and business, is chaired by Dr Ramzi Halabi, a former mayor of Daliyat al-Carmel and currently a lecturer at Tel Aviv University. Tsofen established the Public Council for Promoting Hi-Tech in the Arab Society in Israel, to support and facilitate its mission; it is co-chaired by Professor Ziyad Hanna, VP of R&D at Cadence and visiting professor at Oxford University, and David (Dadi) Perlmutter, former executive vice president, Intel Corporation.[4]
When Tsofen was established, Arab engineers accounted for 0.5% of employees in Israeli hi-tech (about 350 people).[5] Today, they represent 3.7% (about 5,500 people), and Tsofen's stated goal is to increase that percentage to at least 10% by 2025. At a time when there is a shortage of over 15,000 hi-tech engineers in Israel, the Arab community is a key demographic group with the potential to help meet the shortage, with thousands of suitably qualified Arabs who, for various reasons, either do not seek employment in hi-tech or cannot find a way in. In addition, increasing numbers of Arabs are studying hi-tech related subjects at tertiary level: whereas there were only 1,600 Arab graduates in high-tech academic studies between 1985 and 2014, over 2,200 Arab students enrolled in high-tech academic studies in 2016 alone.[6]
Tsofen is a member of Co-Impact (formerly Collective Impact), the partnership for a Breakthrough in Arab Employment, which is a partner in ex-President Reuven Rivlin’s Israeli Hope initiative focusing on four aspects of Israeli society: Academia, Education, Sports and Employment.[7]
By supporting the integration of Arab engineers in Israel’s hi-tech industry—especially at a time when it is in great need of qualified personnel—Tsofen aims to influence a deep institutional effect on the industry’s make-up and culture, towards a wider impact: (a) As the Arab community contributes a greater share to Israel’s economic growth it will also enjoy its benefits more equally, improving the socio-economic status of the Arab community and reducing disparities, and (b) Arabs and Jews live will develop a shared society, beginning in the technological work-space, where daily work interactions and relationships are developed that change prejudice, stereotypes and biases.