One commonality that I’ve noticed at almost all of our company visits is the philosophy of giving back to their community. On the simplest level, all of the companies strive to support Israel economically, but at Google we were able to see how much action they divert to doing great things for the people of Tel Aviv.

Guest blogger: Jameson is a sophomore at Wash U

They created an entire floor dubbed “Campus: Tel Aviv” that is a free space anyone can use to host events to increase the number of connections and networks that can be made and expanded in the Israeli entrepreneurial world. In addition, Google itself started hosting certain events in this space that they invited people too. The range and target audience of the events showed how much thought they put into their drive to support the community. They established events for women in business that the moms could bring their kids to and showcases for how to integrate technology in the agriculture industry. In addition, they partner with several schools and universities to ensure that the future generations are just as talented and passionate.

I think this fact stems from Israelis’ massive national pride and deep cultural morals. The Israeli business leaders are often times the ones that drove the decisions for big multinational companies to create an R&D center in Israel. Intel is a notable example that we’ve frequently discussed, but I’m sure there are many more similar stories that most people don’t even know about. It is their love for their country that drove their decision making and supporting everything Israeli even if they were working and living in America. Additionally, the principle of tzedakah is wide spread in Judaism religion and beliefs, so this amount of overwhelming support for the rest of the people of Israel is no surprise to me.