Joshua Mitnick

There’s a yawning digital business gap between Jews and Arabs, who are largely excluded from Israel’s start-up success.

This is not simply a matter of access to capital and networks, but also cultural omissions, both within the Arab community and in Israeli society. "We are trying to bridge the entrepreneurship gap.

In the Arab sector, we don’t have any investors or success stories," says Fadi Swidan, who runs Nazareth’s government-backed business incubator and a technology accelerator dubbed nazTech. "We have entrepreneurs that have technology skills but we don’t have the experience.’’

The figures are sobering: Arab citizens of Israel, who make up one-fifth of the population, account for only 3 percent of the technology workforce. According to the Office of the Chief Scientist -- a division of the Economy Ministry that funds and trains tech companies -- less than one percent of its annual budget of $450 million in business research grants goes to Arab-run businesses.

The challenges facing Arab Israeli techies remain formidable. They include discrimination by Jewish employers, a culture not accustomed to the high-risk world of venture capital; and the sheer distance between Arab and Jewish business circles. Another factor: Jewish techies get to tinker with cutting-edge technology while serving in Israel’s military; and establish social connections that pave their way in business after they leave. Then there’s bank financing. Rabei Ibrahim, the founder and CEO of BRF Engineering, one of the few tenants of Nazareth’s new office park, says banks in main Israeli cities are not used to handling Arab entrepreneurs.