Almost One Year Since October 7th — Why I’m More Optimistic About Israel

October 7th comes out this year right after Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year. Last year it was on Simchat Torah, a day of rejoicing. This year it lands in the ten days of repentance, how fitting.

The eve of Rosh Hashana feels like a good time to take stock, reflect and re-energize.

What did we learn this year?

There is real evil in this world. Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran are evil. There is no forgiveness for what they did on October 7th and then on October 8th. College protesters straddle the line between clueless and evil. The line should not be as fuzzy as their brains are. From where I sit, Ivy League presidents are…well…confused and contemptibly craven. But you know, maybe that depends on context.

We mourned a lot this year. It was painful. We are angry at the moral vacuousness of so many people, purported leaders who turned out to be DEI shills or just plain anti-semites.

What else did we learn?

The world is going through a paroxysm. We are at a moment in history that will forever be looked at as a turning point.

Global super power competition returned. Kinetic wars erupted. Cyber wars came of age. Democracy is flailing, globally. The welfare state is on the verge of bankruptcy. Government bureaucracy is killing all of us while civilian initiative and resilience is the best way to succeed and even leapfrog. Israel has that in spades.

Of course, AI burst into all of our lives and livelihoods. Israel has a chance to lead here as well. It will, of course, come from civilians. The government right now is in AI amateur hour.

We also learned that despite the wars, the in-fighting and the horrors of October 7th, Israel is ready for this new era in history. We discovered what I have called the “Defining Generation.” Israeli kids that people misjudged. They turned out to be the insta-hero generation and not the Instagram generation. They stood up where leaders failed. Our kids showed moral clarity where Tiktok, talking heads and title-rich university presidents fumbled (or just screwed up, depending, of course, on the context).

Israeli society is resilient. Israeli tech is resilient. Investment in Israel is more than resilient. It turns out that the Abraham Accords are resilient as well. This was a cursed year. But it had hidden blessings.

This same defining generation of warriors and hackers, tank commanders and technologists, pager innovators and battle-hardened leaders are now starting companies, leading the next generation of Israeli innovation to global superiority. They have taken up the mantle to fix the country as well. In an insta generation, everyone will see that political, technological, startup innovation and success does not happen overnight. You cannot microwave it. But this generation will deliver on it. I am certain of that. It is coming.

Why have Sequoia, Greylock and Accel all opened offices in Israel this year? Why did we at Aleph increase our investment pace this year? Because we see resilience. We see innovation. We see aspiration. We signed on our investment in Dream on the Gaza border on November 7, while the CEO served in reserve duty. We continued to back fintech, deep tech, defense tech and even biology inspired chemicals, and other companies started by resilient founders throughout the year, committing almost $100 million to Israeli tech. We are bullish on Israeli resilience and as I wrote exactly one decade ago, the two most important traits for a founder are optimism and resilience, and we have that in spades in Israel.

The world is re-orienting, and Israel alongside our Abrahamic partners will become an ever more important part of it. As Europe declines and the East and South rise, Israel and our Abrahamic partners are perfectly placed as the innovation ecosystem that will help drive their economies and drive an AI future in this region and for a realigned world. Our citizen first democracy will help show the way forward as sclerotic governments struggle to keep up.

In a recent podcast, the interviewer asked me if I had a parting line for listeners. I said “Be Optimistic. I am.”

There are some who look around in despair about the future. They believe the grass is greener on the other side. We are building grit and resilience, a society that people want to move to. When asked where he wants to raise his kids, Sequoia Capital’s Shaun Maguire told Harry Stebbings on the 20VC podcast: “In Israel.” He is right. The future will be bright here. Be a part of building it!

Shana Tova and blessings to the Defining Generation of Israelis who continue to inspire us all through selflessness, responsibility, resilience and innovation!

Am Yisrael Chai!

If you missed my interview on Fox, link is here.