Israeli-Palestinian Business Forum
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The Israeli-Palestinian Business Forum (IPBF) is an organization established to assist Israeli and Palestinian Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME's) engage in cross-boundary commerce and joint ventures. Its mission is to foster, develop and expand the strategic business alliances between the Israeli and Palestinian business communities by promoting trade, investment, sustainable economic development as well as advocating policies and reforms that will encourage a more positive business environment for cooperation. The IPBF aims to provide its members with practical assistance to real-time challenges and aims to serve as the main organization in Israel and Palestine that SME businesspeople can turn to when considering cross-boundary engagement.

 

The IPBF is currently under the direction of a board of Israelis and Palestinians with extensive private sector, government, and civil-service experience. The IPBF was founded by the Israel and Palestinian Centre for Research and Information (IPCRI), a non profit organization with 20 years of experience in facilitating joint Israeli-Palestinian endeavors co-managed by Dr. Gershon Baskin and Hanna Seniora. It is currently supported by the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), one of the four core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy.

 

IPBF is jointly managed by two Co-CEOs, a Palestinian, Fouad Jabr and an Israeli, Yaron Benvenisti. 

Fouad Jabr is an experienced Palestinian businessman with over 40 years in the Palestinian banking industry most recently as General Manager of the Egyptian Arab Land Bank in the Palestinian Authority. Fouad now serves on the board of several key trade associations in the PA including as Secretary-General of the Palestinian Businessmen Association.  

Yaron Benvenisti is a 25-year veteran of the software industry, the last 12 as founder and CEO of several innovative Israeli and US software companies. These include WorldGroup Consulting (acquired by FISV in 2004), Gteko (acquired by MSFT in 2005), GigaSpaces technologies (ranked #3 in Deloitte Israel’s Fast-50 for 2008) and most recently Nevix Technologies and The Cantina.