Wednesday, November 6, 7:30 pm
Sandler Family Campus
I first heard Inbal Arieli speak in January during the International Lion of Judah conference in Florida. She was one of an interesting group of panelists who shared their stories—all ground-breaking women in different ways.
Arieli spoke about women on the cutting edge of the high-tech industries in Israel and about the challenges they face getting others to invest in them and their ideas. And, she spoke about the courage and fortitude that it takes to try…sometimes fail…possibly fail spectacularly…and then to get up and try again. Her professional life was a profile in that kind of courage.
Arieli spoke about the unique Start Up Nation mentality which exists in Israel and about the challenges facing women trying to break into a network that has not been historically friendly to them. And while she was speaking, my mind was processing the irony of female intellectual exclusion. Her male high-tech start-up counterparts were failing at rates that were equal to—or in excess of—the women. These brilliant women scientists, engineers, and makers, were developing incredibly new products and ideas, while simultaneously raising families, taking care of aging parents, and making sure that Shabbat dinner was on the table each Friday night. And still, the venture capitalists who fuel the Start-Up Nation kept their sites primarily on male scientists and male entrepreneurs.
Perhaps, Arieli suggested, it’s time for more female venture capitalists.
Arieli talked about high-tech women professionals from across industries coming together to network and share ideas for best practices, to empower one another, and to discuss ways to get in front of those who could capitalize their ideas. These women continue to be a source of strength and support for one another.
The times… they are a ’changing.’ Or so it appears. Women are being identified earlier in their professional careers, in their high-tech IDF units, and some as early as in high school. And women like Inbal Arieli (and her fellow panelists at the International Lion of Judah Conference) are telling their stories, writing their books, and sharing their inspiration.
Inbal Arieli will share her stories of Chutzpah with the Tidewater Jewish community, as she headlines the opening event of this year’s UJFT Israel Today series.
Amy Zelenka, UJFT Campaign director
While free and open to all members of the Jewish community, register on-line at: https://ujft.salsalabs.org/inbalarieli/index.html or contact Leigh Casson at 757-321-2304 or lcasson@ujft.org.