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A small Internet cafe tries to build a bridge
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GIL SEDAN

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Furedis, Israel
hree years ago, Guy Poran,
47, still believed that the
gate to the "New Middle
East" was right next door.
Poran, a resident of the town of
Maccabim, halfway between Tel Aviv
and Jerusalem, finally was ready to
open a- restaurantright on the "Green
Line" between the West Bank and
Israel proper, a joint venture with an
Arab friend from the village of Beit
Sira, just across the line in the West
Bank.
Every Israeli dreams of wiping clean
a plate of hummus with a hot pita
bread in a picturesque restaurant in
the middle of an olive orchard. To
Poran, a successful high-tech entrepre-
neur who invested $50,000 in the
project, it seemed to be a business
venture that couldn't go wrong — as
well as a solid contribution to Israeli-
Palestinian coexistence.
The opening ceremony was sched-
uled for Sept. 30, 2000, the weekend
of Rosh Hashanah. No one could have
predicted that would be the weekend
the Palestinian intifada (uprising)
would break out. Several thousand
Israelis and Palestinians have been
killed in the months since — as have
most dreams of coexistence.
For 2'/2 years, Poran shared the frus-
tration felt by so many Israelis and
Palestinians. He was particularly dis-
turbed by the deteriorating relations
between Israeli Arabs and Jews.
However, last weekend he could final-
ly smile — and raise a toast to a joint
partnership with a young Arab — a
project that could help heal many
wounds.
In the village of Fureidis, just down
the road from Zichron Ya'acov, Poran
and Rami Mahamid opened the vil-
lage's first Internet cafe. Dozens of
kids and adults who can't afford to
buy a computer finally had been intro-
duced to the world of the Web.
"Recently, a lot of my energy went
to encouraging Amram Mitzna to con-
tinue heading the Labor Party," Poran
said. "Now that he has quit, I feel like
an empty bottle. I realize that this is
but a drop in the ocean, but you can't

T

say, `I will not add this drop just
because it's a drop.'"
On the face of it, the business part-
ners seem worlds apart. Poran is a typ-
ical Israeli high-tech wizard, the son of
the late Brig. Gen. Ephraim Poran
who was military adjutant to Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Guy Poran is
the owner of Pixel Software
Technologies, a developer of multi-
player games for interactive television
and cellular networks, and he knew
how to play his digital cards against
the odds of a high-tech crisis.
Mahamid, 24, studied computer
planning and computerized graphics,
but had to settle for occasional jobs.
The partners' ways would not have
crossed had they not sought common
ground.
They happened to meet last January
at a seminar of the Peacemaker Circle,
an American organization that aims to
interlock circles of peace activists
throughout the world. The Israeli
branch of the group is run by Iris
Elhanani, 47, owner of a Tel Aviv mar-
keting firm who, due to Israel's eco-
nomic crisis, turned to marketing
peace. She introduced Mahamid to
Poran.

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Small Beginnings

"Rami started talking about his inter-
est in doing something practical that
would contribute to the community,"
Poran recalled as he sat in the Fureidis
Internet cafe just hours before the fes-
tive opening. Mahamid came up with
the idea of the cafe, a place in the
middle of the village that would offer
local customers computer time, coffee
and cake.
"This was exactly what I wanted,"
Poran said. "I had no interest in a
business venture; I am busy enough
with my business as it is."
Poran has been active for years with
Peace Now and other dovish groups.
He has joined demonstrations, attend-
ed rallies and contributed to all sorts
of peaceful causes, but he was disap-
pointed time after time by the lack of
progress.
"I was interested in a practical ven-
ture that would create real change —
not just another demonstration, but a
CAFE on page 22

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