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May 16, 2003/Iyar 14 5763, Vol. 55, No. 38
Internet café is link for peace
GIL SEDAN
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
FUREIDIS, Israel - Three 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 restaurant, a joint venture with an Arab friend.
To Poran, it seemed to be a venture that couldn't go wrong - as well as a solid contribution to Israeli-Palestinian coexistence.
The opening ceremony was scheduled for Sept. 30, 2000, the weekend of Rosh Hashana. No one could have predicted that would be the weekend the Palestinian intifada would break out.
For two and a half years, Poran shared the frustration felt by so many Israelis and Palestinians. He was particularly disturbed by the deteriorating relations between Israeli Arabs and Jews.
However, last weekend he could finally 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 village's first Internet café. Dozens of kids and adults who can't afford to buy a computer finally had been introduced to the world of the Web.
On the face of it, the business partners seem worlds apart. Poran is the owner of Pixel Software Technologies, a developer of multiplayer games for interactive television and cellular networks.
Mahamid, 24, studied computer planning and computerized graphics, but had to settle for occasional jobs.
"Rami started talking about his interest in doing something practical that would contribute to the community," Poran recalled.
Mahamid came up with the idea of the café, a place that would offer computer time, coffee and cake.
Poran invested $20,000, bought 10 computers and rented an empty store in the middle of the village.
The new café - called Click - already is humming with the happy clicking of children. The café charges $2 an hour, which is no small sum for the residents of Fureidis, but Mahamid and Poran are determined to make a little profit.
"I want it to be profitable," Poran said. "All profits will go to the development of similar projects in Arab villages."
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