My Israeli–Yaniv Sofer

Hi, my name is Yaniv Sofer, and today I’m going to talk to you about what being Israeli means to me

For me, being Israeli is first and foremost about arguing.

After all, how did we get to this land? We argued, we insisted, and we didn’t give up, until we managed to establish a country.

If we hadn’t fought then, where would we be today?

It’s true that sometimes the arguments aren’t so pleasant—on the road, in the movie theater, in politics…everyone here has his or her own opinion.

As you know, if you put 2 Israelis in a room, you’ll get 4 opinions.

When you hear “Bibi against Boujie; Bogie against Bennett,” it sounds like a boxing match, but no—that is the government in the Parliament.

Even in the Bible we already loved to argue—Moses and Pharaoh, Jacob and Esau.

And of course we must mention the eternal question—who is better, Messi or Ronaldo?

If only there were fewer arguments. On the other hand, I’m not sure that we could have achieved all that we have without arguing.

To create a startup, you must “struggle” with the present reality in order to create a change.

Waze, USB sticks and more…all the Israeli inventions that prove the point.

I look at the half cup that is full. Would you want to live in North Korea? I don’t think so.

Being Israeli always has and will continue to mean the ability to argue.

Thanks for listening…

but feel free to disagree…

just don’t forget—we have an amazing country!