I’ve been in Israel for the past week, and I have been witnessing the conflict firsthand. During this time, I have been one of the lucky ones; I’ve only had to run to a shelter three times with Iron Dome intercepting missiles that were headed toward us twice. Yes, it has been an interesting experience.
Our trip’s itinerary has seen numerous changes thanks to security concerns and the hundreds of missiles that have been shot from Gaza. There is, however, one disruption I did not expect.
Before I get into the tech-related purpose of this post, let me share the nature of the programmatic changes I have seen. Numerous times speakers who were supposed to speak to us were not able to do so. Twice it was because they were reporters who were covering the conflict. One time a speaker could not make it because he was called up from the Israeli reserves. And once a Palestinian scholar was not able to get to us from Ramallah. Our visits to Ramallah and a new Palestinian town were cancelled because of security concerns, and our tour of the Old City of Jerusalem was as well. Our visit to the border of Israel, Syria, and Lebanon was adjusted for security concerns; fortunately, we were still able to visit Ziv Hospital in Sefat where Israeli doctors and nurses have treated over 600 Syrians who have been injured in the civil war that has already killed over 130,000 Syrian civilians. [While there, we visited the most gorgeous three-year old who needed help after a sniper shot him.] All of these disruptions are nothing compared to the impact that Hamas missiles are having on both the Israeli and Gazan civilian populations; after all, I get to fly home tonight, but they don’t.
I spoke with one of my students who is studying in Tel Aviv this year, and he told me that his work has seen constant disruptions as he has — numerous times each day — needed to run into a shelter. [One has between 15 and 30 seconds from the time the alarm sounds to get to safety.] What never occurred to me was the impact this disruption would have on productivity in Israel. And while this does not compare to the deaths and injuries caused by the current conflict, it is still worth noting.
The Kickstarter project SNIPE was moving forward rather quickly, but Judie received the following email earlier today:
Hi Judie,
This email is being written with mixed feelings, but eventually this is the only right solution for us in this specific situation that we were caught into with SNIPE’s Kickstarter campaign;
Difficult times in Israel effect all of us&
As some of you probably know, our company – XnTouch LTD – is an Israeli company, based both in Tel Aviv and New York City. Therefore, the current situation between Gaza and Israel has a direct affect on each and every one of us. In the last 6 days, since the conflict has escalated, we weren’t able to work properly. It was impossible for us to respond to all of our costumer’s inquires, reach out to media coverages, and power this campaign towards success. Some of our employees that lead this Kickstarter campaign were under a lot of pressure due to the rocket attacks and tensed atmosphere. Unfortunately, as you can see, this crazy situation that was forced upon us caused us to abandon our marketing plan, which leaves us with no time to reach SNIPE’s funding goal, especially with a partial men-power.
Yesterday we took the time to interview to the American gaming blog – GAMESKINNY.COM – about how it is like to run a Kickstarter campaign during the Israel-Palestine conflict:SNIPE WILL HAPPEN!
We have no choice but to cancel this specific Kickstarter campaign in the next couple of days, but that doesn’t mean that SNIPE won’t become a reality!We plan to regroup, reevaluate, and prepare ourselves for a relaunch! At the same time we’ll work around the clock to improve the SNIPE gear and game features, in order to create a one-of-a-kind gaming experience.
Please keep on supporting this beautiful and exciting venture, and let’s use those difficulties as leverage for a better product in the near future!
We can’t thank you enough for your support with SNIPE!
We had an overwhelming experience since we launched this campaign, and we’re positive that it WILL reach its funding goal in the upcoming relaunch.
Feel free to contact us with any questions regarding the situation in Israel and how it’s like to run a Kickstarter during these hard times.
We hope that you’ll join us on SNIPE’s next journey…
Let’s pray for quiet times in the middle east, and for the health & safety of all the civilians in Israel and Gaza!
Peace,
Liran Erez
Quiet times in the Middle East, and health and safety for all of the Israel and Gaza citizens? A freedom from conflict, and the chance for people on both sides to safely live their lives? Yes, please.
