????贖罪日是猶太歷法中最神圣的一天，是一個反躬自省、與心靈對話的日子。逾越節之前幾天，我與十位巴勒斯坦科技公司首席執行官一起度過，共同探討創業精神。會談快結束時，他們邀請我與巴勒斯坦總統阿巴斯會面，就如何打造一個繁榮興旺的信息科技行業提供建議（巴勒斯坦的IT業目前已有約300家公司，雇有3,500名員工）。這一切是如何發生的呢？

????一切都開始于幾個月以前，當時馬薩諸塞州州長德瓦爾?帕特里克率貿易代表團出訪以色列，會見了多位以色列企業家，試圖讓他們與馬薩諸塞州企業締結更緊密的商業合作，帶來更多商機。他在以色列期間還會見了部分巴勒斯坦企業家，邀請他們來到波士頓，與當地企業建立更密切的關系。上周，這些企業家接受了他的邀請。

????實話說，當我受邀向巴勒斯坦代表團發表講話時，我有些猶豫。你得知道，我的父親是個大屠殺幸存者，在特拉維夫上的高中；我的孩子們就讀猶太日校，學習希伯來語，他們和我一樣，從小就被培養成為堅定的猶太復國主義者；我向美國以色列公共事務委員會（AIPAC）捐贈，還支持本地的猶太協會——聯合猶太慈善總會（CJP）。盡管我強烈支持巴以分治的方案，我擔心反猶主義在中東仍然十分猖獗，對以色列和猶太人的妖魔化又出現了新的高潮，令人擔憂。因此，接受這一邀請前我捫心自問：巴勒斯坦信息科技產業的強大是否有利于中東和平？如果下一個Skype或LogMeIn的締造者家住巴勒斯坦拉姆安拉，而不是瑞士或匈牙利，會是一件好事嗎？

????我的結論是：100%有利。與巴勒斯坦首席執行官代表團會面后，我敢說：200%有利。

????托馬斯?弗里德曼最近曾說過，對抗貧困的最有效武器是創業精神。我覺得，創業精神同樣是締造和平的一劑良藥。如果以色列人和巴勒斯坦人忙于進行商業合作，為兩國人民創造就業機會和財富，將會顯著緩解失業以及機會缺乏帶來的緊張情緒。

????這群巴勒斯坦企業家讓我極為驚喜——與本民族的許多人相比，他們反倒與波士頓、硅谷和紐約市的企業家擁有更多的共同點。他們簡直就像是《科技之星》（Techstars）節目里走出來的真人秀明星——聰明、生氣勃勃、雄心萬丈，而且渴望成功。他們講述了自己的創業經歷，介紹了各自公司的歷程，我聽得饒有趣味。（我還略帶失望地與代表團中唯一的女性——見上圖——開玩笑說，他們的男/女企業家比例與馬薩諸塞州差不多。）

????美國國際開發署（USAID）的一位專員陪伴代表團一起來訪，他被派駐在中東地區，幫助當地充滿創業精神的企業實現更大的商業發展。我還找到了一位出生于拉姆安拉的哈佛商學院（Harvard Business School）畢業生，讓他加入我們的活動?！疚覀兓顒拥呐e辦地就在哈佛新設的創新實驗室（Harvard's new Innovation Lab），那是個非常出色的地方?！咳ツ晗募?，他曾為一家名為Padico的巴勒斯坦風投公司效力，到處尋找投資機會。

????誰知道中東和平談判能產生什么樣的結果呢？不過，如果這十位企業家能作為某種參考，那中東和平仍然有希望，而實現的途徑則是通過創業精神鑄就共同繁榮。至少贖罪日那天，我會在猶太會堂為此祈禱！最近，以色列與哈馬斯達成協議，釋放大批囚犯換取吉拉德?沙利特的自由，或許我們離上述目標又近了一步。

????杰夫?博斯甘是風投公司飛橋資本合伙（Flybridge Capital Partners）的普通合伙人，他的Twitter賬號是@bussgang。

????譯者：小宇

????A few days before Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in the Jewish calendar and a spiritual day of remembrance, I found myself in front of ten Palestinian tech CEOs talking about entrepreneurship. At the end of the session, they invited me to meet with Palestinian President Abbas to advise him on how to build a thriving IT sector (which now employs 3,500 across 300 companies). How did this juxtaposition come about?

????It all began a few months ago, when Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick visited Israel on a trade mission. He met with numerous Israeli entrepreneurs to foster greater business partnerships and opportunities with Massachusetts businesses. While there, he also met with a few Palestinian entrepreneurs and invited them to come to Boston to establish closer relationships with local businesses. Last week, they took him up on this offer.

????Honestly, when I was invited to speak to the Palestinian delegation, I paused. You see, my father is a Holocaust survivor and finished high school in Tel Aviv. My kids attend a Jewish day school, study Hebrew, and are being raised, like I was, as ardent Zionists. I donate money to AIPAC as well as our local Jewish federation (CJP). Although I strongly support a two-state solution, I worry that anti-Semitism remains rampant in the Middle East and that the demonization of Israel and Jews is at an alarming high. And so the question I asked myself before accepting the invitation was: Would a strong Palestinian IT sector be a good thing for peace in the Middle East? What if the next Skype or LogMeIn was started by a Ramallah-based entrepreneur instead of a Swede or Hungarian, respectively - would that be a good thing?

????My conclusion: 100% yes. And after meeting with the Palestinian CEO delegation, I would say 200% yes.

????Thomas Friedman said recently that the surest cure to poverty was entrepreneurship. I would say the same regarding peace. If the Israelis and Palestinians are busy cooperating commercially, creating jobs and wealth for both sides, it will meaningfully reduce the tension that unemployment and a lack of opportunity for young and old represent.

????I was blown away by the group of Palestinian entrepreneurs – they had more in common with entrepreneurs in Boston, Silicon Valley and NYC than probably many of their own people. They could have stepped right out of Techstars central casting – smart, scrappy, ambitious, hungry. I enjoyed hearing their stories of their entrepreneurial journeys to create their companies. (I joked with some chagrin with the one female in the delegation – pictured above – that their male/female entrepreneurial ratio matched our own).

????Traveling with the delegation was a USAID executive who is assigned to the region to foster more business development with entrepreneurial companies. I was able to enlist a Ramallah-born Harvard Business School student (we hosted the event at Harvard's new Innovation Lab, which is spectacular), to join us. He worked at a Palestinian venture capital firm last summer, called Padico, scouting opportunities for investment.

????Who knows what will happen with the peace talks, but if these ten entrepreneurs are any indication, there's hope yet for peace in the Mniddle East through posterity and entrepreneurship. At least that's what I was praying for in synagogue during Yom Kippur! With the recent news of the release of Gilad Shalit, perhaps we are a step closer.

????Jeff Bussgang is general partner at venture capital firm Flybridge Capital Partners. You can follow him on Twitter @bussgang