Eyal Waldman, a leading figure in Israel’s high-tech revolution and founder of Mellanox, believed that economic opportunity could build bridges.
In 2017, he established a development center inside Gaza, hiring hundreds of Gaza-based engineers and offering them high salaries, a sense of dignity, and a hopeful future. He often spoke of the talent he saw there, saying that cooperation and shared success could bring the two peoples closer.
In March 2019 it was announced that Mellanox would be acquired by NVIDIA Corporation for approximately US $6.9 billion, with the deal closing in April 2020.
But on October 7, everything changed. Terrorists poured across the border and brutally murdered his 24-year-old daughter, Danielle — less than a mile from the very hub he built to help the people of Gaza. The man who extended a hand, who chose hope and coexistence, found that goodwill repaid with devastation.