Mellanox CEO Waldman warns Israel’s tech industry needs new government or else is in ‘serious trouble’

Prominent entrepreneur Eyal Waldman says a change in government is essential to ensure that Israel’s vaunted tech industry and human capital remain in the country.

“The current government we have is one of the worst we’ve ever had in Israel,” says Waldman, founder of Mellanox, the chipmaker acquired by Nvidia. “We have to take the current government of Benjamin Netanyahu out; if not, we will be in serious trouble.”

Although Israelis went to the polls less than a week ago, the question of who will lead the country’s next government remains unresolved.

The parties opposed to Netanyahu collectively hold 67 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, compared to 53 for the premier’s right-wing and ultra-Orthodox bloc. However, deep ideological divisions and conflicting campaign pledges leave the opposition without a clear path toward forming an alternative government.

Speaking at Birthright Israel’s international business summit in Tel Aviv, Waldman accuses the Netanyahu government of “taking the country down,” challenging democratic principles, and driving international isolation that harms the growth of companies wanting to work and invest in Israel.

“We see the international response and reactions, which is a big issue,” warns Waldman, a vocal critic of the government whose daughter was murdered at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023.

Waldman points to mounting pressure by Western countries to impose economic sanctions over the government’s policy towards Israeli West Bank settlements and criticism over the handling of rising settler violence.

“It was a very tough four years for all of Israel, and now a government must be formed without Netanyahu, and then we can start fixing the country and working with our neighbors,” Waldman tells The Times of Israel on the sidelines of the Tel Aviv summit. “Once we have a change in government, we will be much more acceptable around the world, and it’s going to be much easier for tech startups to raise money and grow in Israel.”

“Hopefully we will have a different government with much better leadership that will start improving all aspects of our lives, especially education levels, which have gone down,” says Waldman.