Unlikely Partners spotlights the Israelis and Palestinians who dare to build bridges where others see only walls. Through intimate conversations with people from both sides, the show reveals stories of cooperation, innovation, and hope that rarely make headlines but can help make for a better future. Unlikely Partners is hosted by Yadin Kaufmann, a longtime American-Israeli venture capitalist who has spent years building business connections that benefit both Israelis and Palestinians. 
 

Yadin’s Organizations

• The Palestinian Internship Program
• The Palestinian Mentorship Program 
• Tmura — The Israeli Public Service Venture Fund
• A Good Option, Inc.

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In this episode of Unlikely Partners, Yadin explores the story behind the Palestinian Internship Program (PIP), an initiative he founded in 2014 to help talented young Palestinians launch careers in the tech industry. By connecting Palestinian university graduates with internships at Israeli tech companies, PIP aims to create opportunities for professional growth while helping strengthen the Palestinian economy—and, in turn, the prospects for better relations between Israelis and Palestinians.

To discuss all this, Yadin was joined by PIP Executive Director Devon Spitzer, an American-Israeli mediator specializing in conflict resolution, and Deputy Director Mohammed Atira, a Palestinian engineer from Nablus who was once a PIP intern himself. Together, they unpacked how the program has shaped the careers and lives of its participants, the challenges and possibilities of Israelis and Palestinians working together, and what cross-border professional relationships can mean for the future of the region.

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CREDITS: 
 

Yadin Kaufmann, Devon Spitzer, Mohammed Atira, Maya Rackoff, Alon Schwartz, Adi Shaham 

Unlikely Partners spotlights the Israelis and Palestinians who dare to build bridges where others see only walls. Through intimate conversations with people from both sides, the show reveals stories of cooperation, innovation, and hope that rarely make headlines but can help make for a better future. Unlikely Partners is hosted by Yadin Kaufmann, a longtime American-Israeli venture capitalist who has spent years building business connections that benefit both Israelis and Palestinians. 

Yadin’s Organizations

• The Palestinian Internship Program
• The Palestinian Mentorship Program 
• Tmura — The Israeli Public Service Venture Fund
• A Good Option, Inc.

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In this episode, Yadin sits down with Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah, authors of the New York Times bestseller The Future is Peace: A Shared Journey Across the Holy Land. Maoz is a Jewish-Israeli peace activist and tourism entrepreneur who lost both of his parents in the October 7 attacks. Aziz is a Palestinian peace activist, National Geographic Explorer, and co-founder of MEJDI Tours, whose brother died after suffering injuries in Israeli prison.

Despite experiencing profound loss on opposite sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Maoz and Aziz have chosen to turn their pain into a shared mission for peace. They discuss the experiences that shaped them, how they developed a "brotherly bond," and why it's crucial that Israelis and Palestinians push themselves to imagine a better, more peaceful future. They also address challenges in implementing a process toward peace as well as lessons from other conflict zones.

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CREDITS:

Yadin Kaufmann, Aziz Abu Sarah, Maoz Inon, Maya Rackoff, Alon Schwartz, Adi Shaham 
 

Unlikely Partners spotlights the Israelis and Palestinians who dare to build bridges where others see only walls. Through intimate conversations with people from both sides, the show reveals stories of cooperation, innovation, and hope that rarely make headlines but can help make for a better future. Unlikely Partners is hosted by Yadin Kaufmann, a longtime American-Israeli venture capitalist who has spent years building business connections that benefit both Israelis and Palestinians. 

Yadin’s Organizations

• The Palestinian Internship Program
• The Palestinian Mentorship Program 
• Tmura — The Israeli Public Service Venture Fund
• A Good Option, Inc.

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In this episode, Yadin sits down with Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed and Dr. David Lehrer, two leaders at the Arava Institute, an organization that brings together Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians, and others to address shared environmental challenges through research, education, and cross-border initiatives.

Tareq, a Palestinian-Israeli from East Jerusalem, is the Executive Director of the Arava Institute. He previously served in Israel’s Ministry of Science, Technology, and Space and has become a prominent voice in climate and environmental diplomacy across the region.

David, an American-Israeli, is the Director of the Arava Institute’s Center for Applied Environmental Diplomacy. His work focuses on translating environmental research and diplomacy into practical, collaborative projects that address challenges shared across borders.

Tareq, David, and Yadin discuss how issues like water, energy, and climate change can create opportunities for cooperation in a deeply divided region, what environmental diplomacy looks like in practice, and why tackling shared ecological challenges may offer a unique pathway toward building trust between Israelis, Palestinians, and their neighbors.

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CREDITS: 
 

Yadin Kaufmann, Tareq Abu Hamed, David Lehrer, Maya Rackoff, Alon Schwartz, Adi Shaham 

Unlikely Partners spotlights the Israelis and Palestinians who dare to build bridges where others see only walls. Through intimate conversations with people from both sides, the show reveals stories of cooperation, innovation, and hope that rarely make headlines but can help make for a better future. Unlikely Partners is hosted by Yadin Kaufmann, a longtime American-Israeli venture capitalist who has spent years building business connections that benefit both Israelis and Palestinians. 

Yadin’s Organizations

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In this episode, Yadin sat down with Salah Hussein, a Palestinian entrepreneur from Nablus in the West Bank, and Yana Shaulov, a Jewish-Israeli molecular biologist from Haifa. Together, they co-founded Qanara Tech, an AI-powered precision-agriculture platform that detects pest and disease outbreaks in greenhouse crops. By identifying threats early, Qanara’s technology helps prevent widespread crop loss while reducing the need for pesticides.

Salah and Yana first connected through 50/50 Startups, an accelerator that brings Palestinian and Israeli entrepreneurs together as equal partners to build joint, tech-driven ventures. Their partnership ultimately grew into Qanara Tech, combining their different backgrounds and expertise around a shared technological vision.

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CREDITS: 

Yadin Kaufmann, Salah Hussein, Yana Shaulov, Maya Rackoff, Alon Schwartz, Adi Shaham 

Unlikely Partners spotlights the Israelis and Palestinians who dare to build bridges where others see only walls. Through intimate conversations with people from both sides, the show reveals stories of cooperation, innovation, and hope that rarely make headlines but can help make for a better future. Unlikely Partners is hosted by Yadin Kaufmann, a longtime American-Israeli venture capitalist who has spent years building business connections that benefit both Israelis and Palestinians. 

Yadin’s Organizations

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For a special episode of Unlikely Partners, Yadin was joined by Dan Shapiro, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Together, they spoke with Christina Samara and Elisa Moed of Breaking Bread Journeys, a unique Israeli–Palestinian tourism initiative that uses immersive travel, shared meals, and meetings with local communities to help visitors understand the diverse cultures, histories, and perspectives of people in the land. They discussed the transformative power of human connection, food’s unique ability to bring people together, and the importance of approaching Israel and Palestine with nuance, complexity, and multiple perspectives.

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CREDITS: 

Yadin Kaufmann, Dan Shapiro, Christina Samara, Elisa Moed, Maya Rackoff, Alon Schwartz, Adi Shaham 

Unlikely Partners spotlights the Israelis and Palestinians who dare to build bridges where others see only walls. Through intimate conversations with people from both sides, the show reveals stories of cooperation, innovation, and hope that rarely make headlines but can help make for a better future. Unlikely Partners is hosted by Yadin Kaufmann, a longtime American-Israeli venture capitalist who has spent years building business connections that benefit both Israelis and Palestinians. 

Yadin’s Organizations

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In this episode, Yadin spoke with Karen Brunwasser and Riman Barakat, co-CEOs of FeelBeit, a groundbreaking Israeli-Palestinian arts and cultural center located on the seam between East and West Jerusalem. Through art, music, and shared cultural experiences, FeelBeit creates space for dialogue, connection, and understanding across deeply entrenched divides. In a city shaped by conflict, it has become a haven for those seeking hope, community, and light in difficult times.

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CREDITS: 

Yadin Kaufmann, Karen Brunwasser, Riman Barakat, Maya Rackoff, Alon Schwartz, Adi Shaham 

Unlikely Partners spotlights the Israelis and Palestinians who dare to build bridges where others see only walls. Through intimate conversations with people from both sides, the show reveals stories of cooperation, innovation, and hope that rarely make headlines but can help make for a better future. Unlikely Partners is hosted by Yadin Kaufmann, a longtime American-Israeli venture capitalist who has spent years building business connections that benefit both Israelis and Palestinians. 

Yadin’s Organizations

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This week, Yadin was joined by Itzik Frid and Fadi Swidan of Takwin Ventures, a Haifa-based venture capital firm that invests in and helps build Arab-Israeli start-ups, the first of its kind in Israel. Founded in 2017, Takwin aims to establish a solid Arab presence in the booming Israeli high-tech industry. 

Itzik, a Jewish-Israeli, is a managing partner and the CEO of Takwin. He previously served as a Senior Advisor to the Minister of Finance. He was also the Vice President of Business Affairs at AOL, Managing Director of Argoquest holdings, and CEO of Playscape.

Fadi, an Arab-Israeli, is the Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Takwin. He formerly served as the Director of the Nazareth Business Accelerator and Founder of the Hybric Accelerator. He also co-founded Naztech, the first-ever Arab-Israeli accelerator. He was noted by Israel21c as one of 16 Arab-Israelis making the biggest difference on the world stage.

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CREDITS: 

Yadin Kaufmann, Itzik Frid, Fadi Swidan, Maya Rackoff, Alon Schwartz, Adi Shaham 

Unlikely Partners spotlights the Israelis and Palestinians who dare to build bridges where others see only walls. Through intimate conversations with people from both sides, the show reveals stories of cooperation, innovation, and hope that rarely make headlines but can help make for a better future. Unlikely Partners is hosted by Yadin Kaufmann, a longtime American-Israeli venture capitalist who has spent years building business connections that benefit both Israelis and Palestinians. 

Yadin’s Organizations

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For the second episode of Unlikely Partners, Yadin sat down with Dr. David Hasan and Dr. Dan Turner of the Gaza Children Village, an organization that has provided daily education, meals, and healthcare to vulnerable and orphaned children in Gaza since early 2025.

They discussed the experiences that led David and Dan to believe in the importance of peacebuilding, the challenges of operating a humanitarian organization in Gaza during wartime, and much more.

David is the founder and CEO of the Gaza Children Village and a professor of neurosurgery at Duke University. He was born and raised in Kuwait in a Palestinian family and has always maintained strong ties to the region.

Dan is a Jewish-Israeli Gastroenterologist, the head of innovation at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, and deputy dean of the Hebrew University School of Medicine.

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CREDITS: 

Yadin Kaufmann, David Hasan, Dan Turner, Maya Rackoff, Alon Schwartz, Adi Shaham 

Unlikely Partners spotlights the Israelis and Palestinians who dare to build bridges where others see only walls. Through intimate conversations with people from both sides, the show reveals stories of cooperation, innovation, and hope that rarely make headlines but can help make for a better future. Unlikely Partners is hosted by Yadin Kaufmann, a longtime American-Israeli venture capitalist who has spent years building business connections that benefit both Israelis and Palestinians. 

Yadin’s Organizations

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In the first episode of Unlikely Partners, Yadin was joined by Nuseir Yassin and Ayelet Wiessman. Nuseir a Palestinian-Israeli. He is the founder and CEO of Nas Daily, one of the world’s largest digital media brands, reaching millions of people across social media. Ayelet is a Jewish-Israeli. She is the CEO of 1000media, the creative agency of Nas Daily that helps founders, companies, and organizations around the world build meaningful and influential social media presences.

In their conversation with Yadin, they discuss what led them to their roles in the world of media, how their backgrounds inform their perspectives, and whether their work together creates a template for a more positive future of collaboration between Israelis and Palestinians. 

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CREDITS: 

Yadin Kaufmann, Nuseir Yassin, Ayelet Weissman, Maya Rackoff, Alon Schwartz, Adi Shaham