A baby-faced Israeli teen wearing a kippah and a smiling young Palestinian stand together, looking over their shoulders toward each other in a new magazine ad.
“Papa says we have been enemies for 5000 years, but Moustafa seems OK when he emails me,” the text of the ad innocently reads.
It wouldn’t be an unusual message for a left-wing political organization or a social-action group. But in this case, neither is involved.
The entity promoting peace this time is the Redwood Shores-based Oracle Corp. the world’s second-largest independent software company.
As part of a philanthropic project dubbed “Oracle’s Promise,” the company has donated 500 computers with software, Internet connection and e-mail to a West Bank Jewish settlement and two Palestinian cities. This fall, children will log on to the “Computers for Coexistence” program.
During teacher-training this summer in schools and community centers where the computers are planted, Oracle urged the use of e-mail to create a dialogue between Arab and Jewish youths.
The computers will “let kids communicate and get lots of different perspectives. It’s an educational equalizer. That’s a great thing,” said Marc Benioff, an Oracle senior vice president in charge of the project.
The contribution is believed to be the first-ever donation from a Silicon Valley company to the territories.
By placing the computers in Ariel, the largest Jewish settlement in the West Bank, and the Palestinian-controlled cities of Gaza and Nablus, Oracle has set itself up in the heart of a political hotspot.
Although American Jews privately give large caches of money to sway Israeli politics, rarely does a publicly held company ever enter into such a tense domestic situation.
While stressing that Oracle “is not a political organization,” Benioff said that the company wanted to get involved because “peace is a complex issue that everyone has to participate in.”
Oracle does not dictate how the computers will be used, but hopes they will promote education — both inside and outside the classroom — a strong focus of Larry Ellison, Oracle’s founder, chairman and CEO.
“Larry and Marc believe the Internet changes everything, and Larry’s passion stems from that belief,” Oracle spokeswoman Anna del Rosario said.
The gift came about when former Prime Minister Shimon Peres introduced the idea last year to Ellison, who is Jewish but has never been to Israel.
Benioff, who is also Jewish and has visited Israel three times, said, “Even if I was not Jewish, we [Oracle] would have been in Israel.”
Still, Benioff said, he was particularly proud of the gift because “as a Jewish person I strongly feel it’s a great thing that Israel exists. I think we should continue do everything we can to strengthen that state.”
He added, “Israel is increasingly becoming more important in technology and is well-positioned to become one of the next superpowers. At the same time, it is a place that is very fragile.”
Last spring, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the Promise for Peace award to Oracle for donating the computers. “We appreciate Oracle’s support and encourage you [Oracle] to continue with all your efforts for ‘Computers for Coexistence,'” he said.
Said Hamad, the deputy chief representative of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s Washington, D.C., office, also praised the program.
“We welcome such a move from any company or individual who wants to help develop our institutions in Palestine,” Hamad said. “We hope it will continue. It’s in the Palestinian interest to revive its economy. It’s also in the interests of Israel to achieve peace and security.”
The donation to Israel is part of Oracle’s Promise, which has placed more than 7,500 computers in Northern Ireland, as well as in inner-city schools in San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Chicago and other U.S. cities.
The project began in 1997 as a response to America’s Promise, the national initiative led by retired Gen. Colin Powell and the Clinton administration to promote volunteerism and philanthropy.
Ads promoting Oracle’s Promise began appearing last month in the magazines PC Week, Interactive Week and CIO.
Aside from its political implications, the gift to the Palestinians may lead to significant economic rewards for Oracle, which already has revenues of $8.3 billion a year.
Cultivating an Arab-friendly reputation as the Palestinian market begins to break open could pay off down the road.
One economic insider said that business contracts with the Palestinian Authority can be a gateway to economic ties with other Arab countries.
“It’s donation/investment. It will be helpful for Oracle to penetrate the market in a later stage,” said Yishai Laks, the consul for economic affairs at the Santa Clara-based Government of Israel Economic Mission.
“This is a good plan by Oracle where everyone wins,” Laks added. “Oracle is winning clients and markets. The Palestinian Authority is getting knowledge. As for the government of Israel, it is also in our interest that the economy in the Palestinian Authority will be good.”
It seems odd at first that the Internet may turn out to be a force in pushing forward the peace process.
But Oracle sees its partnership with Israelis and Palestinians as just beginning.
“The Internet is probably the only place in the world an individual can explore without boundaries,” Benioff said. “We believe communications technology will expand people’s horizons and further dialogue. Plus the kids love it.”