PA Entrepreneurs Shun Politics in Cisco Systems Training

Palestinian Authority entrepreneurs are not interested in politics and concentrate on business in a Cisco-Israel training program, Forbes business magazine reported. Israeli Jewish high-tech experts coach PA CEOs and middle-level managers in the sessions.

Cisco CEO John Chambers began thinking about the program after meeting with  chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah in 2008.

“I personally went to Cisco and said, ‘Forget about donating; allocate part of the money and help us create jobs,” according to  Tariq Maayah, a top Palestinian entrepreneur and business leader who spoke with Forbes.

Jews are carrying out the training because Cisco could not find any qualified PA Arabs.

“We didn’t find any Palestinian experts with the kind of credentials or backgrounds we needed,  and to bring them from the [United] States would be too expensive, so we have to use the Israeli Jews. Because we have plenty of those in Israel,” explained Gai Hetzroni, a top Cisco R&D executive. “