Nearly 40% of tech companies that operated in northern Israel before October 2023 have resumed activity in the region, according to new figures presented at Tel-Hai University of Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee’s 12th Food Innovation Conference.
With a shaky ceasefire with neighboring Lebanon holding, the data points to a rebound in northern Israel’s technology sector.
Before the war, 204 hi-tech companies were active in the Eastern Galilee, including 80 in the field of AgriFood Tech. But during close to three years of war, many companies left the area and moved away from the front lines. Only seven companies remained, including two in the field of AgriFood Tech.
Coordinated work by Tel-Hai University, MIGAL, regional municipalities, and philanthropic partners has helped bring 80 companies back, among them 27 AgriFood Tech firms.
“We are working intensively to bring hi-tech companies – including FoodTech and AgriTech start-ups – back to the Galilee, and to attract new ones,” said Ofer Rivlin, CEO of the AgriFood Tech Northern Partnership. “This is critical because it is the main growth engine for the Eastern Galilee. It will allow entrepreneurs and industry leaders to turn the Galilee into a global leader in food and agriculture innovation.”
At the conference, Tel-Hai University outlined its strategy for strengthening the Galilee as an AgriFoodTech hub where research and entrepreneurship intersect. Students presented new food products inspired by trends in nutrition, sustainability, and health, including a knafeh-inspired breakfast cereal, vegan fish sauce, plant-based jerky, and ketogenic bread.
The conference marked the opening of the NIS 30 million FoodTech Boulevard in Kiryat Shmona, a new space designed to bring together scientific research, technological development, entrepreneurship, and industry. The facility is part of the planned NIS 55 million National Food Institute, which aims to anchor the Galilee’s role in advancing food-security solutions.
Prof. Eyal Shimoni, deputy vice president for research and development at Tel-Hai University, told The Jerusalem Post that the center is “trying to create supportive infrastructure, a hub, for companies that are returning to the North.”
During the close to three years of deadly war with Hezbollah, northern Israel was largely deserted and many companies decided to pack up and leave. The relative quiet along the border has seen many companies return, but not all.
“Not everyone is going to come back,” Shimoni said. “We live in Israel and many are not convinced that it’s the end of the war. We created this supportive environment to bring companies back, there’s no other way. We should keep doing what we do, no matter what.”
Situated a few kilometers from the Lebanese border, Tel-Hai University is a growing research institution that is focused on food security, sustainable agriculture, engineering, artificial intelligence, and related fields.
And as the world’s population approaches nine billion, the new facility, Shimoni explained, is “very focused” on AgriFood Tech and will attempt to position the Galilee as a center for global food-security innovation.
