Montasser Abdellatif  

A JOINT ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN start-up is showing the world that the Internet can truly transcend all physical and political boundaries. 

G.ho.st (or Global Hosted Operating SysTem), an intriguing venture offering a web-based Virtual Computer (VC) “free to every human being”, aggregates Web-based software applications to provide a complete online desktop for users on the go.

The firm’s VC actually gives users a good alternative to things like Volish Windows, in that it provides a complete personal computing environment hosted online and accessible from any browser. This all ties in to the company’s vision of being able to provide every person in the world with access to computing at any time, any place and on any budget.

As well as being free of charge, G.ho.st’s desktop, file system and applications are also admin-free with no installation required. The company also boasts that having one (very short) URL (“maybe the shortest in the world”), one sign on and interoperability, makes the system really easy to use. 

The company, which has its main offices in Ramallah, claims it is the first joint Palestinian-Israeli technology start-up, and one of the only companies developing a major new technology in the Palestinian territories. The Israeli offices are located in the Israeli city of Modi’in, “but not the settlement, the other part” explains Rami Abdulhadi, G.ho.st’s Director of Marketing Communications.

Created in 2006, G.ho.st started out with only six employees, but grew steadily to 25 by 2007 and now counts 40 full time employees, both Palestinian and Israeli. Recruitment is apparently an ongoing process in the firm according to Abdulhadi.

The name G.ho.st was apparently chosen as especially fitting due to the fact that ghosts can float through walls. The 680 km concrete wall dividing Israel from the Palestinian West Bank is one such wall, and one which, in theory, should make it difficult for the Israelis and Palestinians on G.ho.st’s team to meet up.

However, using video conferencing, skype and emails, the teams manage to transcend physical borders and work as one. “It may sound a little funny”, noted Abdulhadi “but sometimes when we need to meet face to face, we have to do so in a little gas station somewhere on the dead sea road (near Jericho) because it is the only place neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians need permits to get to”.

Abdulhadi told the INQ that he sincerely hoped G.ho.st could both contribute to the Palestinian economy and also have a positive impact on the Israeli Palestinian peace process by serving as a model for collaboration. He noted “G.ho.st is demonstrating that Palestinians and Israelis can work together and that Palestine has the potential to host a thriving high tech industry. Collaboration and economic growth could energise the Palestinian-Israeli peace process”.

G.ho.st’s founder and CEO Zvi Schreiber, concurred “G.ho.st is bursting through cultural, technological and physical barriers," he gushed. "Our team spans the Palestinian-Israeli divide and our Virtual Computer provides a rich personal computing environment that is not tied to any specific location, hardware or budget.”

Before G.ho.st, Schreiber had created two other successful IT companies, Unicorn Solutions (sold to IBM in 2006), and Tradeum Inc. When he set up G.ho.st in 2006, Schreiber was apparently determined to find a Palestinian partner for the venture. His strong ideology of Palestinian-Israeli collaboration also led him to set up the G.ho.st Peace Foundation (GhPF) with a donation of his personal cash and G.ho.st shares.

As for G.ho.st’s funding, its lead investor is currently Benchmark Capital known for their successes with the likes of EBay and MySQL.

The company also counts several individual investors, including ex-Mircrosoft executives (like Paul Maritz) and veteran industry investors.

Currently, G.ho.st says it is still in public alpha, but the firm expects to launch its beta service at the end of October 2008. After all, it is around Halloween when ghosts come out.