American and Canadian Institutional Investors, Managing Over $1 Trillion, to Participate in the Annual High-Tech and Venture Capital Conference of the Israel Venture Association (IVA).

TEL-AVIV, Israel -- --Avi Zeevi, conference chairman: 'The investors are looking for investments in Israeli funds. Many of them have not yet invested in Israel.'

--Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will present awards of excellence to the winning companies in the IVA startup competition conducted by Red Herring magazine

The Israel Venture Association (IVA) announced today that Delegations of leading institutional investors from the U.S. and Canada, who together manage over $1 trillion, will participate in the annual High-Tech and Venture Capital conference of the Israel Venture Association (IVA). The conference will be held on June 19-20, at the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv. Among the conference speakers slated to speak about institutional investment strategies are Janice Yecco, senior portfolio manager of Florida's State Board of Administration (SBA), the fourth largest public retirement system in the U.S.; Nicolas Toutoungi, vice president at CDP Capital, the largest fund manager in Canada for institutional investments; and James Mitchell, General Electric's Managing Director of Alternative Investments (GE's private equity investment arm). All together, dozens of international investors from North America and Europe and Asia will attend the conference this year -- many more than the number of overseas guests in previous years.

According to Avi Zeevi, the conference chairman and a general partner and founder of Carmel Ventures, "Israel's importance as a center of venture capital investments is growing. The visit of such distinguished delegations of institutional investors, who are interested in investments in Israel and many of whom have not yet invested in Israel, is a strong evidence of this."

The High-Tech and Venture Capital conference this year focuses on the interests of entrepreneurs and will cover, among other topics, new areas for venture capital investments, alternative models of early stage startup funding, critical decisions in the process of establishing a company, and dealing with decision-making of growth and maturation of a startup company. These topics will be presented at the conference by leading entrepreneurs who have "made it," including Dr. Shimon Eckhouse, the Chairman of Syneron; Yigal Jacobi, the Chairman of Allot; and Dr. Yossi Vardi; as well as by leaders of the VC industry in Israel. Pascal Levensohn, a well-known venture capitalist in the U.S., who has published a number of books and studies on corporate governance practices, will deliver a keynote address.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will participate in a special session devoted to the winning companies in IVA's startup competition, conducted by the Red Herring. This is the first time an internationally renowned US technology magazine leads such a competition in Israel. The prime minister, IVA leaders and a representative of Red Herring will present awards for excellence to winning companies in the categories of software, communications and life sciences. In addition, the Prime Minister will confer the IVA's award to a top public figure who has made a significant contribution to the Israeli high-tech and venture capital industry; to a leading technology entrepreneur; and to a venture capitalist who has prominently contributed to the community.

Participants at the conference will include leaders of the venture capital industry, prominent entrepreneurs and government officials, such as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Eliyahu Yishai; Chief Scientist Dr. Eli Ofer; Finance Ministry Director-General Dr. Yossi Bachar; Yoram Oron, the Chairman of IVA, and founder and managing partner of Vertex Venture Capital; Avi Zeevi, the chairman of the conference, and general partner and founder of Carmel Ventures; and Eli Barkat, managing director and founder of BRM Capital. The conference's panels will be chaired by Menashe Ezra, a managing director of BRM; Roni Hefetz, a general partner at Walden; Harel Beit-On, a general partner at Carmel Ventures; Aharon Mankovski, a general partner and founder of Pitango Venture Capital; Yossi Sela, a founder and managing partner at Gemini; Amir Gal-Or, a managing partner at Infinity; Erez Shahar, a managing partner at Evergreen; attorney Robert Grossman, a senior partner and co-chair Israel practice in the American law firm Greenberg Traurig; and Yoram Tietz, director of the high-tech department at Ernst & Young in Israel. For information on the conference sponsors, please see a full list at: www.iva2006.com.

The conference, has received this year a noticeable broad support from the entire Israeli VC industry. Some 27 leading groups in the industry are actively taking part in the event. According to Yoram Oron, Chairman of IVA: "We have done many conferences in the world, but the interest this year in investing in funds in Israel is expressed in the large number of foreign participants ever to come for the venture capital conference. In our assessment, the potential of these institutional investors, who collectively represent an investment budget of about a trillion dollars, will be realized during the next two years. Some of these groups are already in the process of due diligence with Israeli funds. Following the reform in the capital market, there is also a marked increase in the interest of Israeli institutional investors in this field.

"The 2006 High-Tech and Venture Capital conference is the culmination of our efforts of the past year. The event succeeds in bringing together all of the entities in the industry -- the entrepreneurs, VC funds, Israel and foreign institutional investors, leading high-tech companies and major consulting firms. The conference is designed to share experiences and help promote continued momentum in activity, investment and the creation of value in the industry."

About the IVA

The Israeli Venture Association (IVA) was founded in 1996 in response to the development of the high-tech industry and venture capital activity in Israel. IVA is a broad organization representing the diverse aspects of the venture capital industry in Israel, including all the major VC funds and other venture investors, service providers, technological incubators and more. Since the establishment of the governmental Yozma program, which served as the catalyst for the creation of an active VC community, the Israeli VCs have been and continue to lead the efforts in making Israel a true source of technological innovation. For more information about the IVA, please visit www.iva.co.il.