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Tsvi Misinai

Tsvi Misinai is an Israeli computer scientist and entrepreneur who founded Sapiens International and later researched a theory of the Hebrew origins of Palestinians.

born 1946Founding Sapiens InternationalEarly Israeli software industryTheory of Palestinians' Hebrew originsThe Engagement project

Born: 15 April 1946, Jerusalem
Occupation: anthropologist, historian
Education: Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Founded: Sapiens International Corporation N.v (1990)

Tsvi Misinai was born in 1946 in Jerusalem

Tsvi Misinai was born in Jerusalem in 1946. His parents came from Ternopil in Galicia and immigrated in 1939. His father served in the British army in the Second World War.

He studied physics at the Technion and graduated in 1968. He studied through the academic reserve program and then served in the IDF computer unit Mamram.

In 1972 he began working at the Weizmann Institute of Science, where he developed a database for mainframe computers. In 1982 he cofounded Omni Software, renamed Sapiens Technologies in 1986. Sapiens International was set up in 1990 with Misinai as president.

The company went public on Nasdaq in 1992, and that year he received the Rothschild Prize for industrial development. After a review of its revenue reporting, he left the company in 1994 under pressure from his partners. In 1995 he founded the startup NewFrame, later Corigin, and retired from it in 2002.

From 2002 he devoted his time to researching the theory that many Palestinians descend from the ancient Hebrews. He lobbies ministers, ambassadors, religious leaders and activists in both communities. He leads a project called The Engagement and lives in Rehovot.