Shlomo Kramer, CEO of Cato Networks and co-founder of Check Point and Imperva, and Professor Naama Friedman, professor of neurolinguistics at Tel Aviv University, have established a new philanthropic venture, the Coda Fund, to support veteran Israeli artists. The goal is to support artists who have made significant contributions to Israeli culture but lack financial security in their later years. The fund’s initial budget will be NIS 5 million for three years, fully funded by Kramer.
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The fund will grant artists salaries and professional advice to enable them to continue their creative activity without worrying about their livelihood. At this stage, it is planned that the fund will support between five and ten artists in the fields of music, poetry and cinema, and cover their work and basic living costs.
“There are artists in Israel who have contributed greatly to our culture, but that has not always translated into financial security,” Kramer told Globes. “They want to continue creating, but difficulties in supporting themselves prevent this. I wanted to fix that, to enable people who have created works for all of us to continue creating even in old age.”
Kramer said the idea for the fund was born from Professor Friedman’s work with a well-known veteran artist who was in financial distress. Her treatment led him to produce a new recording and continue to appear. “We formed a bond through that story,” he says. “Nima’s work was linked to an old idea I had, and she took it upon herself to develop it.”
Kramer says the fund aspires to grow beyond the initial budget. “I hope to be the first, not the last. The fund will be happy to bring in additional investors in order to expand the support. There are many artists who need it. In my field, high technology, there is creativity that translates into financial security, if it succeeds. In the arts, this does not always happen. This is an opportunity for Israeli society to say thank you to the people who have given it so much.”
The selected artists will have complete privacy and their identities will not be revealed. The selection process will be carried out by Friedman and a team of expert consultants.
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on November 23, 2025.
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
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