Hamakor, officially known as Hamakor – Israeli Society for Free and Open Source Software , is an Israeli non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of free and open source software in Israel.
Hamakor was founded in January 2003.[1]
Background and formation
Several members of Israel's open-source community, most notably Gilad Ben-Yossef and Doron Ofek, pioneered the idea of forming an official, legally recognized organization. They wanted to counter difficulties with the non-open-source-related bodies and to address the inherently decentralized way open source is developed and advocated. Two main bodies expected to deal with organizations in that respect: the media, which is accustomed to having someone to call to get a comment, and the Knesset, where standing up in front of legislators requires answering the implicit question "who am I and why should you listen to me?". It was felt that, as individuals, the community's ability to make a difference suffered in comparison with an organized body.
The idea matured for some time. The final push to form the actual organization came from a desire by Gilad Ben-Yossef, circa July 2002, to see Revolution OS in Israel. It turned out that the only way to see the movie was to rent a cinema hall and to pay the distributor. Gilad decided to open the event to the public and to charge a small fee for entrance to cover costs. The event, labeled "August Penguin", took place on the first Friday of August, 2002. The event proved a financial success, in that an extra 2000 NIS were recorded after expenses.