Alona Barkat

Alona Barkat (; born 24 June 1969) is an Israeli businesswoman, and owner of the football team Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Biography Alona Akwa was born and raised in Ashkelon, Israel, to Mizrahi Jewish (Yemenite-Jewish) parents. She is the eldest of four siblings. At the age of 14, Barkat moved to Jerusalem to attend a religious school for girls. Four years later, she returned to do national service (Sherut Leumi) in her hometown. She then studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, performing undergraduate and graduate studies in the history of the Middle East. During her studies, she met Eli Barkat, then a student in Mathematics and Computer Science, and her future husband. In 1996, she moved to Silicon Valley in the United States with her husband, who became a businessman with his brother Nir Barkat. The Barkat brothers were early investors in Check Point, Backweb, eToro, and Oplus Technologies (sold to Intel), and set up the venture capital funds BRM and IVN (Israel Venture Network). In the eight years in which the family lived in the United States, Barkat started in the field of philanthropy. Among other things, the fund management company IVN also funded social projects, and has been active in organizations such as AIPAC and the Jewish Federation of San Francisco.