From: globes.co.il

                       Executives from high-tech companies, among them from
                       LanOptics and Comverse, confirmed to "Globes" that a halt
                       in support would force the companies to change their
                       quarterly reports and reduce the revenue item in such a
                       way as to generate a lack of confidence on the part of
                       investors. "The minute successful high-tech companies
                       on Wall Street announce that the Chief Scientist has
                       stopped supporting them, investors' expectations will
                       drop, the market value will drop, company engineers who
                       hold options will leave for overseas, and investors in
                       startups and funds will no longer arrive in Israel," said
                       the executives. 

                       Abramowitz added that the confidence crisis among
                       foreign investors would not end with the companies, but
                       would spread to the entire economy. "There are
                       multi-national companies which invested in Israel, based
                       on expected R&D support. From their point of view,
                       backtracking by the Chief Scientist would create a total
                       breakdown in trust." 

                       Published by Israel's Business Arena April 7, 1998 
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