HERZLIYA, Israel, Dec 22 Reuters Nearly 7,000 miles away in Portland, Oregon, venture capitalist George Djuric said he was compelled to visit Israel during the country39;s war with Palestinian militant group Hamas and to pledge support for the hightech sector.

Djuric, chief technology officer at yVentures who arrived in the United States as a 3yearold refugee from Bosnia during the Bosnian war in the mid1990s, this week joined some 70 other U.S. tech executives and investors on a trip to Israel.

Coming here is a chance to stand in solidarity with Israel and also support the tech ecosystem, which is the world39;s second largest after Silicon Valley, he said. As a technology fund, it makes sense for us to be here.

Although not Jewish, Djuric said he was drawn to Israel by the state39;s resiliency and as someone whose family39;s views were shaped by war.

I was horrified by what happened on Oct. 7 and I was equally horrified the next day when I saw people demonstrating in support of what happened, he said, referring to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel launched by Hamas.

Investors and analysts had predicted the conflict with the Palestinians would derail a fragile recovery in hightech, which accounts for more than half of Israel39;s exports and nearly a fifth of its overall economic output.

Funding had already dropped sharply amid a global slowdown and a divisive government judicial overhaul when the war took its toll on the economy. Growth, on pace for a 3.4 clip this…