Despite the grim financial situation in the U.S., the Jewish Agency brought a large U.S. trade mission of nearly 60 North American business leaders to the Israel Business Conference in Tel Aviv this week. The delegation was led by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. The mission included 37 officials and businessmen from the State of Minnesota, in the northern United States.
The delegation took part in the prestigious Globes' annual Israel Business Conference held Sunday and Monday (Dec. 14-15) in Tel Aviv. The two major prime ministerial candidates – Binyamin Netanyahu and Tzipi Livni – as well as Ehud Barak of Labor addressed the conference in its final session on Monday night. Netanyahu promised long-range tax cuts and a free year of university tuition. Barak said Israel must “provide a pension safety net, especially for the elderly and on a differential basis,” while Livni made headlines by calling on the other two to debate her publicly.
The Minnesota group met with 60 Israeli businessmen and philanthropists to discuss ideas and models for business cooperation and social entrepreneurship. Their discussions focused on how to promote Israel as a world innovation center for alternative energy, sustainable development, water and genetic medicine. They also discussed how to use the existing Jewish Agency's Partnership 2000 communities as a conduit for developing business ties.
Among those participating on the Israeli side was Eitan Wertheimer, of Israel's wealthiest family (its company was bought in 2006 by Warren Buffet for $4 billion); Raya Strauss Ben-Dror, co-owner of Strauss Investment Company and Partnership 2000 International Co-Chair; and executives of leading companies and philanthropies. The American delegation included 11 businesspeople from Atlanta, who came through the Israel-America Chamber of Commerce, and others from New Jersey, Cincinnati, Montreal and Mexico.
"This is the first time the Jewish Agency has convened such a significant group of Israeli and North American businesspeople," said Andrea Arbel, director of the Jewish Agency's Partnership Division, “with the aim of developing partnerships and initiatives that will strengthen and better position Israel. The group wants very much to develop concrete and meaningful joint initiatives, and our role at the Jewish Agency is to further develop and facilitate these potential partnerships."
Two Minneapolis High School graduates who are spending a year in Israel took the opportunity to meet with their state’s governor during his visit. The two, Rebecca Hornstein and Ethan Buckner, who are participating in the MASA-Israel Journey project of the Jewish Agency and Government of Israel, were invited by Strauss Ben-Dror to a dinner at the Ilana Goor Museum in Old Jaffa in honor of the participants in the Business to Business Initiative.
"Israel has a healthy economy that, like Minnesota's, emphasizes innovation, research and development," said Governor Pawlenty, who addressed the group at the conference. "This is an opportunity for Minnesota companies, especially high-tech firms, to connect with promising trade and research partners in Israel."