Citybook Services, Ltd., Israel’s largest paralegal outsourcing facility, located in Modiin Illit (Kiryat Sefer), opened its doors less than two years ago with just 8 employees. Today, it employs over 80 highly-trained paralegals.
Citybook was the brainchild of Joseph Rosenbaum and Elliot Zaks of Lakewood, New Jersey, whose Madison Title Agency needed to expand its title insurance production department. Rather than outsource to India or one of the other global outsourcing centers, they decided to take a chance on opening an outsourcing facility in Israel. “The success of Citybook, both in terms of rapid staff growth and professional reputation in the U.S. has clearly exceeded everyone’s expectations”, according to Yehudah (Jeff) Brochin, CEO of Citybook, who emigrated from Chicago in 2002. He says, “We now handle all title insurance production work for five U.S. East Coast title agencies, and our staff produces over 400 title commitments and policies per week for transactions taking place in New York, New Jersey, Florida and Michigan.”
While some businessmen may be concerned about the ability to duplicate their U.S. business environment in Israel, Citybook’s combination of American management methods along with careful screening of English-speaking Israeli workers has proven that it can be done, and done successfully. In fact, the flow of work moves so seamlessly from America to Israel and back, that the Kiryat Sefer work is virtually indistinguishable from that done in the U.S.
Kiryat Sefer was chosen as the first location for Citybook because of Rosenbaum and Zaks’ desire to help out a community hard hit by the economic downturn of the past few years - the Haredi-religious Community. That decision in itself required arrangements beyond those found in most outsourcing efforts. “Citybook fully complies with the requirements of the local rabbinic authorities regarding the special needs of a religious workplace”. Those requirements include a work shift which allows young mothers to be home when the children return from school. Brochin commutes daily from Jerusalem and identifies with the religious-national segment of society. However, about 95 percent of the staff is comprised of the wives of full-time Yeshiva (Kollel) members. “This is a highly motivated, dedicated work force which until now has been a largely untapped sector of the Israeli labor pool.”
“We have enjoyed the fullest cooperation of the Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Sefer as well as that of Mayor Yaakov Gutterman, and the officials of the Ministry of Trade, Labor and Commerce in establishing Citybook. The governmental procedural issues have been no different, maybe even less than would typically be expected when dealing with an American municipality.”
A year ago, Citybook expanded its services by entering into a joint venture with an American ‘due diligence’ company that analyzes commercial real estate leases. “Several of their clients were skeptical at first about a start-up company doing their highly complex, critical financial and legal analyses of their commercial leases, so they agreed to send only three or four files on a trial basis. In virtually every case, we ended up getting orders for dozens or even hundreds of leases to analyze and abstract and it led to a large amount of repeat business”, Brochin says. Among their clients are nationally known real estate portfolio managers, real estate investment trusts, and some of America’s largest commercial tenants.
Now the company is expanding to Kiryat Sefer's twin city to the south of Jerusalem - the Haredi-religious town of Beitar Illit. The Betar expansion will help meet the high demand for Citybook’s lease abstracting work. In addition, Citybook’s reputation as a model turn-key outsourcing operation has led U.S. businessmen in various other industries to consider outsourcing to Israel. And that could mean even more jobs.
As was the case in Kiryat Sefer, the Beitar Illit municipality has strongly backed the creation of a Citybook outsourcing facility as evidenced by the support from Mayor Yitzchak Pindruss during the expansion project. “The days of Israeli bureaucracy effectively discouraging Western companies from bringing their work to Israel are clearly over”, says Brochin.
There has been a dramatic rise in North American Aliyah, and conversely, there is a corresponding rise in job opportunities for American Olim (immigrants). “Up until now, concerns about a limited knowledge of Hebrew might have dissuaded some potential Olim from moving to Israel. However, the expanding job market for native English-speakers eliminates a common excuse not to make Aliyah. While Nefesh B’Nefesh is fueling the upsurge in North American Aliyah, Citybook is supplying the English-speaking Israeli with Avodah (work).”
According to the Jewish Agency, the face of Aliyah has changed. Typically, it was always associated with a rescue effort, bringing Jews out of dangerous areas such as famine plagued Ethiopia, or the anti-Semitic environment of Soviet Russia. Now, the focus has changed. The need to make Israel attractive for professional people is the new trend, and Citybook’s operation plays right into this type of venture.
Furthermore, the Israeli government is now working to actively promote outsourcing to Israel. This should be of particular benefit to English speaking immigrants who need to be absorbed into the Israeli labor pool as quickly as possible.
Brochin recently participated in a discussion on ‘Outsourcing to Israel’, sponsored by the Israel Export Institute in Tel Aviv, and in April he met with the Israeli Trade Counsel to the Midwest in Chicago, Moshe Shoham, to further explore ways to attract more outsourcing business to Israel. “We are living in a time of the most dramatic phase of Kibbutz Galuyot (‘ingathering of the exiles’) because we are finally attracting huge numbers of immigrants from North America."
"The time is ripe for American Jewish businesses who are sending their outsourcing tasks to India or the Philippines to bring these jobs home to bring their jobs to Eretz Yisrael. We have the talent, we have the native English-speakers, and we have proven it can be done.”
Brochin can be reached by email at jeffreyb@citybook.co.il
Citybook was the brainchild of Joseph Rosenbaum and Elliot Zaks of Lakewood, New Jersey, whose Madison Title Agency needed to expand its title insurance production department. Rather than outsource to India or one of the other global outsourcing centers, they decided to take a chance on opening an outsourcing facility in Israel. “The success of Citybook, both in terms of rapid staff growth and professional reputation in the U.S. has clearly exceeded everyone’s expectations”, according to Yehudah (Jeff) Brochin, CEO of Citybook, who emigrated from Chicago in 2002. He says, “We now handle all title insurance production work for five U.S. East Coast title agencies, and our staff produces over 400 title commitments and policies per week for transactions taking place in New York, New Jersey, Florida and Michigan.”
While some businessmen may be concerned about the ability to duplicate their U.S. business environment in Israel, Citybook’s combination of American management methods along with careful screening of English-speaking Israeli workers has proven that it can be done, and done successfully. In fact, the flow of work moves so seamlessly from America to Israel and back, that the Kiryat Sefer work is virtually indistinguishable from that done in the U.S.
Kiryat Sefer was chosen as the first location for Citybook because of Rosenbaum and Zaks’ desire to help out a community hard hit by the economic downturn of the past few years - the Haredi-religious Community. That decision in itself required arrangements beyond those found in most outsourcing efforts. “Citybook fully complies with the requirements of the local rabbinic authorities regarding the special needs of a religious workplace”. Those requirements include a work shift which allows young mothers to be home when the children return from school. Brochin commutes daily from Jerusalem and identifies with the religious-national segment of society. However, about 95 percent of the staff is comprised of the wives of full-time Yeshiva (Kollel) members. “This is a highly motivated, dedicated work force which until now has been a largely untapped sector of the Israeli labor pool.”
“We have enjoyed the fullest cooperation of the Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Sefer as well as that of Mayor Yaakov Gutterman, and the officials of the Ministry of Trade, Labor and Commerce in establishing Citybook. The governmental procedural issues have been no different, maybe even less than would typically be expected when dealing with an American municipality.”
A year ago, Citybook expanded its services by entering into a joint venture with an American ‘due diligence’ company that analyzes commercial real estate leases. “Several of their clients were skeptical at first about a start-up company doing their highly complex, critical financial and legal analyses of their commercial leases, so they agreed to send only three or four files on a trial basis. In virtually every case, we ended up getting orders for dozens or even hundreds of leases to analyze and abstract and it led to a large amount of repeat business”, Brochin says. Among their clients are nationally known real estate portfolio managers, real estate investment trusts, and some of America’s largest commercial tenants.
Now the company is expanding to Kiryat Sefer's twin city to the south of Jerusalem - the Haredi-religious town of Beitar Illit. The Betar expansion will help meet the high demand for Citybook’s lease abstracting work. In addition, Citybook’s reputation as a model turn-key outsourcing operation has led U.S. businessmen in various other industries to consider outsourcing to Israel. And that could mean even more jobs.
As was the case in Kiryat Sefer, the Beitar Illit municipality has strongly backed the creation of a Citybook outsourcing facility as evidenced by the support from Mayor Yitzchak Pindruss during the expansion project. “The days of Israeli bureaucracy effectively discouraging Western companies from bringing their work to Israel are clearly over”, says Brochin.
There has been a dramatic rise in North American Aliyah, and conversely, there is a corresponding rise in job opportunities for American Olim (immigrants). “Up until now, concerns about a limited knowledge of Hebrew might have dissuaded some potential Olim from moving to Israel. However, the expanding job market for native English-speakers eliminates a common excuse not to make Aliyah. While Nefesh B’Nefesh is fueling the upsurge in North American Aliyah, Citybook is supplying the English-speaking Israeli with Avodah (work).”
According to the Jewish Agency, the face of Aliyah has changed. Typically, it was always associated with a rescue effort, bringing Jews out of dangerous areas such as famine plagued Ethiopia, or the anti-Semitic environment of Soviet Russia. Now, the focus has changed. The need to make Israel attractive for professional people is the new trend, and Citybook’s operation plays right into this type of venture.
Furthermore, the Israeli government is now working to actively promote outsourcing to Israel. This should be of particular benefit to English speaking immigrants who need to be absorbed into the Israeli labor pool as quickly as possible.
Brochin recently participated in a discussion on ‘Outsourcing to Israel’, sponsored by the Israel Export Institute in Tel Aviv, and in April he met with the Israeli Trade Counsel to the Midwest in Chicago, Moshe Shoham, to further explore ways to attract more outsourcing business to Israel. “We are living in a time of the most dramatic phase of Kibbutz Galuyot (‘ingathering of the exiles’) because we are finally attracting huge numbers of immigrants from North America."
"The time is ripe for American Jewish businesses who are sending their outsourcing tasks to India or the Philippines to bring these jobs home to bring their jobs to Eretz Yisrael. We have the talent, we have the native English-speakers, and we have proven it can be done.”
Brochin can be reached by email at jeffreyb@citybook.co.il