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From Baltimore to Israel Israel and Maryland: Governor
Robert L. Ehrlich’s Trade Mission to Israel* It didn’t take long for us to realize that our
trip was about more than economic development opportunities for
the State of Maryland. I don’t think our plane had even left
the gate yet when While Governor Ehrlich had decided to lead a Maryland business delegation to Israel in November – his third trip to Israel and first overseas mission since his inauguration – to help grow Maryland’s economy and develop strategic partnerships with Israel through joint university research initiatives and cooperation on homeland security practices, the Israelis were just thrilled that the Governor of Maryland had come to Israel with thirty business and communal leaders. Later that day, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made it clear to us why our visit had generated so much enthusiasm: Israel’s tourism industry has been losing $2.5 billion annually since the recent intifada began in 2000. More than 20,000 tourism-related jobs have been lost, propelling Israel’s unemployment rate past 10%. Just imagine the impact on Maryland’s economy if not one tourist visited Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, and you’ll begin to understand how devastating this tourism downturn has been to Israel’s economy. This context also helps you understand how appreciative everyone associated with Israel’s tourism industry was to see us. From the flight attendants to the taxi drivers, waiters, store owners, hotel porters and chambermaids, every tourism professional we met was grateful for our visit. Thanks to Israel television’s coverage of our trip, regular Israelis even recognized the Governor and approached us to express their appreciation. Israel, home to more U.S. stock exchange-listed companies than any other country except for the U.S., Canada and Britain, and a world leader in high technology research and development, was a natural choice for an economic development mission. Over four days there we met with dozens of companies, from early stage biotech ventures to major financial institutions to established pharmaceutical companies. Some of these companies already have a Maryland presence, and announced plans to expand while we were in Israel. Others were looking in the mid-Atlantic market, and were impressed to learn about Maryland’s unique assets – the highest educated workforce in the country, comparatively low real estate costs, excellent access to distributors and suppliers via rail, boat and interstate highway, and proximity to federal installations such as the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, National Security Agency and Aberdeen Proving Ground (home to the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense) – and with the opportunity to learn about these from the Governor himself. We are still actively competing for a number of these deals. Finally, we made pitches to large Israeli companies – such as Bank Leumi and Teva Pharmaceuticals – with a significant existing U.S. presence to encourage them to consider a Maryland location in the future. We’ve planted the seeds in their minds; now it’s up to our economic development professionals to supply the water. With the right “weather” we hope to reap some opportunities shortly. In between company meetings, we met with Israel’s highest elected officials, from Prime Minister Sharon, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to Minister for Industry, Trade and Labor Ehud Olmert and Minister for Diaspora and Jerusalem Affairs Natan Sharansky. In our meeting with the Defense Minister, senior executives from the Maryland companies on our mission had the chance to personally appeal to Mr. Mofaz to do more business with the Israel Defense Forces. We expect at least one announcement to come from that meeting. Even though I had visited Israel several times before – from my first trip with my parents as a recent bar-mitzvah to one a few years ago with my wife and children – this visit was my first representing the State of Maryland and its businesses. It was also my first since the beginning of the current intifada. I was glad to know how much my visit was helping Maryland’s economy and its workers, and, as I quickly learned, Israel’s economy and its workers, as well. * Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. recently led a trade Mission to Israel, sponsored by the Maryland Israel Development Center (MIDC) and the Baltimore Jewish Council, both agencies of THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore. Another perspective on this Mission from Hanan “Bean” Sibel, Chairman of the MIDC, will be featured in the next Israel Connection. |
an
El-Al flight attendant first approached Governor Robert L. Ehrlich,
Jr. to thank him for visiting Israel. By the time we had landed
at Ben-Gurion Airport she and her colleagues had thanked us at least
a half-dozen more times.