 |
Cooperation Between Israel
|
| Exports to Israel in 2007: | $1,741,793,7050 |
| Percentage change from 2006: | 12.34 |
| Israel's rank as trade partner: | 21 |
| Total exports since 1996: | $11,785,966,595 |
| Military Contracts with Israel in 2006 Using Foreign Military Financing: | $137,247,762 |
| Jewish Population in 2001: | 999,000 |
| Jewish Percentage of Total Population: | 2.9 |
Binational foundation grants shared by California institutions:
| BARD (1987-2005): | $31,967,850 |
| BSF (1987-2005): | $19,420,941 |
| BIRD (1980-2005): | $23,389,946 |
Recipients of grants from U.S.-Israel binational foundations:
|
3M Unitek Corp. |
Mercury Interactive Corp. |
Agreements with Israel
In 1992, Gov. Pete Wilson signed an agreement to promote bilateral trade and tourism with Israel. The California Israel Exchange (CIX) was established to promote mutual business development in the areas of biomedicine, energy, telecommunications, high technology and agrotechnology. In May 1998, a new research and development cooperation agreement was signed. Gov. Gray Davis visited Israel in October 1999 and signed an agreement for cooperation in the area of biotechnology.
In June 2008, the mayor of Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, and the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) in Herzliya, Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to tighten the existing relations between the ICT and the City of Los Angeles Homeland Security apparatuses and academic institutions, including the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and Los Angeles World Airports. Under the agreement, the ICT will offer innovative homeland security training and education programs to Los Angeles decision makers and lay leaders, first responders and law enforcement; the ICT will give two 50% tuition scholarship to it’s homeland security executive studies for two homeland security practitioners, to be selected by the Mayor, in 2009; the ICT will accept up to 4 homeland security interns annually from Los Angeles universities and/or research centers; and the ICT will host LAPD officers at the 9/11 annual international conference.
Partners For Change
The U.S.-Israel relationship is based on the twin pillars of shared values and mutual interests. Given this commonality of interests and beliefs, it should not be surprising that support for Israel is one of the most pronounced and consistent foreign policy values of the American people.
It is more difficult to devise programs that capitalize on the two nations’ shared values than their security interests; nevertheless, such programs do exist. In fact, these SHARED VALUE INITIATIVES cover a broad range of areas, including the environment, science and technology, education and health.
Today’s interdependent global economy requires that trade policy be developed at the national and state level.
Many states have recognized the opportunity for realizing significant benefits by seeking to increase trade with Israel. California is one of 22 states that have cooperative agreements with Israel.
In 2007, California exported over $1.7 billion worth of manufacturing goods to Israel. The total since 1996 totals almost $12 billion. In 2006, California received $137,247,762 in foreign military financing (FMF) for US military aid to Israel. Israel now ranks as California’s 20th leading trade partner.
Israel is certainly a place where potential business and trade partners can be found. It can also be a source, however, for innovative programs and ideas for addressing problems facing the citizens of California.
Israel, for example, has developed a number of pioneering education programs. One, the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters, has been praised by President Clinton as “the best preschool program on earth” and replicated throughout the country, including San Diego, Moreno Valley and Long Beach.
A range of other exciting approaches to social problems like unemployment, environmental protection and drug abuse have been successfully implemented in Israel and could be imported for the benefit of Americans.
The potential for greater cooperation with Israel for the benefit of California is limited only by the imagination.
California Firms Profit From Business With Israel
As the only country with free trade agreements with both the United States and the European community, Israel can act as a bridge for international trade between the U.S. and Europe. Moreover, because of its deep pool of talent, particularly in high-technology areas, Israel provides excellent investment opportunities. Some of the nation’s largest companies, such as IBM, Microsoft, Motorola, Intel and McDonald’s have found that it is indeed profitable to do business in Israel.
More than 1,500 California companies have discovered the benefits of doing business in Israel, including KLA, Hewlett Packard and Silicon Graphics. Israel is California’s 21st largest export market.
Intel Corporation first established its design center in Haifa in 1974, then a sales office in Tel Aviv, a manufacturing facility in Jerusalem and recently a $1.6 billion fabrication plan in Kiryat Gat to add to its semiconductor manufacturing capability there. The Pentium MMX chip was designed in Israel, as were the 286 and 386 microprocessors and parts of the 486 and Pentium processors. Intel President and CEO Andy Grove told the Israel California Trade Review that, "there were many highly talented engineers coming from Israel’s institutions."
Silicon Valley companies with subsidiaries in Israel include Harmonic Light Waves, a leader in wireless communication technology and DSP Communications. Companies with research and development facilities in Israel include BioRad, a leader in the field of biological radiation, Cisco Systems, a manufacturer of multi-protocol equipment and Hewlett Packard.
One way to break into the Israeli market is through a joint venture with an Israeli company. Funding for such projects is available from the Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD). The U.S. and Israel established BIRD in 1977 to fund joint U.S.-Israeli teams in the development and subsequent commercialization of innovative, nondefense technological products from which both the Israeli and American companies can benefit. BIRD funds projects in 33 states and the District of Columbia.
Since its inception, BIRD has funded more than 740 joint high-tech R&D projects through conditional grants totaling more than $210 million. Products developed from these ventures have generated sales of $5 billion, tax revenues of more than $700 million in both countries and created an estimated 20,000 American jobs. Several California companies have taken advantage of the BIRD program, including Telkelec, Caere Corporation and Harris Corporation.
WaferScale Integration (WSI) in Fremont creates support chips called Programmable System Devices (PSD) that are used in telecommunication, industrial and consumer products worldwide. WSI opened a design center in Netanya, Israel and received several BIRD grants for new kinds of PSDs. They created Flash memory-based PSD products that enable product designers to speed up the design process, and allow manufacturing managers to insert final test and operating codes into a product as it goes down an assembly line. They also designed ZPSD devices that consume only microwatts of power and are used in cellular phones, 2-way pagers, medical instruments and other mobile products.
San Diego-based ComStream Communications used a BIRD grant to collaborate with the Israeli company Orckit Communications. They developed a Digital Satellite Modem that was a technological and commercial success.
Squaw Valley-based Harris Corporation joined CTP Systems in Israel. They developed the communication industry’s first Wireless PBX systems, thanks to a BIRD grant.
Mindsense Biosystems Ltd., an Israeli company targeting the discovery of biological markers for psychiatric disorders, has teamed with Ciphergen Biosystems, Inc., California-based developer and manufacturer of the ProteinChip System for protein discovery, characterization, and assay development. The Mindsense and Ciphergen collaborative plan includes the use of proteomics tools such as the ProteinChip for the discovery of major depression biomarkers in blood samples. Currently available methods for diagnosis and monitoring of psychiatric disorders are based on the use of formal questionnaires/interviews. The introduction of biochemical tools will add objectivity to the current process and will shorten the duration of assessment of therapeutic efficacy. This approach allows for the reliable comparison of clinical status over extended periods of time.
Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Systems (NESS) Ltd., an Israeli company using Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) for rehabilitation of the upper body extremity, has teamed with J&J Independence Technologies, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary whose mission is the development of products using innovative technologies to help meet the needs and desires of people with disabilities. The project focuses on the development of a system that assists in the rehabilitation and improves the quality of life of children suffering from cerebral palsy or from traumatic head injuries. The purpose of the system will be to activate the patient's neuromuscular system in order to improve the condition of the malfunctioning limbs, to normalize posture, and to restore functional movements. The system will stimulate the child, encourage maximum participation and acknowledge success at a self-adapting level.
Scientific Innovations
Professor Jonathan Leor of Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv with his colleagues Professor Robert A. Kloner and Professor Laurence H. Kedes, both of the University of Southern California of Los Angeles, are starting to find new ways to solve heart failure.
Medivision Medical Imaging Ltd., an Israeli manufacturer of ophthalmic digital imaging systems, and Sacremento-based Ophthalmic Imaging Systems, Inc. (OIS), a U.S. manufacturer of ophthalmic digital imaging, image enhancement systems, and analysis software, are collaborating to develop Computerized Guided Laser Therapy (CGLT) for ophthalmologists. CGLT is a unique, non-invasive therapeutic device that allows manually guided or semi-automatic laser treatment, using diagnostic images. The system consists of an optical integration between a camera and a laser therapeutic system. The two optical channels of the imaging system and the laser are combined, so that the ophthalmologist is able to observe a real-time, processed image while carrying out the treatment intervention with the laser. The main advantage of CGLT is to provide the physician with an accurate, efficient, automatic and user-friendly tool to diagnose and immediately treat various retinal diseases using standard laser therapy techniques. It is expected to improve the quality of therapeutics, saving a significant portion of the physician's time and cost. In addition, using the new technique specifically in Macular procedures is also expected to eliminate the possibility of partial blinding due to misguided laser burns.
Micro Components Ltd. (MCS), an Israeli company, having rich experience in semiconductor packaging technologies, and California-based Flextronics, a leading electronics design and manufacturing service provider, will jointly develop an advanced Flip Chip (FC) Ball Grid Array (BGA) package and a flip chip module. The BGA package is for high density, fine pitch and high pin count packages. The flip chip module includes CSP, flip chip, 0201 on RF and Baseband module applications. The objective of the project is to develop the capability for design and manufacture and to start marketing a superior highly complex package for FC silicon dies and flip chip modules, for various applications. Flextronics has developed a system level interconnect solution that addresses the electronic industry's need for a high performance, more reliable and cost effective interconnect solution.
Other Cooperative Programs
Two California corporations, McDonnell Douglas Aerospace and Silicon Graphics Inc., have received grants from the U.S.-Israel Science & Technology Commission. The former received $100,000 for a feasibility study conducted with the Weizman Institute/Yeda on developing high efficiency, modular solar central receiver. The latter involved a joint project with Elbit for the production of ultrasound imaging systems.
Researchers Naama Goren-Inbar from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Kenneth Verosub from the University of California at Davis uncovered the remains of a 1.4 million year-old prehistoric man at a site called Ubeidiya in the Jordan Rift Valley. Goren-Inbar was able to use the Paleomagnetic method with the help of Professor Verosub and the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation to determine the age of the Benot Yaa'qov area. It is approximately 750,000 years old.
Sister Cities:
City of Desert Hot Springs City of Yerocham
City of Fresno City of Afula
City of Lancaster City of BeitShemesh
City of Los Angeles City of Eilat
City of Los Angeles City of Jerusalem
City of San Bernadino City of Herziliya
City of San Francisco City of Haifa
County of San Diego Hefer Valley Regional Council
UJA Partnership 2000 Communities:
San Francisco Galilee Panhandle
East Bay (Oakland) Kiryat Malachi-Hof Ashkelon
Long Beach Kiryat Malachi-Hof Ashkelon
Orange County Kiryat Malachi-Hof Ashkelon
Sacramento Kiryat Malachi-Hof Ashkelon
San Diego Kiryat Malachi-Hof Ashkelon
San Jose Kiryat Malachi-Hof Ashkelon
Ventura Kiryat Malachi-Hof Ashkelon
Hillel Campus Profiles
State Contacts:
AIPAC
6310 San Vicente Blvd., #240
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Tel. 323-937-1184
Fax. 323-937-8949
AIPAC
49 Geary St., #520
San Francisco, CA 94108
Tel. 415-989-4140
BIRD
2350 Mission College Blvd., #365
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Tel. 408-727-6777
Fax. 408-727-6166
Email. 100274.1576@compuserve.com
Sherwin Pomerantz, Israel Director
California Trade & Commerce Agency
c/o Atid EDI Ltd
Bldg. 2, Har Hotzvim, P.O. Box 45005
Jerusalem
Israel 91450
Tel. 25710199
Fax. 25710713
Email. atidedi@netvision.net.il
URL: www.atid-edi.com/california.htm
California-Israel Chamber of Commerce
5455 Wilshire Blvd., #707
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tel. 213-931-4469
Fax. 213-931-4559
Email. info@ca-israelchamber.org
FLAME
P.O. Box 590359
San Francisco, CA 94159
Government of Israel Economic Mission
2350 Mission College Blvd., #365
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Tel. 408-970-9293
Fax. 408-970-9298
Email. 102223.1656@compuserve.com
Holocaust Center
601 14th Ave
San Francisco, CA 94118-3502
Tel. 415-751-6041
Holocaust Center of Northern Calif.
639 14th Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94118
Tel. 415-751-6040/1
Fax. 415-751-6735
Holocaust Oral History Project
P.O. Box 77603
San Francisco, CA 94107
Tel. 415-882-7092
Nelson Chan
Deputy Secretary
International Trade and Investment Division
California Technology, Trade and Commerce
Agency
1102 Q Street, Suite 6000
Sacramento, CA 95814
Tel: (916) 324-5511
Fax: (916) 324-5791
URL: http://www.tradeca.com
Israeli Consulate
6380 Wilshire Blvd., #700
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Tel. 213-658-7924
Fax. 213-651-0572
Israeli Consulate
456 Montgomery St., #2100
San Francisco, CA 94104
Tel. 415-844-7500
Fax. 415-844-7555
Email. sf@israeliconsulate.org
URL: http://israelemb.org/sanfran/
Jewish Community Federation of the Greater East Bay
300 Grand Avenue
Oakland, CA 94610
Tel. 510-839-2900
Fax. 510-839-3996
Web. www.jfed.org
Jewish Community Relations Council
401 Grand Ave
Oakland, CA 94610-5054
Tel. 510-839-2900
Jewish Community Relations Committee
6505 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Tel. 213-852-1234
Fax. 213-651-3250
Jewish Federation
121 Steuart St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel. 415-777-0411
Email. info@sfjcf.org
Web. www.sfjcf.org
Jewish Federation
6505 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048-4906
Tel. 213-852-1234
Jewish Federation
801 W San Bernardino Rd
Covina, CA 91722-3621
Tel. 818-967-3656
Jewish Federation
22410 Palos Verdes Blvd
Torrance, CA 90505-2019
Tel. 310-540-2631
Jewish Federation
22622 Vanowen St
Canoga Park, CA 91307-2646
Tel. 818-587-3200
Jewish Federation of Greater Long Beach
& West Orange County
3801 East Willow St.
Long Beach, CA 90815
Tel. 310-426-7601
Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
80 E Hillcrest Dr
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360-4218
Tel. 805-496-2649
Jewish Federation of Greater San Jose
14855 Oka Rd.
Los Gatos, CA 95030
Tel. 408-358-3033
Jewish Federation of Orange County
250 Baker St E
Costa Mesa, CA 92626-4500
Tel. 714-755-5555
Jewish Federation Of Orange County
1385 Warner Ave #-A
Tustin, CA 92680-6442
Tel. 714-259-0655
Jewish Federation of Palm Springs
255 N El Cielo Rd #-430
Palm Springs, CA 92262-6974
Tel. 619-325-7281
Jewish Federation of Sacramento
2351 Wyda Way
Sacramento, CA 95825-1160
Tel. 916-486-0906
Jewish Federation of San Diego County
4797 Mercury St.
San Diego, CA 92111-2102
Tel. 619-571-3444
Jewish Federation of Santa Barbara
104 W. Anapamu, #A, P.O. Box 90110
Santa Barbara, CA 93190
Tel. 805-963-0244
Martyrs Memorial & Museum of the Holocaust
6505 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Tel. 213-651-3175
Fax. 213-852-1494
Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation
P.O. Box 3168
Los Angeles, CA 90078-3168
Tel. 800-661-2092 x77814
Web. http://www.vhf.org/
Simon Wiesenthal Center
9760 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Email. webmaster@wiesenthal.com
