Albuquerque, NM and Rehovot, Israel: Booming Cities Team to Roar as Sisters
September 2, 2008, 10:19 pm |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
By Andrew L. Jaffee, © 2008
(An abbreviated version of this article originally appeared in the Albuquerque Journal, July 24, 2008.)
ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Sunny and dry most of the year, the city is home to a major research institute and several colleges and universities. The high-tech economy is booming, but an agricultural tradition persists. The workforce is diverse, highly-skilled and multilingual. For leisure, families go to numerous restaurants and cafes, an interactive science museum and art galleries. Sound familiar?
Welcome to Rehovot, Israel, Albuquerque’s new sister city. By leveraging the commonalities between the two cities, Albuquerque businesses may expand into a new market, increase sales, share technologies, and form partnerships. City and state government already have infrastructure to help Albuquerque businesses penetrate into Rehovot.
One of Rehovot’s city parks. Photo courtesy of the Municipality of Rehovot.
“These two cities are on the cutting-edge of new energy and medical technologies,” said Sam Sokolove, Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico (JFNM).
“The opportunities for innovative exchanges are simply limitless,” he added. Sokolove helped spearhead the Rehovot sister-city project.
“What do people think of when you say the word ‘Israel?,’ ” said Asher Yarden, Consul General of Israel, speaking of common misconceptions of the Jewish State. “Terrorism of course, but do people know that tourism is so strong that we don’t have enough hotel rooms to accommodate the number of tourists visiting Israel?,” concluded Yarden.
“This new agreement is testimony in part to the vibrancy of the Jewish community in Albuquerque,” said Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez.
“We all want to see economic growth, but also people understanding people better through cultural exchanges.”
Chavez added, “We want to raise awareness and understanding of Israel’s struggle, but also get more folks here to understand other cultures, like the Muslim community over there.”
Regarding the direction of sister-city business cooperation Chavez said, “I want to see Rehovot and Albuquerque businesses working very hard together on green technology.”
Chavez jokingly concluded, “My short-term goal is to get some good falafel,” referring to the favorite Middle Eastern delicacy, a deep-fried patty made of chickpeas, fava beans and spices.
The sister-city concept was the brainchild of Harold B. Albert, New Mexico Chairman of Israel Bonds, and Albuquerque resident Art Fine. Albert formed a committee to investigate pairing Albuquerque with a city in Israel.
The JFNM, Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest (Houston), Albuquerque Sister Cities Foundation, City of Albuquerque Economic Development Department and Mayor Chavez were enlisted to help in the process of sister-city selection.
“The city’s Jewish community was the fire behind the effort,” said Dave Bagley, President of the Albuquerque Sister Cities Foundation. He confirmed that Rehovot and Albuquerque had a verbal sister-city agreement now.
Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez (left) and Asher Yarden, Consul General of Israel (right). Photo (c) 2008, netwmd.com, LLC.
Harold B. Albert, Chairman of the Rehovot/Albuquerque Sister Cities Steering Committee (left), and Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez (right). Photo (c) 2008, netwmd.com, LLC.
Bagley concluded that a group of people from the JFNM, his foundation, the Mayor’s office, and Chavez plan to travel to Rehovot from September 14-20 to sign and formalize the agreement. Mayor Chavez, Harold Albert, Consul General Yarden, and several members of the Albuquerque community met on August 29 to work out the logistics of the trip.
Rehovot Mayor Shuki Forel and Chavez approved the new affiliation in May.
The New Sister in the Family
Rehovot is one of Israel’s 15 largest cities, with a population of 118,500, and is often referred to as the “City of science and culture” or “Israel’s citrus capital,” according to the Israeli consulate in Houston. Rehovot’s similarities to Albuquerque are striking in terms of education, personal income, research facilities, high-tech employers, and a diverse population.
“Due to the concentration of academic institutions in Rehovot, including the Weizmann Institute and the Agricultural Faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot’s population is considered to have the most academic degrees per capita in Israel,” said Yeru Aharoni, Rehovot resident and Director of Publications/Chief Editor for the Global Research in International Affairs Center.
“These two institutions are considered the best in Israel and in the world in their areas,” she added.
Regarding primary and secondary education in her hometown, Aharoni stated, “English is mandatory from the 4th grade. From middle school and sometimes elementary school, the children can choose to study Arabic, French, and sometimes Spanish. The emphasis is on preparing students for the matriculation exams, which are a prerequisite for college.”
Stephen Epstein moved to Rehovot two years ago from Canada. He publishes rehovotisrael.com, a website dedicated to promoting the city.
“I thought Toronto was one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world,” he said. “But Rehovot is diverse and very tolerant, with people from many backgrounds, like Yemenite, Ethiopian, Russian, religious, and non-religious, all living together.”
Epstein added, “Everyone in the younger generation, college-educated, or who works in high-tech speaks English.”
Epstein mentioned that elementary school science fairs in Rehovot can be quite fascinating when, “Most of the parents have Ph.D.’s in sciences.”
Yitzhak Rabin TAMAR Hi-Tech Park. Photo courtesy of the Municipality of Rehovot.
Inventions developed at the Weizmann Institute, says Epstein, have been licensed out and spun off into many successful products and companies, like Rehovot’s Lumus. It has developed a pair of designer-style eyeglasses which allow a person to view digital content, like a DVD or video game, as well as look normally through the lenses.
According to the Israeli consulate in Houston, 30% of Rehovot’s residents have academic degrees, the median annual household income is $51,060, and 70% of citizens have a computer, with 60.6% connecting to the internet.
Applied Materials is the biggest employer in Rehovot with 1000 workers. Other companies located there include HP Indigo, EL-OP (electro-optics systems), Sigma-Aldrich (life science) and Steba Laboratories (cancer research).
Similarly, 33 % of Albuquerque residents had some college education, while 24% were college graduates or better. Albuquerque median household income is $56,900. About 70% of middle class households have Internet access.
Albuquerque’s largest private sector employer is Intel. HP is opening a new call center in Rio Rancho. Biotech firms in the city include Ethicon Endosurgery and Cardinal Health. Of course, Albuquerque’s Sandia Labs has spun off its share of high tech startups.
Exporting to Better Economic Times
The pairing of the Rehovot and Albuquerque presents enormous economic opportunities for both sides. International trade is becoming increasingly important to New Mexico’s economy.
Exports to foreign countries more than doubled from 2002 to 2007 to almost $2.6 billion. Exports made up 2.24% of gross state product in 2002, but grew to 3.39% by 2007. Israel is New Mexico’s eleventh largest trading partner.
Exports to Israel stood at $24.6 billion in 2002 but grew by about 70% to $42 billion by 2007. New Mexico’s three top exports to Israel in 2007 were computers and electronic products (50.3%), machinery for manufacturing (41.1%), and mining-related products (2.5%). U.S. exports to Israel have been steadily growing for years.
New Mexico exports to Israel, compiled from TradeStats ExpressTM. Chart prepared by netwmd.com, LLC.
U.S. exports to Israel, compiled from TradeStats ExpressTM. Chart prepared by netwmd.com, LLC.
Highlighting the growing economic ties between Israel and New Mexico, Governor Bill Richardson met on June 15 with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to discuss increasing trade between their respective constituencies.
Richardson signed a Joint Declaration with Eliyahu Yishai, Israel’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, agreeing, “to create strategic partnerships to cooperate on the advancement of joint technologies,” according to a press release from the Governor’s office.
The New Mexico Economic Development Department (NMEDD) recently assisted Lumidigm Inc., an Albuquerque biometrics company, in forming a multimillion dollar business partnership with the Israeli firm BioGuard Components and Technologies Ltd. Lumidigm describes biometrics as, “technologies that use physical or behavioral characteristics to verify the identity of an individual.” The NMEDD maintains an office in Jerusalem.
How Albuquerque Businesses Can Participate
State government is ready to help Albuquerque companies set up trade relationships with firms in Rehovot, according to Mathew Woodlee, Director of the Office of International Trade (OIT), which is part of the NMEDD.
“Now is the time, especially with the weak dollar, for Albuquerque companies to explore international trade,” Woodlee said. He noted that about 1300 New Mexico firms are already exporting to foreign countries.
“Israel is a business-oriented economy,” he said. “The Israeli economy actually grew during the Lebanon conflict in 2006 with Hezbollah.”
Woodlee emphasized, “The ease of doing business in Israel because so many people speak English, and because of the country’s transparent economic and legal systems.”
The OIT keeps up with current business trends through trade shows and business journals, among other things. It performs outreach to New Mexico firms through Rotary Clubs, chambers of commerce, referrals, a newsletter, an email list, workshops, seminars, and through its website. There are nine OIT representatives in New Mexico.
Any company in the state can become an OIT client. Woodlee’s office mainly helps small and mid-sized New Mexico businesses find opportunities by: providing matchmaking services for companies seeking distributors, representatives and other international partnerships; conducting product assessments to ensure market-entry is viable; customizing a market-entry plan with company decision-makers; assisting in establishing an international sales agent network; identifying target countries and markets of opportunity; developing a comprehensive international strategy in conjunction with company principles; providing advice on the export licensing process; and calculating tariff and duty rates for company products.
The Municipal Sportek. Photo courtesy of the Municipality of Rehovot.
“With the right strategy, a company can enter a new market,” said Woodlee. “You don’t need a half million dollars.” Sometimes a company can increase business by simply creating a foreign language (”localized”) version of their website, Woodlee said.
“You’d be surprised what you can do with a small budget,” concluded Woodlee.
Woodlee will be available to act as a consulting resource for the sister-city project as committees organize the effort. Moving forward, the OIT can assist Albuquerque companies in finding opportunities in Rehovot.
The Albuquerque Economic Development Department can also assist local firms in finding new opportunities.
Many people tend to associate Israel with ongoing Middle East discord. “We’ve got to get beyond the conflict,” said JFNM Director Sam Sokolove. Mayor Chavez agreed.
“We need increased understanding between peoples,” he said. “Most wars happen because people can’t understand each other,” Chavez concluded.
“Trade requires mutual trust and mutual trust leads to peace,” said OIT Director Mathew Woodlee.
If readers would like more information on the sister-city project, please contact the author.
Andrew L. Jaffee is a founding member of the Albuquerque/Rehovot Sister Cities Program Steering Committee (not affiliated with the Jewish Federation of New Mexico). He serves as publisher of netwmd.com, LLC, a website resource dedicated to commentary and activism on behalf of understanding, promoting, and protecting democracy. Mr. Jaffee received his B.Sc. in computer science at the University of Dayton, and his M.S. in computer science from the Illinois Institute of Technology. His writings on a number of subjects have been published in a variety of media, including The Catholic Telegraph, Dayton City Paper, Teratology, and Internet World.
Sderot Menachem Begin. Photo courtesy of the Municipality of Rehovot.
SAPPHIRE $8 off $80 | BOYLE $10 off $100 | SEBOLD $20 off $200
Related: Economy, Israel
February 11th, 2009 at 10:58 am
We need a site or Directory for albuquerque sites and blogs
February 11th, 2009 at 11:33 am
We’re working on it…