Cooperation Between Israel
and the State of Florida

Binational foundation grants shared by Florida institutions:

Recipients of grants from U.S.-Israel binational foundations:

Bausch & Lomb Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Boston Whaler, Inc.
Computer Products Inc.
ECI Telecom Inc.
Encore Computer Corp.
Enhanced Vision Systems
Florida Institute of Technology
Florida International University
Florida State
Gen Mill Rest Group
Harris Corp. / Semiconductor Sector
I.T.E. Inc.
Pharmos Corp.
Plant Food Systems Inc.
Plastigone Technologies Racal-Datacom Inc.
Sensormatic Electronics Corp.
Telematics International Inc.
US Geological Survey
Univeristy of Central Florida
University of Florida
University of Florida Medical Entomology Lab
University of Florida Medical School
University of Miami
University of Miami Medical School
University of South Florida
USDA Crop Genetics & Environmental Lab
USDA Horticultural Research Lab
USDA Insect Attractants Research Lab
USDA S. Atlantic Area Medical & Veterinary Entomology
USDA Subtropical Horticulture Research S
WATSCO, Inc.

Agreements with Israel

In December 1987, the Florida-Israel Cooperative Venture (FICV) was created to foster cooperation in areas of mutual benefit, including tourism, trade and investment and the advancement of technologies. In August 1989, an Agreement of Cooperation was signed by Gov. Bob Martinez to reinforce the FICV.

The Florida legislature created the Florida-Israel Institute (FII) to enhance educational, research, economic and cultural exchanges between Florida and Israel. It is administered by Florida Atlantic University and Broward Community College.

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. Florida is one of 22 states that have cooperative agreements with Israel.

In 2007, Florida exported over $224 million worth of manufacturing goods to Israel. The total since 1996 exceeds $1.8 billion. In addition, Florida companies received $34,302,586 in 2006 for U.S. government-funded military contracts with Israel through the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program (U.S. military assistance to Israel). Israel now ranks as Florida's 41st 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 Florida.

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 at least nine Florida communities.

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 Florida is limited only by the imagination.

Florida 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 United States and Europe. Moreover, because of the 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 250 Florida companies have discovered the benefits of doing business in Israel, including Tensolite, Homes of Merit and Cook Machinery.

Tensolite has provided Israeli companies with insulated wire and cable used mainly in aircraft for the past several years. Teresa Foster of Tensolite’s International Sales Department, said that they have a sales representative in Israel who handles most of the direct contact with the Israelis, and she believes Israel is a good market for these products.

Homes of Merit, a mobile home distributor, ships manufactured mobile homes to Israel. These homes are about 600 sq. feet with two bedrooms and one bathroom. Although Homes of Merit does not advertise in Israel, the Israeli clients came directly to Homes of Merit to satisfy their requests.

Trak Microwave Corporation has been exporting various types of microwave components to Israel for 15 to 20 years, said contract administrator Ellen Glass. The company works in both the military and commercial sectors as well through U.S. government contracts. In addition, Trak also exports products directly to Israel. Glass has found it to be a good market and easy to deal with Israeli businesses.

Another Florida company that works with Israel through government contracts as well as private requests is Technical Systems Associates. The company has been designing and manufacturing antenna systems for companies in Israel since 1988.

According to John Cook, an engineer at Cook Machinery, his company has been exporting citrus processing equipment to Israel for 30-35 years.

One good 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 United States and Israel established BIRD in 1977 to fund joint U.S.-Israeli teams in the development and subsequent commercialization of innovative, non-defense technological products from which both the Israeli and American company can expect to derive benefits commensurate with the investments and risks. BIRD funds projects in 33 states and the District of Columbia. Most grant recipients are small businesses involved with software, instrumentation, communications, medical devices and semiconductors.

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 Florida companies have taken advantage of the BIRD program, including Pharmos Corp., Encore Computer Corp., Sensormatic Electronics Corp., Telematics International, Boston Whaler Inc., Computer Products, Enhanced Vision Systems, Bausch & Lomb Pharmaceuticals, Harris Corp. and Racal- Datacom Inc.

Racal-Datacom Inc. teamed up with NCC, a software company in Israel, to create a frame relay network management system. This grant was just awarded in 1997 so while some of their achievements have reached the product level, they expect to complete the final project by the end of 1998, said Luyuan Fang, a research staff member. She added, “This relay network system is a type of network that is pretty popular right now. This particular frame relay system will be used to configure, monitor and trouble shoot the network.”

NCC and Racal-Datacom had been collaborating on a project for two years prior to the BIRD grant. Fang said that while they were discussing possible future research ideas, they decided to collaborate and apply for a BIRD grant. Racal-Datacom wanted to do the project with or without extra funding and, according to Fang, if Racal-Datacom Systems is successful in their venture they will return all of the royalties to BIRD and both companies will benefit. The weekly or monthly conference calls and the one half year report keep both partners in touch with each other. Fang said “overall, it’s good.”

The wireless communications industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the international arena. Harris Corporation is a worldwide company. One of their four divisions, Digital Telephone Systems (DTS), is a supplier of business telephone systems (PBX’s) worldwide. They joined up with CTP Systems of Israel, which specializes in wireless communications and digital broadcasting systems. The result of the joint venture was the development of a wireless PBX system. DTS developed the switching features of the system while CTP developed the RF/Digital Communications and the wireless telephone handset. This new system is marketed by CTP under the name CTPhone and by Harris Corporation as WireFree.

Scientific Innovations

Florida researchers are making scientific breakthroughs and developing cutting-edge technologies in joint projects with Israeli scientists supported by the Binational Science Foundation (BSF). BSF was established in 1972 to promote research cooperation between scientists from the United States and Israel. BSF has awarded nearly 3,000 grants, involving more than 2,000 scientists more than 400 institutions in 44 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The University of Florida, University of Florida Medical School, Florida State University, University of Miami Medical School and Florida International University are among the many Florida institutions that have shared more than $950,000 with counterparts in Israel through grants awarded by BSF since 1987.

Doron Nof of Florida State received a BSF grant in 1997 to collaborate with Nathan Paldor of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Together they are studying the interactions between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean to determine how much water is transported in and out. This research is important to the knowledge about the general flow of the ocean and its effect on the climate. Professor Nof said that he was attracted to the BSF program because he and Paldor “had worked together before and wanted to continue to do so.”

Florida State’s Tiruvalem Krishnamurti has been studying aerosol radiation with Pinhas Alpert of Tel Aviv University. The goals of their project relate to weather forecasting in the region, which is a semiarid area. Weather is affected by solar radiation, which can be depleted by dust, so the collaborators are studying the dust in the area by satellites and research models. Although on opposite sides of the world, Krishnamurti and Alpert use the same computer programs, which enable them to better share their data and findings. Although the grant focuses on the weather in Israel, it can also be applied to other semiarid regions such as Texas. With the extreme dryness in Texas, dust can be lifted up and create a dust bowl on a small-scale. When there are heat waves in the region, hundreds of people may die, so Krishnamurti adds, “this research helps us to understand the weather in the [Texas] region as well because of the same semiarid conditions.”

Krishnamurti has had ties with Israel for a long time. He says the present collaboration has “been very, very nice. They are very bright people, very strongly motivated and a great pleasure to work with.”

Rodney Bartlett is with the Quantum Theory Project at the University of Florida. Together with Uzi Kaltor of Tel Aviv University he is studying the theoretical quantum chemistry of molecules. Kaltor is doing work on the relativistic corrections to quantum mechanical physics and, together, they are working on finding new methods for the excited states of molecules and also searching for further improvements to the coupled-cluster theory. The two collaborators are doing basic research to learn more about the chemistry of the upper atmosphere; however, there are many practical applications that may be 10 to 20 years away. Some of these include being able to detect and identify plumes of missiles and having the ability to shoot them down, and the design of new drugs. Bartlett said, “both Uzi and I have done a number of things during the duration of the grant. All that I get out of it is money to go over to Israel to visit, but that has turned out to be very profitable.”

Pharmacologist David Silverman of the University of Florida Medical School has been very satisfied with his collaboration with Professor Aaron Kaplan of Hebrew University. They are studying the physiology of algae that take up CO₂ from the atmosphere. They have basic goals and applied goals, both of which were achieved. Their basic goal was to understand the molecular mechanism of carbon dioxide utilization of organisms. The applied goals were to help understand the algae’s role in the environment – how much CO₂ they take up from the atmosphere and how to control algal blooms that can be harmful to lakes and rivers. Silverman knew his counterpart previously and this BSF grant gave him the opportunity to “collaborate with outstanding Israeli scientists,” as he put it.

BSF-sponsored studies benefit the United States by extending research resources to achieve milestones that might not otherwise be attainable; introducing novel approaches and techniques that can lead American researchers to move in new directions; confirming, clarifying and intensifying research projects; providing access to Israeli equipment and facilities and early access to Israeli research results that speed American scientific advances. BSF documented no less than 75 new discoveries that probably would not have been possible without foundation-supported collaboration.

A 1999 external economic review took an in depth look at 10 BSF projects. These 10 alone, produced aggregate benefits of $780 million, a figure four times the total expenditure of BARD since its inception (1978). The benefits accrue to the United States, to Israel and to both countries together.

Agriculture Benefits

Studying diseases in tomatoes and pregnancy in cows are just two examples of joint research projects conducted under the auspices of the Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund. BARD was created in 1978 with equal contributions by the United States and Israel. Since its inception, BARD has funded more than 800 projects in 44 states and the District of Columbia. In 2005, 28 projects were funded at 31 U.S. institutions. New projects promote increased quantity, and improved quality of agricultural produce. Florida institutions have shared grants worth more than $11.3 million since 1987.

Harold Kistler is a professor of plant pathology at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He is studying two diseases, wilt disease and root rotting disease, which are prevalent both in the Israel and Florida. Kistler and his counterpart, Talma Katan of the Volcani Center, are attempting to distinguish two pathogens in these diseases that are controlled by different genes. Their ultimate goal is to control the disease. So far they have been successful in characterizing the disease genetically. “We have found many forms of the pathogens but it will take much more detailed study to distinguish the reliability based on molecular pathologies. The project is a lot harder than we originally thought,” said Kistler. “We have had a great interaction and it has been a truly cooperative project. Often one person does all of the work and the effort is lopsided, but we are both benefitting from this interaction.”

Michael Fields studies reproductive physiology at the University of Florida. He has known Mordechai Shemesh of the Kimron Veterinary Institute since they were students together so the BARD program offered an excellent opportunity to work together. They are studying pregnancy in cows and the role that the hormone oxytocin plays in pregnancy and birth. Oxytocin is the most potent hormone in the world and leads to contractions in pregnant mothers. This research is important because in the U.S. alone 5-10 percent of all calves are lost at birth. This translates into a minimum of a $600 million dollar loss without taking into account the possibility of the mother’s death or the future reproductive problems it may create.

Not much is known about the birthing process of cattle, so their study of oxytocin will hopefully devise ways to reduce the loss of calves. “The collaboration has been extremely productive. Just out of one grant we’ve published 31 manuscripts and those are in the leading scientific journals of the world. That’s awesome!” said Fields. “Our research has brought enormous benefit and has led to new discoveries such as regulating ovulation. In Florida we lose 25 percent of all embryos due to the harsh environment as well as other factors.” Fields is currently in the process of applying for a new BARD grant for research related to the oxytocin regulation of prostaglandin synthesis, a spinoff from the initial grant.

The University of Florida’s Gloria Moore has received several BARD grants to do research involving citrus. She and her Israeli collaborator are interested in mapping genes related to cold and salt tolerance and those influencing the color, taste and texture of citrus. Moore is currently working with Godal Ben-Hayyim of the Volcani Institute in Israel. Their research does not yet have any immediate practical applications but they have identified regions in the citrus genome that appear to be important in cold or salt stress. This knowledge may ultimately help plant breeders distinguish between desirable and undesirable plants.

High temperatures causing heat stress can create fertility problems in cattle in both the U.S. and Israel. Bill Thatcher of the Department of Dairy and Poultry Sciences at the University of Florida and David Wolfenson of Hebrew University studied strategies to optimize reproduction in heat stressed dairy cattle. For example, they created an insemination program that would increase fertility and pregnancy rates during the summer. This created an economic advantage of $60-70 per cow in a herd. In addition, they applied this program to embryo transfer in cattle and developed a nutritional approach to increase the chance of embryo survival.

The two scientists became acquainted when Wolfenson was a postdoctoral fellow in Thatcher’s lab. The BARD grant allowed them to take two different approaches to the same hypothesis and test them in two different locations. “The interchange of ideas with Israeli scientists was critical,” said Thatcher. “They have expertise we don’t have and we have expertise they don’t have, so together we are much more productive than as individual groups.”

Florida produces more than $100 million worth of potatoes a year. New potato plants are started from the “eyes” of seed potatoes. This method of reproduction allows for the transmission of debilitating viral diseases, such as potato leaf-roll virus (PLRV) from generation to generation, with substantial economic loss. For example, downgrading U.S. Grade #1 potatoes to U.S. Grade #2 means a loss of $400-600 per ton to the farmer. Thus, assuring virus-free seed potatoes is extremely profitable to the industry. BARD grantees improved techniques for extracting useable virus samples from diseased plants and the samples were then injected into rabbits and sheep to stimulate the production of antiviral antibodies. The grantees then used their antibodies to develop a test that could detect many different strains. The same method used in this process is also used in pregnancy test kits. The new test, both cheaper and more general than its predecessors, is now produced and distributed free of charge to certain agencies. A diagnostic kit is also sold commercially to farmers through a U.S. agricultural firm. The rate of PLRV infections has dropped drastically since the invention of this new test thanks to this BARD-sponsored research.

Flowers that propagate by bulbs, corns and tubers rather than seeds are particularly susceptible to virus disease. BARD researchers developed highly sensitive tests to detect cucumber mosaic virus, ben yellow mosaic virus and other viral infections in gladiolus. These tests are already being used to produce virus-free breeding stock for Israel and Florida and to develop effective methods for preventing reinfection.

The Citrus Assessor’s Office in Charlotte County, Florida uses a BARD computer program that analyzes diseases in citrus orchards. They were able to halve their staff, and still reduce surveying time twelve-fold. The programs involved are both simple and small enough to run on personal computers.

A team of agricultural economists from the University of Maryland and the University of California found that the economic benefits of just five projects — related to cotton, pecans and solarization — exceeded all U.S. investment in BARD. New projects promote increased quantity and improved quality of agricultural produce.

It is difficult to break down the impact on a state-by-state basis, but, overall, BARD-sponsored research has generated sales of more than $500 million, tax revenues of more than $100 million and created more than 5,000 American jobs.

Other Cooperative Programs

Sister City Agreements:

City of Deerfield Beach — Acco

City of Delray Beach — Naharia

City of Jacksonville City of — Holon

City of Margate — City of Raanana

City of Miami — City of Beersheba

City of Miami Beach — City of Ramat Gan

City of North Miami Beach — City of Migdal

City of Sunrise — City of Yavne

City of Tamarac — City of Kiryat­Tivon

City of Fort Lauderdale — Haifa

UJA Partnership 2000 Communities:

Miami Or Akiva

Palm Beach County TZAHAR (Tzfat, Rosh Pina, Hatzor)

South Palm Beach County TZAHAR

Hillel Campus Profiles

State Contacts

Amnon Neubach
Nurit Gazit
A E Neubach Ltd
Twin Towers II - 701
35 Jabotinsky Street
Ramat Gan 52511
Tel. 03-613-4040
Fax. 03-613-4041
Email: florida@netvision.net.il

AIPAC
7770 W. Oakland Blvd., #405
Sunrise, FL 33351
Tel. 305-746-9144

Larry Wasser
Executive Director
Florida Holocaust Museum
55 5th St. South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Tel. 813-820-0100
Fax. 813-821-8435
Email: ldwasser@flholocaustmuseum.org
Web: http://www.flholocaustmuseum.org

Florida International Affairs Commission
Executive Office of the Governor, The Capital
Tallahassee, FL 32399-9991
Tel. 904-922-0354
Fax. 904-921-0597

Charles Ruddy
Executive Director
Florida­Israel Chamber of Commerce
225 South Federal Highway, 2nd Fl.
Deerfield Beach, FL 33441-4129
Tel. 954-420-5888
Fax. 954-420-5273
Email. mail@ficc.org

Nancy Quartin Rosen
Director
Florida-Israel Institute
2912 College Ave.
Davie, FL 33314
Tel. 954-236-1056
Fax. 954-236-1059
Email. NRosen@FAU.edu
Web. http://www.fau.edu/other/flisrael/

Holocaust Documentation & Education Center
Florida International University, 3000 N.E. 145 St.
North Miami, FL 33181
Tel. 305-940-5690
Fax. 305-940-5691

Holocaust Learning Center
5850 South Pine Island Rd.
Davie, FL 33328
Tel. 305-434-0499 ext 314
Fax. 305-434-1741

Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach
1933 Meridian Ave
Miami, FL 33139-1817
Tel. 305-538-1663

Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center
851 N. Maitland Ave.
Maitland, FL 32751
Tel. 407-628-0555
Fax. 407-628-0555 (f?)

Israeli Consulate
100 N. Biscayne Blvd., #1800
Miami, FL 33132
Tel. 305-358-8111
Fax. 305-371-5034

Israel Economic Development Council
225 South Federal Hwy., 2nd Fl.
Deerfield Beach, FL 33441
Tel. 305-420-5888
Fax. 305-420-5273

JCRC of Broward County
3801 South Ocean Dr., 2V
Hollywood, FL 33019

Jewish Federation
713 E Broward Blvd
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301-2015
Tel. 954-779-7301

Jewish Federation
100 N Pine Island Rd
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33324-7805
Tel. 954-475-8399

Jewish Federation Of Brevard
108-A Barton Ave.
Rockledge, FL 32955-2704
Tel. 407-636-1824

Jewish Federation of Collier County
1250 Tamiami Trail North, #304C
Naples, FL 33940
Tel. 813-263-4205

Jewish Federation Greater Ft Lauderdale
8358 W Oakland Park Blvd
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33351-7319
Tel. 954-748-8400

Jewish Federation Greater Ft. Lauderdale
10101 W Sample Rd
Pompano Beach, FL 33065-3937
Tel. 954-344-6729

Jewish Federation Greater Orlando
851 N Maitland Ave
Maitland, FL 32751-4426
Tel. 407-645-5933

Jewish Federation of Jacksonville
8505 San Jose Blvd.
Jacksonville, FL 32217
Tel. 904-448-5000

Jewish Federation Of Lee County
6315 Presidential Ct #-A
Fort Myers, FL 33919-3568
Tel. 941-481-4449

Jewish Federation of Lee & Charlotte Counties
6237 - E Presidential Court
Fort Myers, FL 33919-3568
Tel. 813-481-4449

Jewish Federation of Miami
4200 Biscayne Blvd.
Miami, FL 33137
Tel. 305-576-4000

Jewish Federation Palm Beach County
4601 Community Dr.
West Palm Beach, FL 33417-2716
Tel. 561-478-0700

Jewish Federation Palm Beach County
3625 S Congress Ave.
Boynton Beach, FL 33426-8410
Tel. 561-737-0746

Jewish Federation Pine Inc
13191 Starkey Rd #-8
Largo, FL 34643-1438
Tel. 813-446-1033

Jewish Federation of Pinellas County
301 South Jupiter Ave.
Clearwater, FL 34615-6561

Jewish Federation Pinellas County Inc
13191 Starkey Rd
Largo, FL 34643-1400
Tel. 813-530-3223

Jewish Federation S Broward Inc
2719 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood, FL 33020-4821
Tel. 954-921-8810

Jewish Federation Volusia & Flagler
733 S Nova Rd
Ormond Beach, FL 32174-7332
Tel. 904-672-2396