Louisiana and Israel
Trade and Population Statistics
| Exports to Israel (2015) |
$114,026,578 |
| Percentage Change (2014-2015) |
-60.32% |
| Total Exports to Israel (1996-Present) |
$5,122,704,788 |
| Israel's Trade Partner Rank (2015) |
53 |
| Military Contracts with Israel (2015) |
$31,428 |
| Jewish Population (2015) |
30,700 |
| Jewish Percentage of Population |
0.89% |
Binational
foundation grants shared by STATE_HERE and Israel
Grant recipients in
Louisiana from U.S.-Israel binational foundations:
Fifth Generation Systems
Louisiana State University
LSU- Health Sciences Center
Tulane University
Tulane Medical School
Bilateral
Institutions
World Trade Center
of New Orleans - Though not
exclusively setup to deal with trade between Louisiana and Israel, the
WTC New Orleans, which serves to facilitate the addition of wealth and
jobs in Louisiana through international trade, has a number of contacts
with Israeli companies that have opened offices or developed collaborative
business in Louisiana. At least nine Louisiana-based companies have
expanded into Israel with help from WTC-NO. Learn more about the Trade
Center, CLICK
HERE.
Cooperative
Agreements - "Memoranda of Understanding"
None. Help us build this section. Email AICE with
any updates, additions, corrections or comments. We appreciate your
support!
Louisiana Government Missions to Israel
October 2011 - Senator Mary Landrieu
will lead an energy-related mission to Israel for Louisiana businesses
in an effort to increase collaboration between the energy sectors of
both states. The U.S. Department of Commerce is supporting the trip
while Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliances is organizing
it. Read more, CLICK
HERE.
October 2007 - Baton Rouge Mayor-President
Melvin Holden went to Israel along with six other mayors from the United
States to attend the annual Jerusalem International Conference of Mayors.
Holden's trip offered him the chance to meet with Jerusalem’s
mayor and Israeli officials to learn about the country.
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.
As analyst David Pollock noted, Israel is an advanced country with a population that surpassed eight million people in 2013 and a robust, dynamic economy that allowed it to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Between 2005 and 2013, Israel has represented a larger market for U.S. exports than Saudi Arabia. Although Israel's citizenry make up just 3 percent of the total region's population, Israel accounts for 25 percent of American exports in the Middle East.
"It has also been one of the top 20 foreign direct investors in the United States since 2009," Pollock confirms. He adds that "$2.25 billion of the $3 billion in annual U.S. aid to Israel comes back via Israeli purchases of U.S. military equipment - and that is just 5 percent of the total bilateral trade each year."
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. Louisiana is one of 33 states that have cooperative
agreements with Israel.
In 2012, Louisiana exported over $292,221,156 worth
of manufacturing goods to Israel. Since 1996, Louisiana exports to
Israel have totaled more than $4,581,625,921 and Israel now ranks as Louisiana’s
6th leading trade partner.
Additionally in 2012, Louisiana received more than
$287,147 in foreign military financing (FMF) for US military aid
to Israel. The major company that has received funding through FMF is Wet Tech Energy, Inc. in Maurice.
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 Louisiana.
Israel has developed a number of pioneering education programs. For example, AICE introduced an innovative Israeli
peer tutoring program to North Carolina that educators adapted for use
in the United States. Now known as Reading Together, the program is
used in 28 states. The program is designed to help students achieve
reading fluency and is mostly used for children in second grade. The
hope is that with its implementation, increasing numbers of students
will perform at grade level or above.
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 Louisiana is limited only by the imagination.
Louisiana 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 40 Louisiana companies have
discovered the benefits of doing business in Israel,
including Reilly Benton Co., Petroleum Helicopter and
Pellerin Milnor Corporation.
According to the President of the Reilly Benton Co.,
Warren Watters, they were extremely satisfied with their business in
Israel. Reilly Benton provided the marine insulation for the Israeli
warship Saar-5, which was built in Mississippi. "I would love to do
more business with them," said Watters, "they are good
customers."
Petroleum Helicopter has also done some work for the
Israeli military and the Ministry of Defense. They also did some work for
the Rambo movie that was filmed in Israel.
Pellerin Milnor Corp. has an Israeli dealer for their
commercial laundry equipment. Pellerin Milnor is one of the largest
manufacturers of laundry equipment in the world. They have been doing
business with Israel for a number of 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). BIRD funds projects in 36 states and the District of
Columbia and hundreds of companies including AOL, GE, BP Solar, Texas
Instruments and Johnson & Johnson have benefitted from BIRD grants.
The United States 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 company can expect to derive benefits commensurate
with the investments and risks. Most grant recipients are small businesses
involved with software, instrumentation, communications, medical devices
and semiconductors.
Since its inception, BIRD has funded more than 800
joint high-tech R&D projects through conditional grants totaling
more than $210 million. Products developed from these ventures have
generated more than $8 billion in direct and indirect revenues for both
countries and has helped to create an estimated 20,000 American jobs.
Dr. Eli Opper, the former Israeli chair of BIRD, has
said that BIRD is a strong pillar of US-Israel industrial
cooperation and that the extreme success of BIRD has
led Israel to adopt similar models of R&D with other countries.
To date, no Louisiana companies have yet taken advantage
of the reduced risks and added funds that a BIRD grant
offers.
As of 2011, Israel is ranked 17th in Louisiana's
trade partners. In 2012, Louisiana exported nearly $3 million worth
of manufacturing goods to Israel. To read more, CLICK
HERE.
Scientific
Innovations
Louisiana researchers are making scientific breakthroughs
and developing cutting-edge technologies in joint projects with Israeli
scientists thanks to support from the Binational
Science Foundation (BSF). BSF was established in 1972 to promote scientific relations
and cooperation between scientists from the United States and Israel.
The fund supports collaborative research projects in a wide area of
basic and applied scientific field for peaceful and non-profit purposes.
Since its inception, BSF has awarded some $480 million
through more than 4,000 grants in 45 states and the District of Columbia.
BSF-sponsored studies are highly successful
in achieving their two main goals: strengthening the US-Israel partnership
through science and promoting world-class scientific research for the
benefit of the two countries and all mankind. The BSF grants help extend research resources to achieve milestones that might
not otherwise be attainable; introduce novel approaches and techniques
to lead American researchers in new directions; confirm, clarify and
intensify research projects; and provide unmatched access to Israeli
equipment, facilities and research results that help speed American
scientific advances. BSF has documented no less than
75 new discoveries made possible by its research grants and counts 37
Nobel Prize and 19 Lasker Medical Award laureates among its joint partners.
Institutions in Louisiana have shared nearly $400,00
in BSF grants awarded since 1996 alone. The Louisiana
State University (LSU) and Tulane Medical are two Louisiana institutions
that have shared funds from the BSF in the last ten
years.
Agriculture
Benefits
In 1978 the United States and Israel jointly created the Binational
Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD)
to help fund programs between US and Israeli scientists for mutually
beneficial, mission-oriented, strategic and applied research into agricultural
problems. Since its inception, BARD has funded more
than 1,000 projects in 45 states and the District of Columbia with a
total investment of more than $250 million. In 2000, an independent
and external economic review of 10 BARD projects conservatively
projected more than $700 million in revenue by the end of 2010, a number
which far outweighs the total investment in all BARD projects over its 33 year existence and helps to continually strengthen
the foundation.
Most BARD projects focus on either increasing agricultural
productivity, plant and animal health or food quality and safety and
have been influential in creating new technologies in drip irrigation,
pesticides, fish farming, livestock, poultry, disease control and farm
equipment. BARD funds projects in 45 states and the
District of Columbia and at present is beginning to administer collaborative
efforts between Australia, Canada and Israel as well. 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.
Louisiana institutions have shared grants worth more than $600,000
since 1979.
LSU scientist Raymond Schneider and his colleagues
are studying how fungus evolves to become a plant pathogen. The fungus
develops strains and races that overcome resistance. After 15 years
of research, they can forecast how these new resistant strands will
develop. Working with the Israelis has helped them progress significantly
toward answering this question of development of resistant strands of
fungus. Dr. Schneider states that the "BARD grant
allowed us to make a great deal of progress, it was the seed of the
whole program." Dr. Schneider said that he benefitted from working
with Israelis because of their different strategies to attack problems
of this nature. This research will be helpful in disease-resistance
in tomatoes and dozens of other crop species.
With funding from BARD, Professor
Robert Rhoads of LSU has been able to collaborate on a number of research
projects with Dr. Itamar Barash of the Israeli Agricultural Research
Organization at the Volcani Center. Since before 2000 these two have
spearheaded research on a number of projects in the field of biochemistry
and molecular biology. In 2004 they published a very important paper
in the Molecular Endocrinology journal where they outlined BARD-sponsored research in which they found that giving
insulin and prolactin to animals will stimulate the synthesis of milk
proteins much more than giving either one alone. Understanding this
mechanism will have important medical and agricultural implications.
Read this study online HERE.
Tulane biologist Milton Fingerman researched the
aquaculture and growing conditions of shrimp. He looked at the reproductive
cycle of shrimp and hopes to increase the reproductive cycle from once a
year to twice a year by stimulating the gonads to develop. His experiments
with his Israeli counterparts have led to pond-water experiments in India.
The collaborative work led to a number of publications. "I enjoyed
working with Israelis and can't wait to get back to Israel," said
Fingerman. This research is not only applicable to shrimp growers
worldwide, but also to the crayfish industry, which is one of Louisiana's
bigger industries.
BARD research done outside the state
also benefits Louisiana. Studies on economizing cotton plantation by
computerization will be useful for Louisiana cotton growers. New methods
for optimizing wheat storage developed by BARD researches
will aid rice-producing states such as Louisiana.
Other Cooperative
Programs
None. Help us build this section. Email AICE with
any updates, additions, corrections or comments. We appreciate your
support!
Sister Cities
None.
UJA Partnership
2000 Communities
State
Contacts:
Hillel
Campus Profiles
Jewish Federation of Central Louisiana
4307 Whitefield Blvd.
Alexandria, LA 71303
Tel. 318-487-9810
Jewish Federation Greater Baton Rouge
3354 Kleinert Ave
Baton Rouge, LA 70806-6836
Tel. 504-387-9744
Jewish Federation Greater New Orleans
3747 West Esplanade Avenue
Metairie, LA 70002
Tel. 504-780-5600
Fax. 504-780-5601
Email. c/o eric stillman, [email protected]
Jewish Federation Shreveport
2032 Line Ave
Shreveport, LA 71104-2125
Tel. 318-221-4129
Jewish Federation of Shreveport
4700 Line Ave., #117
Shreveport, LA 71106
Tel. 318-868-1200
Email. [email protected]
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