Washington, DC and Israel
Trade and Population Statistics
| Exports to Israel (2015) |
$151,443 |
| Percentage Change (2014-2015) |
-79.39% |
| Total Exports to Israel (1996-Present) |
$147,380,412 |
| Israel's Trade Partner Rank (2015) |
76 |
| Military Contracts with Israel (2015) |
$112,101 |
| Jewish Population (2015) |
46,600 |
| Jewish Percentage of Population |
9% |
Binational
foundation grants shared by Washington, DC and Israel
Grant recipients in
Washington, DC from U.S.-Israel binational foundations:
Advanced Power Tech, Inc.
American University
Carnegie Institute of Washington
Catholic University
George Washington University
Georgetown
Georgetown Medical
Howard University
International Bank of Reconstruction
Medlantic Research Foundation
Naval Research Lab
Sitel/MedStar Health
Smithsonian
USDA Agricultural Research Center
VA Medical Center
Washington Cardiology Center
Bilateral
Institutions
US-Israel Business
Initiative - The first District
of Columbia-based effort to advance and strengthen US-Israel commercial
relations, the UIBI was formed with the sponsorship of the Middle East
Department at the US Chamber of Commerce. This initiative is dedicated
to the advancement of relations between American and Israeli commercial
actors at all levels. Through the U.S.-Israel business initiative, the
Chamber is creating a national forum for dialogue on innovation, entrepreneurship,
and the key commercial and economic issues of interest to American and
Israeli companies. Read more about the US-Israel Business Initiative, CLICK
HERE.
Cooperative
Agreements - "Memoranda of Understanding"
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Washington, DC Government Missions to Israel
April 2012 - Deputy U.S. Park Police
Chief Robert MacLean and assistant D.C. police chief Diane Groomes traveled
to Israel on a homeland security-inspired trip where they got a first-hand
look at how Israeli police and the public respond to security threats
and disasters. Both officials were struck by the similar and familiar
balance of the need to preserve civil liberties and at the same time
maintain strict and effective security measures. Groomes was impressed
by the speed with which the Israeli police and public seem to recover
from tragedy: "I was struck by how they can handle a scene, process
and clear it and plant within it," she said. "If we had a
bomb on a bus, it would take us maybe a day or two to handle. They said
they just want life to go back to normal as soon as possible."
MacLean, who has worked with the Anti-Defamation League before, was
particularly touched by his visit to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
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. Washington, DC is one of 33 states that have cooperative
agreements with Israel.
In 2012, Washington, DC exported over $1,250,970.00 worth
of manufacturing goods to Israel. Since 1996, Washington, DC exports to
Israel have totaled more than $145,749,822.00 and Israel now ranks as Washington, DC’s
50th 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 Washington, DC.
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 Washington, DC is limited only by the imagination.
Washington, DC Firms
Profit From Business With Israel
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.
DC-based companies have benefited from more than $150,000 in BIRD grants
in the last three decades.
In 2011, the BIRD Foundation awarded the DC-based
Sitel/MedStar Health Company a grant to collaborate with the Israeli-based
company Semantic Medical Solutions to develop a semantic medical simulation
platform.
Scientific
Innovations
District 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.
DC scientists have shared with their counterparts in
Israel more than $1.3 million in BSF grants awarded
since 1996 alone.
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.
Institutions in the District of Columbia have received nearly $70,000
in BARD grants since 1979.
Other Cooperative
Programs
The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington runs two highly successful
programs to help at-risk and impoverished youth in Israel. "Youth
Futures-Afula" provides such children with comprehensive, tailored
programs, interventions and community resources. Currently this program
is being used with over 150 Israeli children. Read more, CLICK
HERE.
Additionally, the JFGW also runs a program entitled "Parents and
Children Together" (PACT) in Afula which provides comprehensive
enrichment and community services for Ethiopian-Israeli youngsters,
their family, and the community. The support of this program helps to
bring this "educational head start" to 800 children, birth
through 12 years of age. Read more about "PACT- Afula", CLICK
HERE.
Sister Cities
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UJA Partnership
2000 Communities
State
Contacts:
Hillel
Campus Profiles
America-Israel Chamber of Commerce of Washington
Ian Berkowitz, Director
1714 N St., NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. 202-462-8994
Fax. 202-462-8995
Email. [email protected]
DC Jewish Community Center
1529 16th St., NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. 2027751765
Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington
6125 Montrose Rd.
Rockville, MD 20852
Tel. 3018810100
UJA Federation of Greater Washington
6101 Montrose Rd.
Rockville, MD 20852
Tel. 3012307200
Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington - Lillian & Albert Small Jewish Museum
701 Fourth Street, NW #200
Washington, D.C. 20001
Tel. (202) 789-0900
Fax.
(202) 789-0485
Website: www.jhsgw.org/
Historic 1876 synagogue
Corner of Third & G Streets, NW
Washington, D.C.
Webpage:
www.jhsgw.org/programs/sanctuary.php
Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
Tel.
202.408.3100
Website: www.sixthandi.org/
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