State-to-State Cooperation: Texas and Israel

Texas Jewish History Trade & Population Statistics Binational Foundation Grants Bilateral Institutions Anti-Boycott Law Cooperative Agreements Government Missions to Israel Partners for Change Business/Industry Science/Technology Agriculture/Farming Other Cooperative Programs Sister Cities & State Contacts

Trade and Population Statistics

Binational Foundation Grants

Grant Recipients in Texas From U.S.-Israel Binational Foundations

Bilateral Institutions

Texas-Israel Chamber of Commerce - The TICC is a private, not-for-profit business organization whose aim is to boost the economies of Texas and Israel by helping member companies develop important business relationships with each other and explore new market opportunities. The Chamber is strongly supported by Governor Rick Perry of Texas as well as by Israel’s Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor because both parties believe there are many opportunities for collaboration, especially in high-tech industries.

Texas-Israel Exchange Program - Perhaps the oldest state-to-state relationship is the Texas-Israel Exchange (TIE), which was created in 1984 to promote mutually beneficial agriculture projects. The agreement was reaffirmed by a new Memorandum of Intent in 1992 by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry. In 1994, another agreement was negotiated to create the TIE Fund to support joint agricultural research and development, and foster the expansion of trade. The Texas Legislature enacted legislation providing up to $250,000 for the TIE Fund, and Israel agreed to contribute an equal amount.

Texas-BARD Program - Founded by joint collaboration from the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas-Israel Exchange, Texas-BARD is an offshoot of the Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund that looks to exclusively develop solutions to mutual agricultural problems that will, in turn, foster the development of trade, mutual assistance, and business relations between Texas and Israel.

Anti-Boycott Law

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed HB89, an act relating to state contracts with and investments in companies that boycott Israel, on May 2, 2017. The bill prohibits the State of Texas from contracting or entering into business with companies or entities involved in the BDS movement against Israel. The law ensures that public funds will not go to companies that participate in BDS.

In 2019, Texas started to divest $72 million worth of stock in the Norwegian financial services firm DNB ASA. Two state pension funds – the Employees Retirement System of Texas and Texas Permanent School Fund — own $68 million and $4 million, respectively, in stock in the company. This is the first action taken under the anti-boycott legislation.

In April 2019, a U.S. District Judge ruled in favor of Bahia Amawi, a former speech pathologist who sued the state over the law after she was fired from her job for supporting BDS. The court found “the statute to be a viewpoint-based restriction intended not to combat discrimination on the basis of national origin, but to silence speech with which Texas disagrees.”

In response, the legislature rewrote the language limiting the application of the law to companies with more than 10 full-time employees and contracts of more than $100,000 with the state. The governor signed the bill.

Cooperative Agreements

In December 2010, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center entered into a cooperative, five-year agreement with the Rabin Medical Center in Israel to collaborate on faculty and student exchange programs, as well as the development of joint studies, research and training activities, and other educational programs of mutual interest. “This agreement between UT Southwestern at Dallas and Rabin Medical Center in Israel represents an exciting new era of cooperation, research and teaching for both of our institutions and our two countries,” said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, president of UT Southwestern Medical Center.

In 2002, an MOU was signed to foster collaborative practical and applied research between agricultural scientists’ areas of high priority to both Texas and Israel.

In 1992, A Memorandum of Intent was signed between the two governments with a focus on broadening the Texas-Israel SemiArid Fund (see 1985), encouraging greater participation and proving, through applied research, that the similarities in agriculture between Texas and Israel can be a lesson for both partners.

In 1985, the Texas-Israel Semi-Arid partnership was created after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture of the State of Israel to work together on projects of mutual agricultural benefit to the peoples of Israel and Texas. The MOA stated there was considerable potential to work together on projects related to energy, trade, marketing and processing, crop development, water use and conservation, research, and joint adventures.

Texas Government Missions to Israel

January 2020 - Governor Greg Abbott visited Israel. Following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said, “The unwavering bond between Texas and Israel is marked by our shared commitment to freedom and economic opportunity.”

March 2017 - Texas Trade Commissioner Sid Miller visited the West Bank in March 2017 and signed Texas’s first-ever trade agreement with a settlement: the Samaria regional council. Upon arrival in Israel, Miller stated Israel is our strongest ally in the region. Texas needs Israel. The US needs Israel... I am ashamed to say that we have some in our universities boycotting Israel, so [this visit] is to counter that culture.

January 2016 - Texas Governor Greg Abbott [R] met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Israel on January 18, 2016. During the meeting, Abbott and Netanyahu discussed the threat from Iran, and the Governor announced that during the upcoming legislative session, he will support legislation that will require local government entities to divest all investment in Iran, and close loopholes in Texas’s divestment laws. Currently, Texas officials stated, only state retirement and pension funds were prohibited from making investments in Iran. Governor Abbott continued his trip with visits to Yad Vashem, King David’s Tomb, and the Western Wall.

October 2013 - Governor Rick Perry visited Israel and met with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres. The trip, which many observers thought was in the context of his potential 2016 bid for the Republican presidential nomination, was mostly about Texas-Israel economic development. During the trip, Perry attended a water technology conference and the announcement of Texas A&M Peace University in Nazareth.

January 2013 - Republican Senator Ted Cruz joined a delegation of senators on a visit to Afghanistan and Israel, where they met with military officials to discuss the political, economic, and security issues affecting bilateral and regional relations. In Israel, the senators met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

November 2011 - Houston Mayor Annise Parker traveled to Israel with the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and four other major U.S. city mayors as part of Project Interchange.

August 2011 - Congresswoman Kay Granger traveled to Israel and the West Bank to learn more about regional politics as well as the American-Israeli relationship.

August 2009 - Governor Rick Perry received the Defender of Jerusalem award, which is given to public figures who have demonstrated support and commitment to the state of Israel and its capitol, while on a trip to Israel. While there, Gov. Perry also met with high-ranking Israeli government officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres. “I have long supported the right of a Jewish state to exist in the Middle East and firmly believe in the protection and preservation of democratic states in that part of the world,” Gov. Perry said.

June 2007 - Governor Perry traveled to Israel, met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and received the “Friend of Zion” award from the Israeli government. While there, Gov. Perry met with multiple Israeli businesspeople interested in expanding into Texas and announced his campaign to lead Texas companies in divestment from Iran and Sudan. His trip and meetings eventually led to his sponsorship and founding of the Texas-Israel Chamber of Commerce.

July 2003 – U.S. Representative Tom Delay led a mission to Israel and spoke about the prospects for peace and possible peace initiatives in front of the Knesset. In his speech, Delay echoed his outspoken opinions against land concessions, and Israeli MK Aryeh Eldad commented afterward that the speech would have made Delay the most conservative member of Israel’s parliament.

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, technology, education, and health. States can benefit from Israeli innovations in these areas as well as through collaboration.

In addition, today’s interdependent global economy requires that trade policy be developed at the national and state level. Many states have recognized the opportunity to realize significant benefits by seeking to increase trade with Israel. Texas is one of 33 states that have cooperative agreements with Israel.

In 2022, Texas exported more than $966 million worth of manufacturing goods to Israel. Since 1996, Texas’s exports to Israel have totaled more than $20 billion, and Israel now ranks as Texas’s 50th leading trade partner. Texas ranks 4th among all states in exports to Israel.

Additionally, in 2015, Texas companies received more than $177 million in foreign military financing (FMF) to provide materiel for the Israeli Defense Forces. Since 1996, Texas companies have received more than $808 million in FMF. These include Flexible Life Line Systems, Inc., based out of Houston; Worldwide Aerospace, Ltd, from Fort Worth; and, Omega Air, Inc., from San Antonio.

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 Texas

The Texas-Israel Chamber of Commerce has several committees in which bilateral programs for sustainable development and conservation are created, introduced, and marketed. The TICC has committees that meet regularly and discuss business opportunities in such areas as cleantech, hi-tech, homeland security and defense, life sciences, and many more.

Israel has also developed several pioneering education programs that have now been implemented across Texas. 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 Dallas, El Paso, Austin, Houston, Beaumont, and San Antonio. 

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.

Texas has also received more than $15 million worth of grants from binational U.S.-Israel foundations for joint research in science, agriculture, and the promotion of commercial ventures.

A variety 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 Texas is limited only by the imagination.

Texas 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.

Nearly 300 Texas companies have discovered the benefits of doing business in Israel, including Agar Corporation, CompUSA, Compaq Computer Corporation, Fortune Industries, and Bell Helicopters.

ASC Industries has been supplying aircraft parts such as nuts, bolts, and screws to Israel for “at least the past seven years,” according to Brenda Metzner of ASC’s sales department. ASC deals with the Israel Aircraft Industries’ office in New York, which then sends the parts to Israel. Metzner remarked that Israel is a good market. “They are actually easier to deal with than many other countries because they are not as demanding and always seem to find their paperwork, as opposed to some other countries we also do business with.”

Malcolm Tallmon, president of Fortune Industries, said that his company has been doing business with Israel for the past 10 to 14 years. In some cases, Fortune Industries deals directly with the Israeli government, although it has also had agreements with private firms. At one point, the Israeli government had a contract with the U.S. government, and Fortune Industries supplied parts such as aerospace and military specification fasteners. These items are used to hold together parts used on airplanes, missiles, and ground support equipment.

Bell Helicopters started selling helicopters to Israel in the 1970s and has been buying electronic components from them since the 1980s. Currently, Bell is selling commercial helicopters to Israeli agencies such as police departments. Don Richardson, Director of Procurement and Subcontract Management for Bell Helicopters, commented, “It’s difficult to get started doing business in Israel, but once you establish relationships, it gets easier. The Israelis have a reputation for being tough negotiators, but they’re reasonable people to deal with.”

Houston Methodist Hospital and Sheba Medical Center are working together on innovation in telehealth and data sharing.

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, nondefense technological products from which both the Israeli and American companies 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 1977, the Foundation has approved investments of more than $125 million in more than 1,000 projects in 36 states and the District of Columbia. Hundreds of companies, including AOL, GE, BP Solar, Texas Instruments, and Johnson & Johnson, have benefited from BIRD grants.

Dr. Eli Opper, the former Israeli chair of BIRD, has said that BIRD is a strong pillar of U.S.-Israel industrial cooperation and that the extreme success of BIRD has led Israel to adopt similar models of R&D with other countries.

Several Texas companies have benefited from more than $5.6 million in BIRD grants.

Microdynamics is the leading supplier of advanced integrated information systems to the worldwide sewn-goods industry. Microdynamics collaborated with IET Intelligent Electronics Ltd. of Israel to develop new products that address the automation of product development and the pre-production areas that are key components of Quick Response strategies. Microdynamics considers these products to be crucial in effectively addressing consumer and marketplace needs. Resulting from grants awarded in 1992 and 1993 were the GMS 2000, which is a system for maximization of fabric usage in the sewn-goods industry, and the W-6 scheduling software for the apparel industry.

Agar Corporation, a manufacturer of industrial measuring control instruments, joined Galram Technologies Ltd. to create a water/oil instrument.

VTEL Corporation, a teleconferencing service company located in Austin, joined Accord Communication Ltd. in Israel to create MCU enhancements.

Motorola forged a partnership with the Israeli company Optibase Advanced Systems Ltd. in 1992 and developed a method of image compression and processing for a multimedia chipset.

In 1998, Motorola received another BIRD grant and used it to collaborate with KLA-Tencor Corporation. The organizations worked on an integrated system in-chip implementation of a flash disk in semiconductors.

Harris Adacom Corporation received three BIRD grants in 1988, 1990, and 1991 to create three different products with Adacom Technology Ltd. of Israel. Resulting from these grants were the LG-708, Coax Net, and Coax Net Phase III.

More recent BIRD grants include:

• Aero-Magnesium of Ein Harod Ihud and Safran Seats USA of Gainesville to develop weight reduction solutions for aircraft seating applications based on magnesium technologies.
• Tel Aviv-based ContinUse Biometrics dba Donisi Health and Dell Technologies of Round Rock to develop a miniature optical module for health parameter sensing.
• Kitov Systems of Rosh Ha’ayin and Houston-based Capvidia NA to develop the CAD2SCAN, a process for using the digital 3D CAD model to automate visual inspection in production.
• Datumate of Yokne’am Illit and Heavy Construction Systems Specialists of Sugar Land to develop a construction site management collaboration framework.
• Tel Aviv-based Genoox and Austin-based ASPiRA Labs, a Vermillion Company to develop AGTT: an AI-based, dynamic, and affordable genetics testing technology transfer.
• Advanced MemTech of Ness Ziona and Agar Corporation of Houston to develop oil-water separation membrane technology for the oil & gas industries.
• DosentRx of Afula and Contents Trader of Houston to develop novel technology for homecare medication tracking and management and integration into the U.S. specialty pharmacy ecosystem.
• Skillreal of Ramat Gan and Siemens DI of Plano to develop a high-accuracy AR system supporting workers on installation and assembly lines with automatic validation to increase productivity and reduce assembly errors.

Scientific Innovations

Texas 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 fields for peaceful and non-profit purposes.

Since its inception, and in today’s value, BSF has awarded over $700 million to more than 5,000 research projects involving thousands of scientists from more than 400 U.S. institutions located in 46 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Many of these projects have led to important scientific, medical, and technological breakthroughs with wide-ranging practical applications.

BSF-sponsored studies are highly successful in achieving their two main goals: strengthening the U.S.-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.

The University of Texas SW Medical Center, University of Texas, University of Houston, Texas Tech, Rice, Texas A&M, and Baylor Medical School are among the Texas institutions that have received nearly $3 million in BSF grants.

With BSF support, Prof. Hermona Soreq of Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Prof. James Patrick of the Baylor College of Medicine have pioneered diverse molecular medicine approaches for exploring the mechanism underlying stress-associated diseases, and have developed innovative strategies for alleviating the consequences of traumatic experiences or chemical stresses. Based on these discoveries, Pharmathene Inc., a U.S.-based start-up company, produces Cholinesterase proteins in goats, which hold promise to become novel protection agents against chemical warfare, insecticide poisoning, and for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. Prof. Patrick and Soreq’s joint, BSF-sponsored research has also led to the development of Monarsen, an FDA-approved orphan drug for the treatment of the autoimmune disease Myasthenia Gravis. It is presently in phase II of clinical studies and is the focus of a current BSF grant to Prof. Soreq and Prof. Alan Gewirtz (University of Pennsylvania).

This BSF grant was initially awarded to the team of scientists in 1997, though Patrick and Sereq have known each other for 20 years. “BSF helps to maintain better interactions between Baylor and labs in Israel,” said Patrick. He added, “Israel is a little isolated and not necessarily on the normal route of travel when we lecture in Europe, so this grant provides for real contacts and travel costs.”

University of Houston chemist Wayne Rabalais has received several BSF grants. In 1996, he was awarded one to study ion beam deposition of the film with Yishael Lifshitz of the Atomic Energy Commission in Yavne. This is a specialized method of growing thin microelectronic films used in electronic devices and circuits. “This is just basic research and we really haven’t gotten to the point where we make practical applications or devices. The work we do is then picked up by engineers who make the practical applications,” said Rabalais. “I was interested in collaborating with Lifshitz in Israel and he had a good background and wanted to work with us. He spent one and a half years working with us in Texas and comes back about once a year.” Rabalais added, “We met at a meeting and after talking saw that we had a common interest and decided to develop a joint proposal. I have had a very positive experience and think that the collaboration has helped because we have slightly different expertise, so we make different contributions. There is no doubt that we’ve accomplished more together than we would have 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 U.S. and Israeli scientists for mutually beneficial, mission-oriented, strategic, and applied research into agricultural problems. Since its inception, BARD has awarded more than $130 million to U.S. institutions for 1,352 joint projects. A 40-year review in 2019 involving 20 case studies estimated the foundation’s contribution to the U.S. economy at $2.7 billion. BARD research has resulted in the adoption of approximately 200 new agricultural practices, around 40 commercial engagements, and approximately 100 patents and breeding rights licenses.

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 administers 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.

Texas institutions have received BARD grants worth more than $6.5 million.

Professor Marty Dickman of Texas A&M University has received several BARD grants to research various subjects in plant genomics and biotechnology.

For one of his recent BARD grants, Professor Dickman led a project in the early 2000s together with scientists from the Volcani Center and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel that investigated novel approaches to controlling postharvest diseases brought about by various fungi. The group of scientists revealed that fungus can alter pH levels in plants, either making them more acidic (low pH level) or raising their alkalinity (high pH level), which then can bring about diseases and ruin the crop after it has already been harvested. The BARD-sponsored research enabled the group to facilitate the rapid development, commercialization, and application of new approaches for reducing such postharvest storage diseases.

In 2007, Professor Dickman received another 3-year BARD grant, this time to collaborate with scientists at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem to research the axis that plants use for cellular communication that regulates development and pathogenicity.

Improving soils and enhancing animal reproduction are just two examples of joint research projects conducted under the auspices of BARD in Texas.

Seiichi Miyamoto is working to improve the efficiency of reclaiming sodic soils, those that have too much sodium and salts that are bad for crop production. This problem is a global one. Almost one-third of the 240 million hectares of irrigated area in the world is affected by sodium and salt. Miyamoto and his Israeli collaborator at the Volcani Center are experimenting with the use of salt and sodium in vegetation to enhance the process of reclamation. There are conventional methods that involve the use of large amounts of chemical sodium products such as calcium chloride and gypsum, but their goal is to develop an environmentally friendly method. Chemicals used today typically go into the drain water system and co-mingle with water used in agriculture.

Miyamoto spoke highly of the BARD program. He said it, “has the unique strength of combining basic science and the task on hand. It is an accepted mission-oriented program. As opposed to USDA grants that are mostly for scientific knowledge, this program uses knowledge to solve real problems. In theory, we can develop crops to grow in any type of soil. These are meant to be long term applications. The BARD program is good not just because of the money, but also because the technology they have in Israel is essential.” Whatever accomplishments come out of this program can apply to natural resource management in other nations, especially developing countries. “Israel seems to have a better handle over solving real problems and, when dealing with developing countries, we [American scientists] seem to overlook them,” Miyamoto added. “The program has been very successful. We don’t want to see this funding chopped because then it would be a very sad outcome.”

Fuller Bazer is a professor of animal sciences at Texas A&M as well as director of A&M’s bioscience and technology center located at the Texas Medical Center. Along with his Israeli colleagues Arieh Gertler of Hebrew University and Elisha Gootwine of the Volcani Center, Bazer is studying reproduction in sheep and applying it to goats and cattle. He is trying to understand how to increase reproductive efficiency and decrease embryonic death losses (40% of all embryos die within the first few weeks after conception). He is specifically trying to identify genes that will increase the chance of survival for the embryos. Thus far, Bazer has been successful in his research. “We have a couple of Israeli graduate students coming to study in our lab and I’m going to Israel to visit. Part of the [BARD] scheme is to have interchanges between the two countries. It is also a mechanism to fund the research done by all three of us,” said Bazer. The outcome of this project will be applicable to the U.S., Israel, and the rest of the world. The principles learned can also be applied to other livestock species. Bazer added, “This grant has been good. We’ve exchanged a lot of reagents and ideas.”

Texas A&M Professor of Agricultural Engineering Steve Searcy has received several BARD grants. One of the grants was to work with Colman Peleg at the Technion to improve the inspection of fruits and vegetables and to ensure good quality at a reasonable price. Although this product is not yet commercialized, it has practical applications. “For example, there are different kinds of apples and no one system is optimized for all of them. We worked on a self-adjusting system to recognize different types of apples,” said Searcy. While the Texas lab experimented on apples, the Israelis worked on dates. Peleg is an internationally renowned expert in this field and “the opportunity to work with someone of that stature is great,” said Searcy.

Searcy is also using a BARD grant to collaborate with scientists at both the Volcani Center and the Migdal Experimental Station in Israel to reduce nitrogen fertilizer inputs to minimize pollution of ground and surface water. The team is trying to find a way to detect the amount of fertilizer that a plant needs and have that amount released by an applicator, thereby regulating the amount of nitrogen dispensed in accordance with the amount needed by the crop.

Another BARD project Searcy is working on involves the development of a multi-spectral sensor for assessing the nutrient status of crops. Conventional agriculture treats the fields as a single management area but doesn’t account for the variability of the fields (e.g. slopes, different soils). “We’re trying to help them manage the field on a more individual basis. We are focusing on corn, but this is applicable to other crops,” said Searcy. He added, “We wouldn’t do these projects or work with Israelis without BARD. It is critical for cross-fertilization, which I think is a good thing.”

Pesticides are crucial to modern agriculture, but they have also caused some rural water resources to become contaminated, and that can lead to crop damage. For example, sorghum, a major field crop in Texas, is sensitive to bromacil and terbacil, common agricultural herbicides. BARD researchers have developed a new economical procedure for diminishing water-born pesticides using the sun. In the laboratory, scientists tested 69 dye sensitizers that can oxidize pesticides when activated by visible light. They found that these treatments were harmless and permitted normal germination and seed growth. After these lab tests, a prototype was created, and the goal of removing injected pesticides by sunlight was successful. In addition, the BARD solar process destroyed 99.9% of bacterial pathogens in the sewage within two hours.

BARD grantees have helped pecan growers all over the American Southwest. After farmers were plagued by premature death, stunted growth and low yields of pecan trees, BARD grantees from Texas A&M University and the Israel Agriculture Research Organization found that the problem was a soil permeability problem that aggravated the effects of salinity. They developed a series of computerized models, irrigation schedules, and recommendations that will prevent such problems in the future. They also developed methods to save the 68,000 acres of pecan trees already planted on inappropriate soils in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Additionally, they found ways to use pests such as predatory spiders, wasps, and green lacewings to control other, more harmful predators that can kill trees and crops.

Texas, one of the country’s largest producers of cotton, of which total U.S. production exceeds $5 billion a year, also benefits from BARD research done outside of the state. Joint research resulting from a BARD grant has shaped the way cotton is grown today. BARD grantees from Israel and Mississippi developed and tested a computer model that would reduce the amount of water and fertilizer cotton farmers need to produce their crops. Their research resulted in an invention called COTMOD, which describes how water, soil, fertilizer, and farming practices affect cotton production. The model can also be expanded to predict the fate of pesticides and environmental contaminations. The USDA combined this model with two others and provide it free to American farmers and agricultural consultants. By advising growers, such as those in Texas, on optimal irrigation and fertilization strategies, the system can save farmers an average of about $60 per acre, or $48 per bale.

Texas produces over $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. The samples were then injected into rabbits and sheep to stimulate the production of antiviral antibodies. The grantees used their antibodies to develop a test that could detect 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 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 BARD-sponsored research.

Texas also produces between $400-$600 million worth of wheat a year. BARD scientists have discovered a double-stranded RNA virus, which may cause the fungus disease Rhizoctonias solani, which causes the death of young plants, to spread. Researchers also found that one non-virulent strain of the fungus protected 93% of wheat seedlings in tests.

Flowers that propagate by bulbs, corns, and tubers rather than seeds are particularly susceptible to virus disease. BARD grantees 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 Texas and to develop effective methods for preventing reinfection.

BARD grantees in Georgia have been studying CO2, a normal component of air, proving that it is a viable non-toxic alternative to the usual gases, phosphine and occasionally methyl bromide, used for the fumigation of stored grains. The old gases can be poisonous to humans, leave toxic residues in stored grain, and are believed to cause damage to the ozone layer. These methods are being applied by several commercial firms in the U.S. and Israel, and wheat-producing states, such as Texas, are likely to benefit.

In addition, to the projects funded directly by BARD, a Texas-BARD program was created in 2003 to promote mission-oriented, strategic, and applied, collaborative agricultural research and development activities conducted jointly by scientists in Texas and Israel. The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), Texas-Israel Exchange Fund (TIE), and BARD are supporting this program, which will focus on efficient use and management of soil and water for agriculture; post-harvest food technologies – quality, safety, and security; horticulture, field and garden crops – including floriculture and drought tolerance and aquaculture.

Other Cooperative Programs

Texas A&M University-Kingsville is a member of the International Arid Lands Consortium, a Congress-funded independent, nonprofit organization established in 1989 that conducts research, develops applications in arid and semiarid land technologies, and applies its projects in countries around the world, including the U.S. and Israel.

In 2013, Texas A&M University announced plans to open Texas A&M Peace University in Nazareth. Gov. Rick Perry and A&M Chancellor joined Israeli President Shimon Peres and Education Minister Shai Piron for the announcement. The school was to be financed by private donors from Texas and around the world because Texas A&M is prohibited from investing public funds in international campuses. In December 2015, Texas Governor Rick Perry announced alongside President Peres that the plans to build Texas A&M Peace University in Nazareth had been scrapped, in favor of building a $6 million marine research center along the Mediterranean Sea in collaboration with the University of Haifa. Texas A&M system chancellor John Sharp clarified that the A&M system changed its plans because elected officials in the city of Nazareth were wanting to dictate aspects of the Peace University project. Regardless of whether the original idea came to fruition or not, Texas A&M accomplished its goal of expanding into Israel and penetrating that lucrative market.

Sister Cities

UJA Partnership 2000 Communities

State Contacts

Hillel Campus Profiles

Sources: World Institute for Strategic Economic Research.
Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD).
United States-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD).
United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF).