Bill urges new home for NJIC

Assembly member John Burzichelli believes relocating the New
Jersey-Israel Commission "would be in line with its mission."

06.07.07

A proposed reorganization plan of state government will remove the New Jersey-Israel Commission from the Commerce Economic Growth and Tourism Commission and place it under the purview of the Department of State.

The intent is "to improve the effectiveness of the commerce commission and its serving the community in an effort to create jobs and grow the state's economy," said Karen Wolfe, the commerce commission's public relations supervisor. "It increases the efficiency of how we serve the business community."

According to Wolfe, economic and trade programs linking New Jersey with Israel and other foreign nations would be separated from promotion of overseas cultural, education, and arts programming.

In the past, the NJIC has touted itself as a vital economic as well as cultural link between New Jersey and Israel.

"I think we provide an atmosphere," said its executive director, Andrea Yonah, at the Israel Life Sciences Road Show in West Windsor last November. "It's giving these companies visibility among the best of what New Jersey has to offer. It's my hope that we'll see collaborations come out of this and see Israeli companies looking to establish themselves in New Jersey."

Yonah directed inquiries about the repositioning of the commission to spokesperson Wolfe.

Robert Yudin, a Wyckoff Republican who served as the commission's executive director for three years under former Gov. Christine Whitman, labeled the move "a downgrade. I think like the Holocaust commission, [the NJIC] should stand on its own. The emphasis should not be artistic and cultural. By doing what they are doing, they are going to diminish the most important part of the commission, which is trade."

The key legislative sponsor of the change is John Burzichelli (D-Dist. 3), the State Assembly's deputy speaker.

In a press release, Burzichelli said it would be "in line with the Israel Commission's mission, which is more culturally and diplomatically based, as opposed to being fueled by purely economic ties."

Burzichelli said he hoped the reorganization would be approved by both houses of the legislature before July.