Members of the New Jersey-Israel Commission gathered in Trenton Oct. 25 for their first meeting as an entity of the New Jersey Department of State.

The morning-long meeting at the State House Annex in Trenton served to resolve lingering concerns over the consequences of the Corzine administration's decision to remove the commission from the purview of the Commerce, Economic Growth, and Tourism Commission.

Some observers worried that the change of address might signal a change in focus away from the NJIC's mandate to foster economic exchange between New Jersey and the State of Israel.

But Gary Rose, chief of the administration's Office of Economic Growth, was on hand to say that the administration remains committed to economic exchange with Israel and to the NJIC's role in fostering that exchange.

"The reformulation of the New Jersey-Israel Commission is important to all of us," Rose told the gathering. The shift to State had been "seamless," he said, and "it reaffirms the governor's commitment to make sure that relations between the State of Israel and the state of New Jersey are enhanced."

"We can create jobs and opportunities on both sides," Rose said. "We look forward to working with the economic development subcommittee on your agenda. You're going to set the agenda, and we're going to fulfill your aspirations on that."

The meeting also marked the launch of the 79-member commission's three new subcommittees – economic development, education, and culture and tourism.

"This is the kickoff of our initiatives for the year," said NJIC executive director Andrea Yonah. "We want our members to be involved in initiatives that are important to them. It's important that they're passionate and that they have something to contribute to projects that take advantage of their core competency."

As the meeting got under way, Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells welcomed the commission members, calling the NJIC's move to State "a perfect fit."

"It's not a new beginning, but a continuation of a wonderful collaboration," Wells said in a separate interview. "I'm excited about celebrating the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence, and we hope to have programs all over the state. It's a wonderful fit with our cultural portfolio, and it couldn't come at a better time."

Other speakers included Benjamin Krasna, deputy consul general of Israel in New York, and State Sen. Loretta Weinberg of Teaneck (D-Dist. 37).

Featured speaker at the meeting was Daniel Kurtzer, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt, who was appointed to the NJIC last January. In an interview before his remarks, Kurtzer said he was honored that Gov. Jon Corzine had appointed him to the commission. When he was ambassador to Israel, said Kurtzer, he saw firsthand the importance of the role state commissions play.

"State commissions do a lot of work," said Kurtzer, who currently serves as the S. Daniel Abraham Professor in Middle Eastern Policy Studies at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. "They definitely can encourage business ties and investment. If we can do that for New Jersey, that's terrific."

In his talk, Kurtzer also stressed the importance of economic exchange. He offered an overview of the strategic situation in Israel and encouraged the commissioners to be alert to the challenge of anti-Israel attacks on American campuses.

The commission can accomplish a tremendous amount in fostering more economic cooperation with Israel, Kurtzer said.

"Israel's economy is doing exceedingly well," he said, "and we in New Jersey can benefit from this and help Israel benefit from it…. We should be aggressive in seeking out opportunities for economic investment."

With that, members split off to the inaugural sessions of the three subcommittees. At the meeting of the economic development subcommittee, Rose reaffirmed the importance of the role to be played by the NJIC.

"I meant what I said: This is going to be run by you," he said.

The governor will soon release an update of his economic growth plan, Rose said, and one of the plan's six priorities is international trade. "We are looking for things that really help on both sides," he said. "We're looking for ways to grow business and create jobs, and there's no place that has a higher priority than Israel."

Celeste Armenti-McElroy, international trade representative and senior director in the Office of Economic Growth, spoke about harnessing the brainpower of entrepreneurs in New Jersey and Israel and establishing communications between business incubators on both sides.

In all of these efforts, the initiatives of the NJIC bring added value, Armenti-McElroy said in an interview after the session.

"Most important is bilateral trade and investment," she said. "Proactively, this administration has a number of economic development activities we want to undertake with Israel."

Leonard Posnock, former NJIC cochair, emerged from the subcommittee meeting expressing strong optimism.

"Very, very encouraging," said Posnock, who had previously been outspoken about his concerns over the NJIC's move to State. "It seems that the governor and his staff are committed to fulfilling their promise to make sure that the economic component is not lost. We'll have the ability to work with the Commerce department and open up a lot of new doors."

Essentially, the meeting served to create a system for the way the commission's proposals for economic trade are going to be handled by Commerce, he said. "Everybody seems to be on the same page," he said. "We're going to give our proposals to Commerce and make sure they stay on top of them. I think it was a tremendous accomplishment."

"A very positive meeting," agreed NJIC member Roy Tanzman, president of the New Jersey State Association of Jewish Federation.

"This looks like a lot of cooperation between the state and the commission, and that's the key," Tanzman said.

Max Kleinman, who coordinated the first meeting of the education subcommittee, was also upbeat. He pointed to the potential of educational exchanges between New Jersey and Israel – research partnerships, study-abroad programs in Israel for NJ college students, and an initiative to bring social studies teachers from New Jersey to Israel to see Middle Eastern democratic institutions in action.

Local stories posted courtesy of the New Jersey Jewish News