The following are excerpts of an article which appeared in today’s Star Ledger: 

Jon Corzine’s first attempt to visit Israel as New Jersey governor was squelched last year when a spat over property tax reform kept him at the Statehouse. The trip was called off a second time after his near-fatal car crash.

Today, the Democratic governor is expected to finally land in Israel. And his trade mission may come just at the right time.

Corzine will arrive a few days ahead of Barack Obama, giving the governor – known as an adamant Israel supporter – the chance to vouch for the Democratic presidential candidate’s foreign policy credentials.

Israel’s advances in alternative energy dovetail with Corzine’s push for greener technology as New Jersey and other states struggle with soaring fuel costs.

And the fact that 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of Israel’s statehood adds meaning to the visit, Corzine said.

Corzine is scheduled to land in Tel Aviv this morning and immediately begin a whirlwind agenda that includes meetings with top political figures and business leaders in alternative energy, stem cell research, pharmaceuticals and other areas. He will become the sixth straight New Jersey governor to visit Israel.

The 61-year-old governor said his past visits to Israel’s sacred sites were “inspiring.”

Corzine said he will use the journey in part “to get posted on the risks,” but the volatile politics of the Middle East will not be his primary focus. He said the biggest goal is forging new business connections between New Jersey and its ninth-largest trading partner.

Some of those ideas are likely to sprout in the green technology sector as Israel is regarded as a leader on solar and wind power.

Corzine said Israel’s “cutting-edge” efforts in green technology could “very well fit” with his energy master plan.

The governor’s critics say he’s not the ideal messenger to court Israeli investors. Calling Corzine’s record of job growth in New Jersey “dismal,” State Republican chairman Tom Wilson said: “There’s no question that Israel is an important national ally, but when you focus on the question of job creation in New Jersey, you can’t attract a bear into an empty trap.”

In New Jersey’s large Jewish community – estimated at 480,000, or 5.5 percent of the state’s population, in 2006 – many are grateful Corzine can finally complete his visit.