On Sunday, New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito will lead a Council delegation trip to Israel where they will meet with many political leaders and opinion makers and visit historic sites and centers of economic and business innovation. New York City has very close economic ties to Israel; there are there are currently over 200 Israeli startup companies in New York City, with new ones opening at an average rate of 10 per month. Additionally, New York State is ranked as the number one exporter to Israel out of the 50 States. New York City is also home to the landmark partnership between Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The two-million-square-foot applied science and engineering campus on Roosevelt Island is scheduled to open in 2017.

Speaker Mark-Viverito told YWN “My colleagues and I are looking forward to going to Israel with the JCRC. This trip will afford us the opportunity to meet with political leaders and opinion makers from across the Israeli spectrum and to visit many locations of significance all across the country, from historic sites to centers of innovation.

New York City and Israel share many cultural, business and educational ties and this trip with members of the Council will help strengthen them. From the Cornell-Technion Institute soon to break ground on Roosevelt Island to the 10 Israeli high tech companies starting up each month in NYC, the opportunities for joint economic development between our City and the State of Israel continue to flourish and benefit us both. I’m honored to be taking this trip to enhance our partnership with the people of Israel.”

Meetings During the Trip Include:

· Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel

· Jerusalem City Council Members

· Alon Davidi, Mayor of Sderot

· Oded Revivi, Mayor of Efrat

· Tzachi Hanegbi, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs

· MK Hilik Bar, Secretary General of the Labor Party and Deputy Knesset Speaker

· Aluf Benn, Editor in Chief, Haaretz

· Fatah Representative and Palestinian female municipal Council Members who recently returned from a trip to the United States to learn about municipal management, American Consulate in Ramallah

The Delegation Will Visit:

· Old City of Jerusalem, including the Western (or “Wailing”) Wall

· Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem

· Masada

· Dead Sea

· Yad Vashem

· Sderot

· Ibim, Immigrant Absorption Center

· Tsofen High Technology, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the integration of Israel’s Arab Citizens into the hi-tech industry as a means of promoting economic development, reducing poverty, high value job creation in Arab urban centers and integration of Arab citizens into Israel’s civil society.

(YWN Desk – NYC)