Engler Staffers Visit Israe

State officials are
anxious to build
relations with
the Jewish
community — and
to apply Israel's
high technology
to Michigan.

VI/ ith two state sena-
tors at his side,
Dan Pero, Gov.
John Engler's chief
of staff, recently placed a
wreath with the Michigan
emblem on the floor of Yad
Vashem.
"I will never forget the
Holocaust memorial. It was
a moving experience," said
Mr. Pero, one of six partici-
pating state officials and two
legislators (Mat Dunaskiss,
R-Oxford, and Michael Bou-
chard, R-Birmingham) who
visited Israel last month for
the first time.
"This was a once in a life-
time opportunity," said Mr.
Pero, whose wife, Colleen,
fresh off the Bush-Quayle
campaign trail, also joined
the 12-person group on the
week-long Jewish Commu-
nity Council Michigan Busi-
ness and Trade Mission.
The Engler team was high
powered, comprised of Mr.
Pero, Mrs. Pero, who serves
as director of state affairs;
Field Reichardt, former di-
rector for the state Depart-
ment of Commerce; Dennis
Schornack, senior policy ad-

The mission visits Kibbutz Cabri.

viser; Rusty Hills, director of
communications; and Mar-
garet Byington, deputy di-
rector for the Department of
Commerce.
Joining the politicos were
David Gad-Harf, JCCouncil
executive director; JCCoun-
cil President Jeannie Wein-
er and her husband, Gershon
Weiner; immediate past Jew-
ish Federation President
Mark Schlussel; GOP ac-
tivist Andrea Fischer, and
businessman Arnold Joseff.
"We planted trees. This
trip helped us to understand
historical significance, and
we visited holy sites like the
Western Wall and the site
where the crucifixion took
place," Mr. Pero said. "We
saw firsthand the birth of re-
ligion."
The group brought back to
Michigan many ideas for in-
ternational trade — and they
stressed a new interest in
building relations with the
Jewish community through-
out the state.
Part of the reason for the
mission, underwritten by a
$20,000 grant from the Unit-
ed Jewish Foundation, was
to develop relations with
high-level state administra-

tors, Mr. Gad-Haff said.
"We need to reinvigorate
what was begun by the Blan-
chard administration," Mr.
Gad-Harf said. (When Jim
Blanchard was governor, he
and then Commerce Director
Doug Ross launched the
Michigan Israel Free Trade
Agreement.)
Until now, Jewish leaders
agreed, relations with the
Engler administration were
sometimes strained.
"We are the first to admit
we did not have those rela-
tionships with the Jewish
community. Now, even
though we have some differ-
ences in policy ideas, we have
a friendship, " Mr. Pero said.
"We were able to spend time
with a lot of terrific people,
and we developed important
personal relationships."
Ms. Weiner said the trip
"far surpassed" her expecta-
tions.
"These people were really
special," she said. `They were
sincerely interested in learn-
ing about Israel, the Jewish
people and Judaism. We
have not had ties with this
administration, and it is im-
portant that we do. They rec-
ognized that, too."

A priority on the business
agendas of Mr. Pero and Mr.
Bouchard are dealings with
a high tech company in Israel
that has developed a heat
sensitive device to detect for-
est fires.
"I think Israel has a nat-
ural connection with Michi-
gan," said Mr. Bouchard, vice
chair of the Senate corpora-
tions and economic develop-
ment committee. "In Michi-
gan, we pay people to sit in
towers and look for (forest)
fires (with binoculars). They
have products that deal with
thermal imaging, that may
be adaptive to seek out heat
sources."
The group toured a few
kibbutzim, and one — Kib-
butz Cabri, which contracts
defense products to U.S. com-
panies — was within range of
Arab shelling the night be-
fore their visit. Israeli De-
fense Forces had been on
high alert during the mis-
sion.
"We were right where peo-
ple are sleeping in bomb
shelters at night," Ms. Pero
said. "It gives you a whole
different perspective."
Michigan's executive di-
rector for President George

