BUSINESS THE JEWISH NEWS BUSINESS CONTENTS ISRAEL'S SUCCESS: HIS BUSINESS David Hermelin has a passion. BUSINESS IS BOOMING Israel on the global economic scene. JEWISH ROOTS B5 B6 B10 Old businesses of Detroit. ECONOMIC BAROMETER B 17 New highs for Detroit. BUSINESS DIPLOMACY David Hermelin: "Wanting Israel to privatize." !Israel's Success Is His Business B20 DETROIT-ISRAEL BUSINESSES B22 SO HOW'S BUSINESS B26 Thank goodness 1992 is over. MODERN MEDICINE David Hermelin has a passion for the growth of the Jewish state. B31 Changing roles. ISRAELI STOCKS ARE HOT ( PHIL JACOBS MANAGING EDITOR avid Hermelin can talk Israel like many can hammer out baseball stats. ; He sits back in his Redico Management office in South- field, almost drifting away to somewhere between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israel is Mr. Hermelin's passion, and the business of \ Israel is for everyone who • knows him, a driving force in his soul. He's proud of Israel, almost like a father would be of a child. He wants it to do well. "The big picture of business \ in Israel is really great," he • said. "It's one of the few coun- tries that showed a significant amount of economic growth last year, 6 1/2 percent. A sig- nificant piece of that pie was in job creation. Israel wants to drive its unemployment • down like it has done with in- flation." Unemployment, he added, is still a major challenge for Israel to face, especially with its continually arriving popu- lation made up largely of So- ,. viet emigres. The unem- ployment number among olim is still over 20 percent. Over- all, the country's unemploy- ment rate is over 11 percent. Mr. Hermelin said it is im- possible to expect Israel to get jobs for people on the first day Former counsel general reps for Israel. Israel makes its mark on the Market. of their arrival. But strength- ening the economy will pro- vide more jobs. The key, he said, will come when Israel moves into an era of free en- terprise and privatization. That process is well on its way to starting, and Mr. Her- melin said it also is happen- ing in ways not so obvious. Israeli universities, he ex- plained, are educating stu- dents in the ways of western business, so they learn the universal language of busi- ness when the opportunity strikes. He discusses one of Israel's most precious assets — its large computer software and high tech industry. Many of these companies are traded on the U.S. securities mar- kets. He even knows something about Israel's medical indus- try. The country has one of the world's highest rates of doctors — one for every 1,000 citizens. On the flipside, Is- rael is trying to attract busi- nesses from other parts of the world by offering financial in- centives. Many of the incen- tives come from the gov- ernment. "Israel must not be a fol- lower, but a leader," Mr. Her- melin said. Israel is not without its problems, he said. The real problem in the area, whether there's peace or war, is water. "If you don't develop the desert it will consume you," he said. "This is an issue of the region that needs to be ad- dressed through cooperative efforts." Mr. Hermelin believes Is- rael's future success will in- clude broadening its business base to include Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the oth- er countries in the Middle _ East region. Then, once the government makes privatization of the business world a reality, Is- rael will begin to prosper on the economic scene. "Israel already is a world leader in quality of work- force," he said. "Israel is well postured in this area. And when you factor in the quali- ty and the educational level of the Soviet olim, you see sig- nificant positive things hap- pening. "But for the country to grow, there's got to be more outreach to foreign compa- nies, the relationship between the government and Israeli industry and business needs to be more streamlined. "That red tape that every- one used to talk about con- cerning Israel is much better now than it's ever been. ❑ BURNT OUT Detroit professionals pursue different paths. GUARDIAN ANGEL B34 B36 B39 William Davidson talks business. PENNIES FROM HEAVEN Financial aid to Israel boost or burden? B43 THE JEWISH NEWS 27676 Franklin Rd. Southfield, Michigan 48034 Associate Publisher Arthur M. Horwitz Editor Phil Jacobs Art Director Brian Michael Lawrence Production Gayle Baldi Donald Cheshure Cathy Ciccone Curtis DeLoye Seymour Manello Kris Morgan Ralph Orme Debbie Schultz Gall Zimmerman Business Manager Marianne B. Taylor Public Relations Coordinator Amy Opper Account Executives Stuart Grant Kathy Johnson Betsy Leeman Lisa Marshall Rick Nesse! Danny Raskin Art Shafer Laura Siegel Susan Wachsberg Patricia Zorlen Staff Photographer Glenn Triest 0) co w B5