into an integrated regional ap-
proach bringing Arab and Is-
raeli partners together," he said.
Conditions in Israel strongly
support the influx of private de-
velopment, Mr. Meyuhas said.
"The government is commit-
ted to privatization," he said.
"Business will be conducted by
business people; the govern-
ment is backing off."
Coupled with a peace process
which has encouraged multi-
national companies to do busi-
ness in Israel, and which has
already started breaking down
walls between Israel and its
neighbors, he noted that in-
vestors now consider selling to
a market of over 100 million
people in the Middle East, as
opposed to the limited 5.5 mil-
lion in Israel.
The speakers emphasized the
importance of using these in-
roads to create equal partner-
ships between Israelis and
Palestinians and to avoid creat-
ing an inherently unstable soci-
ety °Mayes and have-nots. They
also emphasized the need for Is-
raelis to seek out those in Arab
countries who are accomplished
in technology and business and
to work more closely with them
on development projects.
"The Arabs are afraid that Is-
rael will try to dominate them,"
Mr. Meyuhas said. "It's very im-
Conditions in
Israel strongly
support the influx
of private
development.
portant for us to understand it,
appreciate it, and find ways
that we can work as partners."
While the peace process is ac-
celerating the positive econom-
ic indicators that were already
in place, it is also changing the
psychology of business, noted
Mr. Galil.
"What's the No. 1 change?"
he asked. "It's attitude. The key
element is the realization in the
world that peace in the Middle
East is something that can hap-
pen in our lifetime, and that's a
m aj or difference."
At the same time, he said
that Israel is well positioned to
benefit from global changes in
the manner that business is
conducted. Multinational com-
panies no longer simply look for
large markets to sell their prod-
ucts; increasingly, they decide
how and where to do business
based on the development of
global markets that are pro-
ductive enough to drive large-
scale job creation at home.
Israel has wide experience in
this, given its reliance on tech-
nology-based exports to over-
seas markets since its domestic
consumption cannot provide
sufficient growth and employ-
ment.
"Being big or small is not so
important anymore," Mr. Galil
said. "This is a change."
Israel also offers a model for
conversion of defense industries
to commercial products. While
a defense contractor is not eas-
ily able to convert, Mr. Galil not-
ed the example of Rafael,
Israel's armament research fa-
cility, which has formed a spin-
off partnership with a
commercial group of companies;
the concept is to form an inde-
pendent operation that com-
bines the advanced defense
technology of one organization
with the management culture
and operations of the other.
Israel's advanced technolo-
gy-based industries, plus the
ability to develop advanced in-
ternational data links and in-
formation management
systems, provide a way for the
country to exercise a relative ad-
vantage in international mar-
kets. In addition, Mr. Galil said,
these advantages form a strong
basis for joint projects that will
form the backbone of regional
cooperation.
"High tech and advanced
data management will be the
things in the longer run that
will ensure the peace because
they will improve the standard
of living of the people in the
area," he added.
Summarizing the political
context of these changes, Mr.
Merhav noted, "The time is ripe;
history is on our side; the way
for political coexistence between
Jews and Arabs is paved."
Adding that certain problems
must be approached jointly,
such as preserving the aquifer
below the West Bank regard-
less of the political relationships
above them, he suggested, "We
have to use the water as a
bridge over troubled water."
The Technion-Israel Institute
of Technology, located in Haifa,
is Israel's only comprehensive
scientific and technological uni-
versity and its major center for
basic and applied research.
More than 75 percent of Is-
rael's professional engineers are
Technion graduates, as are vir-
tually all the founders and di-
rectors of Israel's high-tech
industries. Both Mr. Meyuhas
and Mr. Galil are Technion
graduates and members of its
International Board of Direc-
tors; Mr. Galil is honorary chair-
man of the board.
The American Technion so-
ciety, based in New York City,
is the Technion's liaison and
fund-raising arm in the United
States. It is the leading Unit-
ed States organization sup-
porting higher education in
Israel. Technion societies are lo-
cated in 24 countries around the
world. Ell
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