LEXUS OF LANSING
The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection
Open For Business
Israeli exporters are ready, willing and able to
take advantage of the peace process.
AARON HALABE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
T
The anecdote illustrates the
deterioration of the Arab boycott,
which prohibits the sale of Israeli
products in Arab countries. De-
spite this impediment, in recent
years Israeli wares have secret-
ly made their way into Arab na-
tions through Cyprus and
third-party European countries.
Even though it is nearly a
mute issue, an Arab declaration
announcing the boycott's official
repeal.would remove a hurdle to
Israeli exporters..
Saudi Arabia has announced
that it would be phasing out the
boycott, and it is encouraging oth-
er Arab states to follow suit.
The boycott's official demise
may be nearing, but other eco-
nomic challenges remain. Chief
among them is establishing trust
among trading partners.
That trust may be harder to
win in certain quarters. Many
Middle East watchers rule out
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The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection
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MARKET FACT
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ell-educated subscribers to The Jewish News recognize and appreci-
ate business and investment opportunities.
Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton and Yassir Arafat: Paving the way for better business.
These companies help make
Israel's economy the largest and
strongest in the Middle East, says
Giora Meyuhas, the Israeli gov-
ernment's economic minister for
North America. And Mr.
Meyuhas expects that Israel will
soon have new markets for its
high-tech products — right in the
country's back yard.
"I have no doubts that there
will be big trade deals between
Israel and the Arab countries,"
he says. "Already we have trade
with Jordan and Lebanon. And
our products are penetrating all
the way to Oman."
During a recent economic mis-
sion to Oman, Mr. Meyuhas says,
Israel's trade delegation was sur-
prised to find Israeli-made air
conditioning systems in that Per-
sian Gulf country.
the establishment of Israeli bu s i-
ness relationships with the Pales-
tinians, given recent terrorist
attacks against Israel by Pales-
tinian extremist groups and the
instability of Palestinian leader-
ship.
"It will take some time to build
trust and friendship with the
mainstream Arab states, but it's
already happening," Mr.
Meyuhas says. "If it's in the in-
terest of both parties, it will work.
"Nobody believed that Ger-
many and France could co-exist
after World War II. The hatred
there was unbelievable. It's the
same story here exactly."
Other Middle East observers
agree. Detroit native Alan Lev-
enten, now a vice president at
Merrill Lynch in New York, says
OPEN page 32
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Jewish News
National Ave.
College Graduate or More
56%
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Some College
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High School Graduate
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LO
Sources: 1993 Simmons-Jewish News Study
THE JEWISH NEWS
0)
a,
FE BRU ARY
•
he awkward handshake
between Israeli Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin
and PLO Chief Yassir
Arafat signaled more than a po-
litical rapprochement. It an-
nounced to the world that the
Middle East is open for business.
With an Israeli-Jordanian
peace accord on the books and
positive developments being re-
ported with many Gulf countries,
experts worldwide are studying
the economic impact of peace.
While no consensus has been
reached, most observers expect
that Israeli exporters will play
a major role in reshaping the re-
gion's economy.
Backed by a highly skilled
work force, Israel's exporting
firms produce some of the world's
most sophisticated high-tech
products including computer soft-
ware, telecommunications equip-
ment and pharmaceuticals.
B31