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 LEXUS OF LANSING The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection For a personal showing: Call 1-800-539-8748 OR i-800-LEXUS-4-U Exit 104 off 1-96 • 5709 S. Pennsylvania, Lansing • 517/394-8000 (CALL COLLECT) MARKET FACT W 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 Highest Level Attained Jewish News National Ave. College Graduate or More 56% 19.5% Some College 19% 19.9% High School Graduate 23% 39.0% Less Than High School Graduate 20/0 21.6% 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