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Gary Torqow and
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JEAN AND SAMUEL FRANKEL SCHOOt_

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In Search Of Jobs,
Investment

Governor visits Israel in hopes of diversifying Michigan economy.

Robert Sklar

Editor

T

he principal of the Jean and
Samuel Frankel Traditional
School in Jerusalem showed
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm a Jewish
National Fund tzedakah box. She told the
governor how Jews for generations have
dropped coins into the blue boxes to help
build forests, parks and water resources as
well as fight land degradation and sustain
agriculture.
Through this example, the principal
— Detroiter Barbara Goldsmith Levin,
whose parents, Alice and Max Goldsmith,
were active at Adat Shalom Synagogue
— recounted how much love Israelis have
for their country.
"It's just so beautiful:' the governor told
the IN in an exclusive interview while
she was aboard a bus amid her seventh
overseas jobs and investment mission
since 2004. The trip to Israel and Jordan
spanned Nov. 15-19. The 15-member
Michigan delegation included Michigan
Economic Development Corp. President
James Epolito and plenty of representation
from the Jewish community
"It's so profound to see the love of this
country, to feel it even as a Christian, to

experience the pride of living here — the
very strong connection to the land and
the culture on the part of the people
Granholm said via cell phone on Nov. 18.
The 32-year-old, multi-stream school,
founded by Levin in 1976, is named after
its major Detroit benefactors, the Frankels.
"Frankel School is a tremendous example
of commitment to Israel, to pluralism and
to educating young people Granholm said.

of the school is a lasting tribute to the
contributions by Levin and the Frankels,
Granholm said. "We in Michigan should
feel very proud of their contributions in
Israel:' she said.
Detroiter Stanley Frankel, one of the
Frankels' children and a philanthropic
leader in his own right, flew in for the
day. He's the Friends of Frankel School's
administrator.

"It's so profound to see the love of this country, to
feel it even as a Christian, to experience the pride
of living here — the very strong connection to the
land and the culture on the part of the people."

- Gov. Granholm

When she arrived at the school, the
students were standing outside, waving
Israeli and American flags and singing
Israeli songs. A Michigan flag adorned the
front of the school. The kids later marched
in celebration of the 60th anniversary of
Israeli statehood.
The methodology and inclusiveness

Economic Seeds
Granholm, 49, became Michigan gover-
nor in 2003 and was re-elected in 2006.
She had visited Israel once before, in
1981 while a student at the University
of California-Berkeley. In the past, her
gubernatorial trade missions have tended

to focus on Japan and Germany because of
Michigan's automotive ties to those coun-
tries. Her current strategic plan calls for
rebuilding Michigan's flailing economy by
reaching out to countries that have exper-
tise in technology, alternative energy, life
sciences, homeland security and defense.
"Israel has all of the sweet spots that we
are moving into as we diversify Michigan's
economy;' Granholm said.
Her pitch was simple: Michigan offers
an excellent workforce as well as economic
development incentives and a family-ori-
ented quality of life.
On the whirlwind sojourn to what
Granholm termed the cradle of multiple
great religions, the Michigan delegation met
with officials from about 130 companies.
A jog in Tel Aviv amid sunny skies
and 70-degree temperatures along the
Mediterranean Sea reinvigorated her after
the 10-hour flight from the East Coast to
Ben-Gurion International Airport. The
dinner menu that first night was strictly
Mediterranean: fish falafel, cucumber
salad with yogurt dressing, grilled salmon
and sweet lemon crepes.
In what she described as a key suc-
cess of the mission, Granholm signed a

In Search on page A14

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November 27 • 2008

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