A

t an Israeli mobility 
summit held 984 feet 
from the Mediterranean 
coastline, an exhibition hall 
overflowed with companies. 
Many of the startups are 
focused on making driving 
safer to prevent the 6 million 
accidents that occur each year 
in the U.S. One company just 
advanced a partnership with a 
major city in Michigan to help 
create transportation efficien-
cies for the city and its drivers. 
A short ride away, an Israeli 
stealth startup is working on 
reducing global medical errors 
to target the quarter million or 

so preventable deaths each year. 
It’
s the third leading cause of 
U.S. deaths. The startup is one 
of several ventures aligned with 
Michigan hospitals’
 objectives to 
save lives through technology, 
whether it’
s to lower wait time 
or create more efficiencies for 
the state’
s 100 million+ emer-
gency room visits each year.
A few miles up the 
Mediterranean coastline, a 
group from Michigan had 
arrived, led by Gov. Gretchen 
Whitmer, who spent last week 
in Israel on her first internation-
al trade mission. 
The five-day trip from Nov. 

19-23 included a visit to GM’
s 
Advanced Technical Center 
and a meeting with its director, 
Gil Golan, and his team for an 
understanding of GM’
s role in 
Israel’
s Start-Up Nation and the 
innovation ecosystem. 
Whitmer also scheduled a 
meeting with a delegation of 
other Democratic U.S. gov-
ernors pursuing partnerships 
and economic developments 
in Israel, and visits to Ford 
Motor Company’
s new regional 
research center. 
Also on her agenda was a 
meeting with Israeli Minister 
of Energy Dr. Yuval Steinitz as 

part of the Water Technology 
and Environmental Council 
(WATEC) conference.

IMPROVING MICHIGAN-
ISRAEL TIES
The governor comes home 
with a signed Memorandum 
of Understanding (MOU) with 
Israel-based tech NGO Start-Up 
Nation Central.
Start-Up Nation Central acts 
as a gateway to Israeli inno-
vation to collaborate on ways 
to improve opportunities and 
quality of life for Michigan 
citizens. Michigan and Start-
Up Nation Central will work 
to connect innovative ecosys-
tems and identify Israeli-based 
companies with opportunities 
to expand operations into 
Michigan. 
“This MOU can offer a 
blueprint for connecting the 
innovation ecosystems stra-
tegically,
” Whitmer said. “
An 
example might be how to 
optimize mobility to improve 
transportation options for cit-
izens who may not be looking 
for a self-driving car, but who 
do need an affordable, reliable 
way to go to the bank, get to an 
appointment or meet friends.
” 
Earlier this year, Michigan 
became the first state to launch 
a free web platform poised 
to be a tipping point for the 
state’
s startup ecosystem. The 
platform, startupMICHIGAN.
com, created by Start-Up 
Nation Central and powered 
by the Michigan Israel Business 
Accelerator (MIBA), features 
more than 300 startups and 
growing — including hubs and 
funders. 
“One of Gov. Whitmer’
s 
top priorities is solidifying 
Michigan as a world leader in 
mobility, and it’
s important that 
we build on our relationships 
with our international partners 

18 | NOVEMBER 28 • 2019 

Trade Mission to Israel 
Gov. Whitmer signs agreement to connect 
Israeli businesses to Michigan.

Tel Aviv and Southfield 

Michigan Gov. Gretchen 
Whitmer and Professor 
Eugene Kandel, CEO of 
Start-Up Nation Central, 
with the Memorandum of 
Understanding they signed. 

 COURTESY OF START-UP NATION CENTRAL

Jews in the D

ADAM FINKEL CONTRIBUTING WRITER