NOVEMBER 28 • 2019 | 19

so we can work together to
attract more businesses and jobs
to our state,
” said the governor’
s
spokesperson Tiffany Brown.
During her trip, Whitmer
spoke at the WATEC confer-
ence in Tel Aviv, highlighting
her dedication to protecting
the Great Lakes.
According to the Times
of Israel, at the conference
Whitmer said, “We’
re working
with our partners and other
states to secure our Great
Lakes because we cannot
afford to sit back and watch
these problems get worse. The
ecological economics and the
health risks are too high. And
time is not on our side. We
must act now; we must act
together. We must form part-
nerships with leaders around
the world to do this.”
While in Israel, Whitmer
visited Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and

Bethlehem. In Bethlehem, she
planned to visit the Church
of the Nativity and meet with
Vera Baboun, representative of
the Palestinian Authority and
former mayor of Bethlehem.
According to her official
statement, the trip was con-
ducted at the invitation of the
Israeli government and hosted
by the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit in coor-
dination with the Michigan
Economic Development
Corporation.

MICHIGAN’
S ARAB-
AMERICANS UPSET
Whitmer’
s decision to travel
to Israel angered some Arab
Americans in Michigan,
according to an Arab American
News presss release.
Arab American community
leaders met Monday during
her trip to formulate a response

to Whitmer’
s “insensitive and
offensive trip to the apartheid
state of Israel.” Her trip took
leaders by surprise, says the
press release, which added that
many in the Arab American
community in Michigan con-
sidered it “a slap in the face.”
According to the Detroit
News, the Dearborn-based
American Human Rights
Council said in a statement
that it is “deeply concerned”
that Whitmer’
s visit to Israel
will be “perceived as acquies-
cence, if not approval of U.S.
abandonment of its longtime
policy and of Israeli repressive
policies.”
According to Brown,
“Michigan governors have a
rich tradition of traveling to
Israel to strengthen our busi-
ness ties and meet with leaders
to discuss how we can partner
to attract more businesses and

jobs to our state. The governor
is hopeful that we’
ll accomplish
these goals on this trip, and
she’
s excited for future oppor-
tunities to work with more of
our international partners.”
Previous governors to lead
economic development trips
to Israel include Gov. Jennifer
Granholm in 2008 and Gov.
Rick Snyder in 2017.

NO PRESS TIME
Though the Jewish News had a
reporter on the ground in Israel
all week, repeated requests each
day for access to the governor
to cover her activities in the
country were denied. The JN
was granted a five-minute con-
ference call with Whitmer on
Friday, Nov. 22, but the call was
canceled at the last minute.

JN Contributing Writer Adam Finkel

reported from Tel Aviv.

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