6 | MARCH 17 • 2022 

update
Operation Re-Connect
A

fter two years of 
COVID-restricted 
travel to Israel, 
Michigan Israel Business 
Accelerator (MIBA) CEO 
Scott Hiipakka 
finally arrived 
in the Start-Up 
Nation for a 
five-day whirl-
wind visit in 
January. Meeting 
hosts rolled 
out the “red 
carpet” — meeting a real live 
American in the flesh, without 
the filter of a computer screen, 
was both exciting and encour-
aging as we hopefully turn 
“the COVID corner.” 
The MIBA team in Israel, 
myself and Liza Yedwab, 
accompanied Scott throughout 
the week, meeting with multi-
ple business and government 

partners on the ground, sep-
arated only by masks. While 
most visits were defense ori-
ented, MIBA
’s other strategic 
areas of focus were addressed, 
including health, sustainability 
and mobility. The message at 
all meetings was clear — do 
not underestimate the potential 
of collaborating with Michigan! 
We were welcomed warmly 
at Elbit, Israel’s largest private-
ly traded defense electronics 
company. They were excited 
to learn about furthering rela-
tionships with Michigan, espe-
cially when hearing about the 
options for defense product 
experimentation in Michigan’s 
National All Domain 
Warfighting Center — Camp 
Grayling.
Our meeting with the 
Defense Cooperation of 
the U.S. Embassy surpassed 

expectations. We were 
pleasantly surprised to be 
welcomed by six embassy 
representatives, including the 
defense attaché. Again, they 
were fascinated to learn about 
the state of Michigan and its 
potential in the defense arena. 
A day with the leaders of 
the innovation teams at Ben 
Gurion University of the 
Negev and the Municipality 
of Beer Sheeva showcased the 
endless creativity and inno-
vation of this southern desert 
city. Focusing on future col-
laboration in areas including 
sustainability, digital health 
and cyber, they showed deep 
interest in developing a strong 

relationship with the city of 
Detroit and with the innova-
tion segments of Michigan 
universities. The encounters 
with them were inspiring. 
They proudly fulfill the leg-
acy of the namesake of their 
university, David Ben-Gurion, 
Israel’s first prime minister 
and advocate of the potential 
of the desert when he said, 
“It’s not enough to be up to 
date, you have to be up to 
tomorrow.” 
It is not often that Israelis, 
who serve in compulsory 
military service from age 18 
and continue in reserve duty 
into their 40s, meet a U.S. 
Brigadier General (CEO Scott 

Naomi Miller 

PURELY COMMENTARY

continued on page 9

1942 - 2022

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