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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