Community & Business: What can we look forward to in terms of US-Israel relations in the upcoming year?

USA-Israel Relations: Towards a Year of New Business Partnerships | Photo: Shuttestock
USA-Israel Relations: Towards a Year of New Business Partnerships | Photo: Shuttestock
The annual Israeli-American Council Summit is one of the largest and most influential in the Jewish world. The IAC returns following a break due to the pandemic and focuses on business opportunities, and working towards strengthening relations with the UAE

Contributors

The 2021 IAC conference took place in Hollywood, Florida, and is a celebration of the Israeli community in the United States, and a reminder of its great influence.

While most of the conference focused on political issues, relevant to the Jewish people of Israel and the USA, there was an emphasis on the worlds of technology, content, and business collaborations, as expected from the start-up nation.

The IAC goals are to understand the biggest trends impacting the Israeli-American community. Surprisingly, focusing not only on politics but also business, community, and collaborations

“Other than being a place of brotherhood and a lot of fun, the summit became a place where new ideas are born”

Strong community 

One of the clearest aspects of the conference was the focus on community building. The organization intended to include everyone, regardless of their background or political view. A fresh take, considering the political dividedness, both in the US and Israel. 

Yasmin Lukatz, the founder of ICON, an influential organization connecting Israeli startups to Silicon Valley, stated that “since its beginning, the IAC has managed to create a groundbreaking discourse about American-Israelis, Jews, and the state of Israel. This is why the absence of last year’s summit was significant. Other than being a place of brotherhood and a lot of fun, the summit became a place where new ideas are born.”

“this is the first time that an Emarati, or anyone from the Gulf, was invited to speak at such a prestigious event.”

Politics still play a big part 

While the conference’s focus was on bringing the community together, political content took center stage. But while the headliners included politicians such as Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, they also included business heavyweights like hedge fund manager Marc Lasry.  

Young entrepreneurs and influencers were speaking on the importance of UAE-Israel relations, with apparent enthusiasm about the countries continuous collaboration: 

Omar Al Busaidy, CEO of Sharaka NGO – USA reflected: “this is the first time that an Emarati, or anyone from the Gulf, was invited to speak at such a prestigious event. I was invited to speak about the Abraham Accords, the UAE, and the entrepreneurship scene. I also took the opportunity to discuss how trade and commerce have prospered not just between Israel and the UAE governments after the signing of the Abraham Accords but on the countless partnerships that are taking place between Emarati and Israeli entrepreneurs.” 

Business relationship

The great success of Israeli startups in the US is widely known and this time, the real estate and proptech worlds took center stage. This years’ conference leaders put a huge emphasis on building strong business relations and were able to facilitate connections between Israelis, Americans, and Israeli-Americans. 

In conclusion, it seems that we will continue to witness surprising developments in entrepreneurial and business relationships. Between Israel, the United States, and other countries. continued community building and deepening familiarity with the business and political community. And lastly, the understanding, especially in the last two years, of just how important conferences like these are.


Jonathan “Yoni” Frenkel is a content strategist and founder of YKC Media, a digital marketing agency that works with the global tech/venture/startup community.

Forbes Israel Contributors are independent writers that were individually picked by Forbes staff. The writers are experts in their field and they provide professional commentary and analysis of current events. The Contributor’s content isn’t sponsored

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