ONLY THE BEGINNING
MUCH MORE SUCCESS TO COME
CONFERENCES
Clean Technology Energy Conference
3-Day conference in 2021 in the wake of the Texas Winter Storm, with panel discussions among the biggest industry leaders around new solutions.
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CTOs and CEOs from NRG, EDF, Shell, Engie, Goldman Sachs, Dell, Delek, Shikun & Binui
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President of the State Senate
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2 US Congressmen
Water Innovation
First ever Texas-Israel Water conference, held in 2017 with state-wide attendance from TCEQ, TWDB, and municipal and agricultural leaders. As a direct consequence. Texas State subsequently launched a $11 million water project to employ Israeli technology. Participants included:
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Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller
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Water Chief at the Israeli Innovation Authority
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Delegation of 10 Israeli water companies
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Bahrain Ambassador Event
Event in 2021 bringing Israel Ambassador to US and Bahraini Ambassador to the US to discuss their bilateral relationship timed with the inaugural Bahrain flight to Israel.
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Construction Management Technology
Business to Business event in 2021 to promote Israeli technology in managing construction to Texas companies developing new buildings in the state's rapid economic growth story.
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Israeli Tech Venture Lecture Series - 2019
Prominent Israeli tech fund lecture series with the CEO of OurCrowd to speak to the Israeli innovation ecosystem and investment opportunities
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Israeli Tech Venture Lecture Series - 2022
Prominent Israeli tech fund lecture series with the CEO of ICI, bringing her to key ecosystems of Texas companies and investors like Capital Factory.
Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure
Historic cybersecurity conference in 2018 held at SMU with speakers including:
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Rick Perry, US Secretary of Energy
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Yuval Steinitz, Israel Energy Minister
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Rep. Michael McCaul, Chairman of the
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Homeland Security Committee
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Rep. John Ratcliffe, Chairman of the
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Cybersecurity Subcommittee
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Nadav Zafrir, Founder of the IDF Cyber
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Command and leader of 8200
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William Noonan, Head of Electronic
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Crimes for the Secret Service
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John Hoffman, CTO for State of Texas
AT&T Innovation Event
Major event held in 2018 to honor AT&T for its R&D operations in Israel, and how Israeli innovation creates economic development in Dallas. Attendees included large
technology companies and civil society groups, including:
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CEO of AT&T
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The Mayor of Dallas,
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5 US Congressmen
PM Netanyahu's Innovation Advisor Event
Event in 2019 featuring Prime Minister Netanyahu's Chief Innovation Advisor and Chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority, Ami Appelbaum on energy technology for Israeli offshore case, which ultimately became the Chevron participation in the Leviathan gas field.
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Innovators Conference
Private Innovators event in 2021 with high profile leadership (predominantly CEOs and CTOs) from Texas and Israel to create confidence-driven dialogue.
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Texas Association of Business Conference
Partnering with the TAB to demonstrate the economic development benefits to the State of Texas of companies working with Israel
Healthcare Innovation Summit
Summit held in 2019 held at UT Southwestern
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FDA’s Principal Deputy Commissioner
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CEO of the Cancer Prevention & Research
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Institute of Texas (CPRIT)
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Chief Medical Officer at NASA
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Head of Innovation at US Army Futures
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US Secretary Health Human Services Chief
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UT Southwestern President
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2nd Healthcare Summit
Upcoming conference in 2022 to be held at the Texas Medical Center at Rice University to promote a FDA office in Israel as well as advocate for ARPA-H in Texas, showcasing Israeli tech pipeline. Speakers include:
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CIO of Clalit HMO
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CEO of CPRIT
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Prominent researchers from Weizmann
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AION Labs Founder & Director
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Social Issue Hackathon
Organizing social cause hackathons for experts across the Middle East to problem solve issues around water and healthcare alongside Israelis
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Advisor Summit
Elite Davos style event in Texas bringing together the MENA advisors network for a confidence building retreat for collaboration between MENA and Israeli leaders.
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Israeli Dignitaries in Texas
Hosted a private event in 2022 for Texas businessmen and Israeli dignitaries including a sitting Minister who serves as the Prime Minister's chief advisor, and members of the Israeli Knesset.​
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CPRIT Events for Israeli companies in Texas
Creating webinars for CPRIT to reach out to Israeli companies with the value proposition for them coming to Texas.​
DELEGATIONS
Agriculture Commissioner to Israel 2017
Delegation for Texas Agriculture Commissioner to increase trade with Israeli agriculture community through government agreements.
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Israeli Water Companies to Texas 2017
Nine Israeli water companies for a showcase in front of farmers, municipal water authorities, river authorities, and utility companies
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Israeli Cybersecurity Delegation 2018
Twelve Israeli cybersecurity companies showcase in front of energy companies, financial companies, and the State of Texas Chief Information Officer
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Healthcare Delegation to Israel 2022
High level healthcare delegation from Texas to Israel to create business agreements and strategic partnerships
Texas Student Delegation for Internships 2018
Granted scholarships and organized internships for a class of students in 2018 from the University of Texas System and Southern Methodist University in the arenas of business and tech.
Israeli Water Agency in Texas 2019
Leadership of the national Israeli water company Mekorot to Houston in 2019 to meet with the Texas water agencies,
(Chairman of the Texas Water Development Board and the Agriculture Commissioner), and the US EPA.
Texas Delegation to Israel 2019
Delegation of Texas business leaders to Israel for a series of strategic initiatives
Chancellor of the University of Texas
Organized meetings for the Chancellor James Milliken in Israel and worked with the University of Texas System's Chief Innovation Officer on partnerships between faculty, students, and research.
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Healthcare Companies to Texas 2019
Twelve Israeli digital healthcare companies to visit with hospital leadership of Baylor and MD Anderson.
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Smart Cities Delegation 2022
Ten Israeli companies in Smart Cities space to feature their technology to operators in Austin who could integrate it into their industrial park for a regional showcase, particularly around electricity.
PROJECTS
FDA Office
Successfully campaigned for the opening of a Food & Drug Administration (FDA) office in Israel, to facilitate greater US-Israel collaboration on healthcare and food innovation in early 2020. The Texas-Israel Alliance Healthcare Innovation Summit served as a key platform in this office's approval, with Secretary Mnuchin announcing it the next day.
The Texas-Israel Cyber Security Initiative
Launched an anchor to the White House – Israel Cybersecurity Working Group, with the Chairmen of the Homeland Security and Cybersecurity Committees in Congress for ongoing strategic engagement with the Israeli Prime Minister's Cybersecurity Office
R&D Agreement
Signed a $2 million joint R&D agreement in 2018 on behalf of the Governor of Texas and the Israeli Innovation Authority for joint industrialized R&D between the states.
BIRD Foundation Announcement
Worked with the BIRD Foundation on the $4 million funding opportunity in 2021 the clean tech arena, and organized meetings with energy companies for US-Israel partnerships
Blue Cross Blue Shield Innovation Lab C1
Connecting Israeli technology and companies to the Blue Cross Blue Shield Innovation ecosystem through dialogue with leadership and the organization of events.
Arkansas-Israel Alliance
Working with business leaders in Arkansas including senior Walmart leaders to establish an Alliance modeled after Texas.
Mississippi-Israel Alliance
Developed and launched an Alliance in Mississippi, responding to a request of local governmental desire and leadership.
Medical Research Funding
Raised nearly $3 million for research exchange between UT Southwestern Medical Center and Rabin Medical Center
Water Partnership
Developed a partnership between the Texas Water Development Board and Israel’s National Water Carrier Mekorot for ongoing water technology and governance collaboration
Water Advisory Council
Formed elite water advisory council of the biggest water leaders across Texas and Israel, bringing the Israeli leaders to conferences, and to brief the Texas State House of Representatives, Senate, Texas Water Development Board, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Governor’s office, and water associations.
Energy Roadshow
Organized Israel’s first ever offshore gas exploration and licensing round road show with energy companies in Texas
National Leadership of Chambers
Texas-Israel Alliance organizes national meetings quarterly for Israel Chambers across the US to coordinate, cooperate, and exchange strategic advice and support.
Israeli company relocations
Supported the relocation of 30+ Israeli companies to Texas.
Israeli Company Welcome Packet
Created a welcome packet for Israeli companies to understand the opportunities in Texas and orient as to how to navigate the state. Through extensive discussions with Israeli companies and partners over the past 5 years, one of the biggest assets we can provide is establishing a network for the companies that eases the transition.
Agreement with Industrial Park
1 year-long negotiation between Start Up Nation Central and Texas State on a pipeline agreement for bringing Israeli companies to pilot projects in Texas in cleantech.
Bipartisan Water Legislation
Presented at the Texas State Legislature in front of lawmakers to support pro-Israel bipartisan water legislation.
$16 Million Energy Center
Brokered and finalized the $16 million US-Israel Energy Center between Secretary Rick Perry and Minister Yuval Steinitz..
Pegasus Park Launch
Biomedical Center at UT Southwestern launched, inspired by Texas-Israel Alliance delegation, designed to emulate Israel's approach to innovation to make North Texas to bloom as a biotech innovation leader.
Saudi Israel Cancer Center
Initiated and negotiated for a cancer center in Saudi Arabia using Israeli Rabin Medical Center as subcontractor to MD Anderson.
BIRD Foundation
Created a series of outreach sessions for The Israel-United States Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation, to create joint industrial research and development opportunities between Israeli and Texas companies.
CPRIT Outreach
Developing with CPRIT online event series to help bring Israeli companies and researchers to Texas through cancer grants .
PANDEMIC CANCELLATIONS
Water Technology Showcase:
Organized a water technology showcase event in Austin in April 2020. We commissioned a film on Israeli water technology to be screened, in attendance of the water authority leaders and the leaders of water management and utility companies. This event would also serve as the announcement platform for the ongoing dialogues we have been facilitating between the leaders of the Texas Water Development Board and Israel's Mekorot.
Texas Water Delegation to Israel 2020
Finalized a delegation of Texas water agencies and public water companies to Israel, but ultimately we were forced to cancel due to the pandemic and travel restrictions.
Security Briefing
Event with the former head of Mossad Tamir Pardo in 2020, in order to give a high-level security briefing, including information on cutting-edge cyber technology coming out of Israel that is relevant for Texas authorities.
Inaugural Direct Flight Dallas - Tel Aviv:
Planned a conference and inaugural delegation to Israel in partnership with American Airlines, celebrating the new direct Dallas - Israel flight for which we have lobbied for years.
Scholarship Internship Cohort:
Recruited and distributed scholarship stipends to students interning in Israel during the summer, and had a terrific
class in partnership with UT, which was cancelled due to travel restrictions.
Celebrating Innovation in Israel
The Texas-Israel Alliance hosts business, government and community leaders from Dallas and beyond for an evening event honoring innovation in Israel and particularly AT&T for its investments in Texas and Israel. Texas-Israel Alliance Chairman, George Seay, welcomed guests, among them Mayor of Dallas Mike Rawlings and three previous Mayors of Dallas. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson was also in attendance as were, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, Joe Straus and Congressman Pete Sessions. Guest speaker Igal Elbaz, SVP of Wireless Technology at AT&T, addressed the crowd and spoke of the critical role Israeli innovation plays in AT&T’s technological advancements. Throughout the evening guests enjoyed a technology showcase of Virtual and Augmented Reality.
Texas-Israel
Cyber Security Conference
Securing Critical Infrastructure
The Texas-Israel Cybersecurity Conference in Dallas, TX is a resounding success. The room was packed with senior government officials and leaders from across the energy and cybersecurity industries. At the event, Secretary Rick Perry, Chairman Michael McCaul, and Congressman John Ratcliffe all spoke to the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship concerning energy and cybersecurity and the strategic significance of Texas in this regard.​
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2019
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TEXAS HOUSE AND SENATE RESOLUTION ISSUED RECOGNIZING TEXAS/ISRAEL WATER INITIATIVE
(AUSTIN) -- Today, the Texas-Israel Alliance, a not-for-profit group dedicated to strengthening economic ties between the State of Texas and the Nation of Israel, was recognized in the Texas House by Representative Phil King and in the Texas Senate by Senator Jose Rodriguez for its Texas-Israel water initiative.
State Representative King and State Senator Rodriguez's resolutions recognize the Texas-Israel Alliance’s work, bringing Texas and Israeli expertise together in the arena of ensuring ample, clean water for generations of Texans to come.
“Israel and Texas share water needs as well as some of the top expertise in the field of water conservation,” stated Representative King. “The ability to share our experience and technology can be a true win-win for both Texas and Israel.”
“No one who lived through the ‘Great Texas Drought’ of a decade ago will ever lose sight of the importance of water to the future of Texas”, said George Seay, Chairman of the Texas - Israel Alliance. “I’m encouraged by the promise of cooperation between Texas and Israel in developing advanced water technologies to efficiently use our most precious resource for drinking water, agriculture, the oil & gas industry, and so many other needed uses of H2O. Water cooperation should facilitate additional cooperation in agriculture, health care, oil & gas, and other industries, in the process dramatically increasing commerce and trade between Texas and Israel.”
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The Water Initiative
Israel leads the world in water innovation in areas as diverse as leakage, farming efficiency, recycling waste, desalination, aquifer storage, oil and gas industry water efficiency, etc. Israel has created a veritable water revolution unlike anywhere in the world, and the Texas-Israel Alliance is committed to helping the state of Texas leverage this diverse solutions.
The Energy Initiative
The Energy Initiative is a strategic program of engagement with energy companies on the basis of their technological needs, which can be met by the world’s most cutting edge Israeli innovation. By facilitating the integration of critical Israeli technology throughout the energy sector’s pipeline, we can play a strategic role in recalibrating our nation’s economic interests toward its strategic interests.
Work Abroad Scholarship
The Israel-Texas Science & Education Foundation's mission is to foster the next generation of Texas-Israel collaboration, which will lead to important global solutions in areas as critical and diverse as water, energy, defense, and healthcare. Our program empowers top graduate school students from across Texas and Israel to learn about exciting business & technology opportunities in the other Lone Star State, in order to leverage each others competitive edge in business and technology.
$2 Million Joint
R&D Agreement
$2 Million Joint R&D Program
The Israeli government and the Texas-Israel Alliance are engaging in a $2 million joint R&D program in order to further support collaborative efforts between the states. Texas Governor Abbott has endorsed this agreement and its positive impact on opportunities for economic collaboration.
AT&T Israeli Innovation
This event honors AT&T as an elite technology, media and telecom company that pioneers disruptive solutions for the benefit of customers worldwide. The event recognizes AT&T’s important work and ongoing investment in Israel, driving cutting edge innovation through world-class R&D facilities and AT&T's Foundry innovation center teams.
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According to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), the state’s top water agency, adequate water resources in Texas will continue to deplete, in large part due to significant population expansion. Existing water supplies are expected to diminish over the next 50 years while economic development in Texas will continue to drive water demand. This pattern will put immense pressure on Texas’s water resources, weakening the State’s ability to provide water for Texans during times of drought.
Israel is the world’s most influential and successful innovator in water management systems and technology. This reputation is in part because Israel is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world, and scarcity bred ingenuity. Indeed, the country is 60% desert and 40% semiarid. In contrast, Texas is only 12% desert.
In the late 1920’s, British Economists estimated that no more than 2 million people could ever reside in what is today called Israel, in large part due to limited water supplies. Today, Israel has a population approaching 9 million people, and is actually a net water exporter.
The Texas-Israel Alliance has published a thorough and intensely reviewed white paper on water demands and supply in Texas, and how the nation of Israel has innovated in similar climates and industries.
The Texas-Israel Alliance has close partnerships with high-level Texas government entities on water management solutions and the Texas-Israel collaboration nexus. The Texas-Israel Alliance has assembled two expert water advisory councils, one in Texas and one in Israel, consisting of the greatest minds in water innovation to facilitate collaboration.
“Both Texas and Israel fought for their independence, and it is that spirit that binds us together today.”
- Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller
Why Texas?
Texas is the ideal state in which to generate and maximize win-win partnerships with the State of Israel.
Texas is the second largest economy in the US and is the most diverse in terms of which industries drive the economy (Energy, high-tech, defense, agriculture, manufacturing, telecommunications, transportation, and finance).
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Texas ranks first in the United States in economic climate for doing business
Texas has experienced more economic growth than any other state in recent years
Texas is home to 3 of the top 5 fastest economically growing cities in the US.
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The political landscape in Texas is incredibly supportive of ​the State of Israel and we believe the future looks bright.
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Both “Lone Star” states are built on the pioneer spirit, entrepreneurship, and the love of freedom and democracy. Both states cultivated difficult terrains to grow societies of liberty and prosperity.