Did you know that over a dozen U.S. states, cities, and regions across the country have official relationships and bilateral economic and innovation ties with Israel? Business accelerators, chambers of commerce, in-country representatives, advisory councils, and state-funded government offices are just a few of the ways that U.S. states are stepping up their connections to Israel.
These U.S. states include: Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New England, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Their investments are paying off big time, according to economic impact reports commissioned by the United States - Israel Business Alliance.
Unlike other countries and regions that have local Colorado based chapters supported by larger national level organizations—such as Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Philippines, India, Africa, and Japan—COIL is on its own. There is no single umbrella body or parent organization that administers, supports, or funds individual U.S. states' Israel initiatives. At the national level, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's U.S.-Israel Business Council, and the United States - Israel Business Alliance work independently to strengthen trade, investment, and innovation ties between the U.S. and Israel.
This lack of coordination hasn't stopped individual U.S. states from taking matters into their own hands to deepen their bilateral economic relations with Israel. In the past year alone, Texas and New York City each moved to formalize their economic ties with Israel, where:
Texas announced a new Texas Trade and Investment Office in Jerusalem. The announcement comes after the Texas Legislature passed a resolution positioning its Jerusalem outpost as a hub not only for Texas and Israel but also for countries tied to Israel through peace treaties and the Abraham Accords.
In New York, NYC and Israel signed a declaration of intent to launch a new NYC-Israel Economic Council designed to deepen tech and business ties by "forging partnerships with New York City companies, advancing innovation in areas like environmental tech, life sciences and artificial intelligence and helping Israeli startups establish a home in the five boroughs."
If Colorado is to compete nationally, it must commit to deepening and formalizing its economic and innovation relationship with Israel. COIL is the only organization dedicated to this mission.
Help COIL secure the future of the Colorado-Israel economic relationship by becoming a member, sponsor, or donor.
