Tampa Bay area business and community leaders are preparing for a trip to Tampa’s sister city in Israel as part of a trade mission led by Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. The leaders will travel to the port city of Ashdod, Israel to provide humanitarian aid and investigate economic opportunities that will create jobs in Tampa.
Leaders who will be visiting Ashdod include Tampa’s Mayor Bob Buckhorn, Tampa Jewish community leaders Jack Ross and Herb Swarzman, Tampa City Councilman Harry Cohen and Tampa City Attorney Jim Shimberg. The group plans to meet with representatives of Israel’s high-tech and innovative companies to see what solutions to everyday municipal challenges can be implemented in Florida.
“The Mayor and his municipal colleagues, together with a variety of Tampa Bay area business professionals, hope to meet with Israeli companies who offer products and services that can find a new market and home in the Tampa area, thereby creating new jobs, revenue and other economic stimulus, which typically accompanies outside investment in a local economy,” says Jack Ross, one of the directors of the mission trip.
During the trip, Mayor Buckhorn will meet with the mayors of both Jerusalem and Ashdod. Also, the Tampa Jewish Federation will present a gift in the amount of $108,000 to the city of Ashdod to be used to renovate a bomb shelter and fund medical services.
The trip is scheduled for Nov. 16
th through the 22
nd, and is limited to 24 people on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information on the mission, email
Mark Segal at the
Tampa Jewish Federation. Or call Segal at 813-769-2805.
Writer:
Kimberly Patterson
Source: Jack Ross, 2011 Tampa Sister City Mayoral Trade Mission to Israel
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