O'Malley, Olmert Renew Ties
Marylander, Israeli formed bond when both were mayors
By Andrew A. Green and M. William Salganik
Sun reporters
November 28, 2007
Amid all the pressure of yesterday's Annapolis peace conference, Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could count on seeing at least one friendly face:
Gov. Martin O'Malley.
Maryland and Israel have long fostered economic and civic ties, but the bond
these days is a little more personal. The governor and the prime minister
first became acquainted at a 2001 meeting about CitiStat when they were
mayors, of Baltimore and Jerusalem, respectively. In 2005, after dinner in
Jerusalem, Olmert clapped then-Mayor O'Malley on the shoulder and said he
hoped he would be able to visit him soon in the Maryland governor's mansion.
Yesterday, he got his wish. When O'Malley heard Olmert was going to be in
Annapolis, he invited the prime minister to Government House. Despite the
packed schedule of diplomacy, Olmert and O'Malley chatted over chicken salad
sandwiches for nearly an hour. The meeting ended with a hug.
"We hit it off when we first met," O'Malley said afterward. "Once a mayor,
always a mayor."
Although O'Malley and Olmert have taken interest in each other's career over
the past several years, it's hardly surprising that two top leaders from
Maryland and Israel would know each other.
Thanks to the efforts of the Baltimore Jewish Council and other groups,
hundreds of state government, economic and civic leaders have traveled
between the two places over the past 20 years, and trade missions have
strengthened business ties, particularly in the high-tech sector.
O'Malley did not invite the Palestinian delegation for lunch. Aides said he
extended the courtesy only to Olmert because the two are old acquaintances,
but James J. Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, said the
Palestinians should have been invited.
The O'Malley lunch is not the only time Olmert was extended an invitation
during this peace conference while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was
not, underscoring the fact that America's ties with Israel are closer than
its ties with the Palestinians, Zogby said.
"This was a perfect time to build that tie and to send a message to both
parties that the governor is committed to peace," Zogby said. "In diplomacy,
everything matters, so if you're invited to someone's state and you're there
to make peace with someone and the person you're making peace with isn't
invited, it sends a message, and that message is one of slight."
O'Malley has generally had good relations with Maryland's Muslim community.
He was the chief guest at the Maryland Muslim Council's annual dinner this
fall, and in January he established a state Commission on Middle Eastern
American Affairs. He met yesterday with that group and other Jewish and
Muslim organizations.
Maryland leaders have long taken trips aimed at promoting understanding of
the Middle East, generally organized by the state's large Jewish community.
"We call the trips, 'Israel: Warts and All,'" said Arthur C. Abramson,
director of the Baltimore Jewish Council. "We always meet with Palestinians,
we meet with members of the different political parties at all ends of the
spectrum, we have taken groups into Gaza. The idea is, people can learn for
themselves."
"With education comes understanding," Abramson added. "If we build
understanding between the respective communities and the respective
political entities, it can only increase the prospects for peace."
People who have taken the trips - which were initially paid for by the Lyn
and Harvey Meyerhoff Foundation and are now funded by the Harry and Jeanette
Weinberg Foundation - include every governor since Harry Hughes, every
Baltimore mayor since William Donald Schaefer, and dozens of congressmen,
delegates and senators.
The ties have helped foster trade. Maryland exports about $44 million a year
in goods and services to Israel - a figure that's up 45 percent over the
past five years, said Barry Bogage, executive director of the
Maryland/Israel Development Council.
Defense and computer companies have led the way, Bogage said, including
Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and ARINC Inc., which supplies
communication technology to airlines.
Maryland also houses "the third- or fourth-largest concentration of Israeli
companies" in the United States, he said, with 30 or 40, most focused on
homeland security or biomedical products.
One of the Maryland companies that found opportunity in Israel is Nobska
Ventures, a venture capital firm with offices in Stevenson.
"We see Israel as being Silicon Valley-like in the degree of
entrepreneurship in a compact area," said Charles P. Moore, chairman and
managing director.
O'Malley's interest in Israel when he was mayor had less to do with business
than with security. He headed a homeland security committee of the U.S.
Conference of Mayors, and in 2005 he visited Israel to see the kinds of
technology used there to combat terrorism. He also learned about Israel's
use of closed-circuit television cameras, which have become a ubiquitous
part of Baltimore's crime-fighting efforts.
andy.green@baltsun.com bill.salganik@baltsun.com
Copyright © 2007, The Baltimore Sun