From the Midwest to the Mideast, Gov. Scott Walker will lead a trade mission to Israel later this month.
Israel is not a top 10 importer of Wisconsin goods and services but one man is trying to change that.
Aviv Ezra is on a mission to connect the Midwest to Israel and Israel to the Midwest.
"So in a sense we are looking at academic cooperation, business and trade cooperation, and culture activities cooperation," Ezra said. " A lot of it of course has to do with political cooperation."
Ezra is from the Consul General of Israel to the Midwest in Chicago. He says Wisconsin companies are already doing business with Israel,
"I mean the best example in Wisconsin is what Oshkosh is doing with Israel," he said.
Oshkosh Truck is one of the largest manufacturers of military vehicles in the world.
This year, published reports show Israel's Ministry of Defense ordered 200 tactical trucks from Oshkosh for $200 million.
Ezra's says Walker's trade mission will be multifaceted.
"The governor, when he comes to Israel, one of the goals is to try to connect the dots between University in Israel and University of Wisconsin," Ezra said.
Ezra says the two universities hope to combine research efforts on water purification and desalination technology to create win-win business opportunities.
"We're gonna be signing an MOU memorandum of understanding between University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and Ben Gurion University," said Ezra, "it's in the works right now. I hope it's going to be finalized in three weeks."
The state tells TODAY'S TMJ4, Wisconsin exported $82 million in goods and services to Israel last year making it Wisconsin's 36th largest export destination.
