Published: March 21, 2006 08:30 pm      

Israeli Consulate makes state economic ties

EDMOND — Paul Rockower served as the Press Officer for the Consulate General of Israel in Houston to the Southwest from July 2003 until February of this year. A native of Washington, D.C., Rockower explains how he went to Israel while he was in his teens and “fell in love with the place.” He spent a year there after completing high school. He returned to this country to attend Brandeis University and graduated with honors. While at Brandeis, Rockower began his career with the Israeli Diplomatic corps by interning at the Press Office for the Israeli Consulate in New England. Rockower did graduate studies in both Morocco and the Czech Republic, and speaks Spanish, Hebrew and Arabic with varying degrees of fluency. He is also an accomplished photographer and his work has been exhibited in various locales.

And Rockower recently reflected on his nearly three years of service at the Israeli Consulate as the press officer. His office was responsible for the five states of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and New Mexico, and he spent a considerable amount of time engaging in what he describes as “media and public diplomacy outreach” that consisted of assisting in the preparation of speeches and columns that were written by the diplomats in the office to explain Israel’s position on issues involving the Middle East.

Israel is the only truly democratic nation in the Middle East, and Rockower worked to explain to people that women and religious minorities in Israel had rights that their counterparts in the surrounding states could only dream about.

The diversity of Israeli society was evident in the consulate as well, Rockower reports, with staff from the Sephardim, Ashkenazim, Ethiopian and Indian communities of Israel working together to familiarize the American Southwest with their nation.

Last year Rockower played a role in facilitating the visit that Israeli Deputy Consul General Belaynesh Zevadia made to Oklahoma to celebrate the ties that have been fostered between the state and Israel.

Rockower believes that the careers of Mansour and Zevadia exemplify how Israel is committed to providing equal opportunities for its religious and ethnic minorities. And during Rockower’s years at the Consulate, Israel and Oklahoma have developed cultural and economic relations that are proving to be mutually beneficial.

Gov. Brad Henry led a trade delegation to Israel last year and the OU Health Science Center has begun research projects with several Israeli hospitals and research centers. There are also joint undertakings in fields as diverse as agriculture and the arts, and Israeli musicians have performed in various locales in the Oklahoma City area as part of an exchange program. When one of Rockower’s colleagues at the Consulate heard Oklahoma was beginning to develop a wine industry, he made arrangements for an Israeli wine specialist to come to Oklahoma and provide assistance to the state’s aspiring vintners.

Several weeks ago, Deputy Consul General Zevadia returned to Oklahoma and spoke in several black churches about the Jews of Ethiopia as part of an effort on the part of the Consulate to reach out to the African- American community of Oklahoma.