Missions to Israel are commonplace, but a recent junket comprising a diverse group of businesspeople grabbed the attention of political leaders from Israel to Jordan; from the Palestinian Authority to Egypt.
The conservative and exclusive Lincoln Club of Orange County (California), which leverages power by supporting candidates for political office, has initiated an international affairs program. Its chairman, Benny Mor, who is a native Israeli, spoke to The Media Line by Zoom prior to and upon completion of the group’s recent Middle East visit, the aim of which was to leverage large-scale investment and financial ties to promote positive relations between the United States and its allies in the region.
“The goal is to create an understanding between assets and organizations; to governments, to businesses, to initiatives that can take place anywhere in the world and not be limited to the Middle East.
“We are coming with a positive idea that there is a need and a will upon those parties in the region to talk, especially in a time like that when we hear about another clash between Israel and the Gaza Strip.”
Benny Mor
“The club has expressed enormous support in Israel—politically, financially, business, economically—but the curiosity of the club and the goal of this trip was to visit four different countries,” Mor explained.
Owner and president of Ever Precious Inc. and a major player in the diamond and luxury goods industries, Mor believes the 400-member group, which has branches in Northern California and is expanding, can create opportunities for investment and support while promoting agendas of peace in the region by utilizing their influence in Washington elsewhere in the US.
“We are coming with a positive idea that there is a need and a will upon those parties in the region to talk, especially in a time like that when we hear about another clash between Israel and the Gaza Strip,” he says.
The playout in Ramallah could not have been a better illustration of that point.
“For three months prior to the trip, I planned all kinds of efforts to meet with [the Palestinian leadership]. And they were suspicious. They were not understanding why an American delegation was interested in them.
“What we clearly understood once we came there is that we triggered curiosity. We were on our way back home from Ramallah to Jerusalem when our people in the club, including our secretary Lauren Johnson, received phone calls from the Palestinian Authority asking whether we can turn the bus back and come again the very next day.”
Mor sees a real opportunity on the economic side.
“Is it economic ties? Is it business ties? If they can find a listening ear to the Republican side, to the conservative side, that we can transform it here in the US? Pretty much, basically, they have no foreign affairs clarification here in the United States. People don’t count the Palestinian Authority. And that’s an opportunity for them if they understand it.”
In Egypt the group met the energy minister and discussed a project of power stations fueled by waste and natural gas; and in Jordan, the Royal Court is seeking a tourism initiative investment.
Visiting Israel's booming hi-tech sector
Centered around Israel’s booming hi-tech industries, the group spent several days in Israel scouting opportunities. A member of the club, Lei Wang, who is the executive vice president at Gemdale USA, a national real estate investment firm, expressed interest in several hi-tech sectors including cyber and water.
Wang visualizes Israel’s stake in assisting his mother country’s needs in water-related industries.
“I think groundwater and then water treatment, how to use the recyclables.
“This is huge because even if in the US we have a lot of water, as a Chinese American, I also want to help China to resolve the water issues with Israel’s technology, and US technology, too.”
Mor noted that several IT companies presented at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, one of which had developed a device to help prevent DUI cases by requiring the driver to pass a breathalyzer test before they can turn the car's ignition on.
He told The Media Line that the Chinese are extremely interested in this concept and Lei Wang, who is a board member, is leading this project.
Sammy Sayago, runs a leading database company, WhyW8t LLC, which manages around 90 million records in the United States of individuals who are conservative or libertarian—right-leaning in their politics. He lives and breathes analytics. Assessing the regional trip, he noted how each country differs politically and in its relationships with Israel and the Middle East.
“We were just in Egypt. We were also in Jordan. Prior to that, I was just in Turkey. In Jordan, it was fantastic. In Jordan, we met some of the people in the Royal Court. There was actually some business to be had, and surprisingly enough, they spoke very highly of Israel. They acknowledge there is a good relationship to be had and it’s in their best interest.”
But Sayago also shared his concerns about the ramifications of the judicial reforms proposed in Israel. “I must say it’s interesting to see, but I probably would wait and see what is going to happen before I would invest or I would look to do business here, because of the fact that, not having the checks and balances, or my biggest concern personally is there are factions in this government that are ultra to the right and things can change.”
“To not have a judicial review of basic laws, and [that] they can actually be overturned, that concerns me because it would come down to the point of no contract.”
The Lincoln Club was established in the 1960s in Orange County, California. The multiethnic character of the group evolved over recent years, breaking through traditional societal norms.
“Look at me,” Mor urged. “I am formerly Israeli. I am chairman of the whole international affairs [apparatus] that 15 years ago could have probably not been foreseen at all, but it is. The president of the club, who is from the Latin community, is Mexican, and now she is the first woman to run the club.”
International relationships are strategic and a key driver in the Lincoln Club’s influence of power.
“If tomorrow I develop a good relationship with the president of Kazakhstan, it can help the president of the United States when they want to know something or do something with one of the richest countries in natural resources and minerals.
“A major Israeli businessman ... is willing to host the Lincoln Club in West Africa, in Angola, in Senegal, and in the Ivory Coast. So, you understand what this is, beyond just Israel. … The people in Israel understand … how we can contribute to this whole global initiative.”