One of the sources of Israel's strength is our special relationship with the most powerful country in the world the United States. We owe a lot to the U.S., economically, diplomatically and in defense. Large American corporations have invested in the Israeli economy since the state's earliest days, and the gigantic American stock market has opened its doors to us. (No less than 62 Israeli companies are traded on the Nasdaq exchange.) American companies have built important research and development centers here. We export goods and services to the U.S. at 2 ½ times the amount that we import them from the United States. We receive almost constant support from the Americans at the United Nations. The U.S. provided crucial weapons for our defense during the Yom Kippur War in 1973; it works with us to develop weapons and continues to grant us financial and military aid. Meanwhile, as we look toward the future, 25 years down the road, we must understand that it's not enough to simply gauge the personality and worldview of the U.S. president, even though doing so is still quite important. We must understand the ever-changing social fabric in the United States. A clear expression of these changes was glaringly obvious during the recent presidential election race. According to published reports showing voting patterns based on demographic affiliation, the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, received more votes from white voters than any other Republican candidate ever 59 percent. On the other hand, he received only 27% of the Latino vote, 26% of the vote from Americans of Asian descent and only 6% of the African-American vote. The white sector still comprises 72% of the overall voting pool, but statistical figures show that the birthrate among the other three ethnicities Hispanic-, Asian- and African-American already surpasses the birthrate among whites. Israel receives its traditional support from the U.S. for a number of reasons: A shared system of values, both in regards to the system of government and in terms of human rights; a large population of white evangelical Christians that supports Israel, also due to religious reasons; and the very powerful infiltration of the pro-Israel Jewish population in several power centers, including the media and politics. With that, considering the demographic changes, we cannot take this support for granted. Among the ethnic sectors, which stand to become the majority in 25 to 30 years, the same structured worldview that provides Israel with support doesn't exist. It certainly is not as strong as it is among the whites. This fact requires a different type of preparation, new thinking and a public relations surge to develop relationships with all the ethnic sectors in the United States. The public relations and connections we build with the U.S. must, in the future, expand beyond the traditional power centers in government and the media. We will need to access the ethnocentric media outlets, including radio stations and the Spanish and Chinese newspapers. The same is true in regards to ethnocentric, non-English-speaking TV stations. This must be done within the overall development of deeper relationships with these ethnic groups. Several Jewish organizations in the U.S. have already understood the importance of this issue and have taken steps to bridge the gaps of understanding and grow closer, but in light of the fact that at hand is a population of close to 90 million people it's only a drop in the ocean. A structural reformation of Israel's public relations efforts within the U.S. is needed, in conjunction with Jewish organizations. The goal is to arouse, among the three largest ethnic groups, awareness and understanding of Israel's character, its unique problems and its history, which led to the birth of the state. Perhaps the most recent diplomatic events highlight the special importance of Israel's relationship with the United States. Almost the entire world today supports the creation of a Palestinian state, and if the matter was simply up to the U.N. General Assembly to decide, such a state would have already been created. Only the U.S. veto has prevented it. The writer is president of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce.
