President Rivlin hosted an event marking the centenary of the Manufacturers’ Association of Israel

President Rivlin:

“Buy blue-and-white. There’s nothing better.”

“Over the last year and a half, during the coronavirus pandemic, when countries around the world were lacking in essential products, Israeli industry was part of the national effort. Production was round the clock to ensure that nothing was lacking and that the economy continued to run.”

President of Israel Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin today, Monday 31 May / 30 Sivan, hosted an event marking the centenary of the Manufacturers’ Association of Israel. President of the Manufacturers’ Association Dr. Ron Tomer, VP Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin, former president Shraga Brosh, industrialists and senior businesspeople participated in the event.

“Today, as we mark the hundredth year of the Manufacturers’ Association, we salute the pioneering industrialists of a land that was undeveloped and you, today’s industrialists who continue in the path of creating and making. You make the wheels of Israel’s economy turn as a developed country whose economy is a source of pride,” said the president at the beginning of his remarks.

“Over the last year and a half, during the coronavirus pandemic, when countries around the world were lacking in essential products, Israeli industry was part of the national effort. Production was round the clock to ensure that nothing was lacking and that the economy continued to run. Israel’s economy is in constant competition with global markets and automation processes which are both an opportunity and a danger. I trust you, Israel’s industrialists, that with your resource, creativity and determination, you will be able to face these challenges by breaking into new markets and by adapting production, all with Israel’s special blend of business smarts and national commitment,” said the president.

He added that in the centenary year of its establishment, the Manufacturers’ Association and its members should set two key targets: “The first is to adopt advanced production technology and to connect traditional industry to the engine of high-tech. The second is to recruit from all parts of Israeli society, particularly the ultra-Orthodox and Arab sectors, which are growing and must be part of the process of developing the economy. They need it and we all need it.”

“We all salute you for your entrepreneurship, your dedication and your application, and congratulate you on continued success and development,” said the president at the end of his remarks. “Buy blue-and-white. There’s nothing better.”

President of the Manufacturers’ Association of Israel, Dr. Ron Tomer, thanked the president and said, “You have been a true partner to Israeli industry. Working together, we have achieved far more with you at our side. Now, as we celebrate one hundred years of the Manufacturers’ Association, we can see that Israeli industry was and will continue to be the true melting pot that bridges the gaps in Israeli society – between men and women, between Jews and Arabs and between center and periphery, offering a better, shared future. So, it is correct to say that industry is Israel’s social and economic ‘iron dome’, and that the foundations of industry are what built the economy and preserved our manufacturing independence, even in times of conflict and crisis. We are partners in creating Israel’s economic and social policy and building its future – creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, and no less important, creating rich and valuable knowledge. Israeli industry is amongst the most advanced in the world today, with cutting-edge computerization, robotics and special system, and together with the high-tech sector we are moving the State of Israel forward. Let me end with the president’s call and to call on you all to buy blue-and-white. By strengthening local industry, we will all enjoy a state that is strong, independent and developed.”

Chair of the committee on Arab society at the Manufacturers’ Association, industrialist Dr. Muhammed Zahalka: “I would like to suggest to the president that there is a fifth tribe, the united tribe. All of us here are part of that tribe, where what unites us is greater than the differences between us, and what we all share is the desire and the vision to lead Israel and to represent her proudly around the world.”

Photo credit  Silvia  G. Golan