LIHU‘E — Only one state wants Democratic Hawai‘i U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye re-elected more than his home state, according to Jacob Dayan, consul general of Israel. “The state of Israel,” he said, noting the long-time support the senior senator has
LIHU‘E — Only one state wants Democratic Hawai‘i U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye re-elected more than his home state, according to Jacob Dayan, consul general of Israel.
“The state of Israel,” he said, noting the long-time support the senior senator has shown that country.
Dayan was island-hopping last week on a multi-purpose trip, he said during an exclusive interview Wednesday at The Garden Island office in Lihu‘e. He represents the southwestern United States, including Hawai‘i, as consul general.
“There is already cooperation between Hawai‘i and Israel,” he said. Dayan noted an Israeli company tapping geothermal energy to power 20,000 homes in the Puna district of the Big Island, and another Israeli company selecting Honolulu as one of five test cities for its electric-car technology.
Tokyo and San Francisco are among the other cities. Dayan said electric cars are expected on the streets of O‘ahu by 2012.
“If it happens it will finish our addiction to oil,” he said. “I’m here to work to see if we can enlarge economic cooperation,” which will create jobs in the islands and please Israeli business people.
The second purpose of his visit was to “continue good relations with officials here,” from Inouye on down, Dayan said.
A third reason for the trip was to visit members of the Jewish community, which he accomplished at a public meeting Wednesday evening at St. Michael & All Angels’ Episcopal Church in Lihu‘e. He also spoke at synagogues on Maui and O‘ahu.
A synagogue is simply a place you go to pray, whether that’s a beach or a building, said Kapa‘a resident Paul Weil, who coordinated Dayan’s Kaua‘i itinerary in the absence of Marty Kahn, president of the Jewish Community of Kaua‘i. A synagogue is not a top priority for members of the Jewish Community of Kaua‘i, he said.
While on island, Dayan met with Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. and Sabra Kauka of the island’s Native Hawaiian community.
That would satisfy the fourth purpose of his visit — outreach — as he and others feel people might be misinformed about Israel and why such a close strategic cooperation exists with the United States.
In 1967, after the six-day war with neighboring Arab countries, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson “woke up” and saw Israel as an emerging super power and wondered why the U.S. had no strategic relationship with Israel, Dayan said.
Israel today is the only Middle Eastern country where U.S. troops are not deployed, he said.
“We have so much in common,” and in meeting people sometimes great ideas are generated, Dayan said.
Israel could have much to teach America, including desalinization of sea water for use as drinking water, reintegrating war veterans back into society after they return home from service, recycling wastewater and how to get the best agricultural yields, he said.
He said Israel — where essentially every Jewish resident is a veteran — is good about absorbing veterans back into society.
“Here it’s a little more problematic,” with concerns about mental health and rehabilitation of those injured in combat, Dayan said.
The Israel economy has grown at a rate of more than 5 percent annually for the past three years, housing prices are rising and “not even one bank collapsed in Israel,” he said.
“Nevertheless, we face significant challenges,” Dayan said.
At the top of that list is dealing with countries and entities that seek to undermine the Jewish state “by any means,” he said.
Confrontation in the world is changing from state-to-state conflicts to state-versus-rogue-groups battles, he said.
Most terrorist organizations share the same ideology — Islamic fundamentalism — and while globally the traditional threats are diminishing, unconventional threats are growing, he said.
Iran is supporting terror organizations and at the same time attempting to develop capabilities to build nuclear weapons, he said.
“The next 9/11 could be atomic,” Dayan said.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of South Korea called North Korea’s atomic-attainment attempts “desperation” while Iran’s are “aspiration,” he noted.
Dayan became consul general in October 2007. In this role he is the senior representative of his government in the southwestern United States.
Before taking the post in Los Angeles, Dayan had diplomatic experience as chief of staff for two ministers of foreign affairs in Israel and held key diplomatic positions in Washington, D.C., and in Athens, Greece.
He also has served in the Foreign Ministry’s Department of Palestinian Affairs, where he participated in Israeli peace delegations and served on several working committees.
In many of these positions, he was intimately involved in policy formation and strategy development.
A magna cum laude graduate of Tel Aviv University, he also served in the Israel Defense Forces, as most Israeli adults are required to do.
