Republican state Senator Jeremy England, who represents District 51 in Jackson County, is co-chairman of the caucus. He was joined by co-chairman Senator Juan Barnett as well as House co-chairmen Representative Hank Zuber and Representative Otis Anthony.
“Forming this caucus and recognizing our strongest and most important political ally in the Middle East is something that's very important to me,” England said.
England says according to data from 2023, there has been $47 million in trade from Mississippi to Israel.
“So we're only looking to strengthen that,” he said. “The fact that Mississippi is becoming a hub of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity and supercomputing, that's going to be very important as we go forward because the battlefields aren't just on the ground anymore. They are happening in the cyber atmosphere.”
According to a legislative resolution, the caucus’s specific goals of “strengthening political, economic, and cultural bonds will be of mutual benefit to both regions, resulting in advancing trade relations, facilitating educational exchanges, and promoting cultural understanding to maintain and strengthen the overall relationship between Mississippi and Israel.”
“Jackson is the city of soul, and Mississippi is the birthplace to America's music,” England said. “It's a great place, and I think that our Israeli friends are going to find that.”
The Consul General of Israel to the Southeastern United States, Anat Sultan-Dadon, says the collaboration between Mississippi and Israel has been cultivated over decades.
“In the economic and technological fields, Israeli companies have long collaborated with Mississippi businesses,” she said. “In the academic realm, our universities and research institutions have engaged in meaningful exchanges, sharing knowledge in fields ranging from medicine to cybersecurity.”
Sultan-Dadon says she believes the United States is Israel's most important ally.
“It is really important for us to nurture those strong relations,” she said. “On a federal level but also on a state level. Here in the Southeastern United States, we are fortunate to have so many keen friends and partners who are equally interested in exploring new avenues to further strengthen these relations for the better.”
Sultan-Dadon says she has been grateful for the support that the United States, and Mississippi, has offered to Israel in recent times.
“This has been heartwarming, especially since October 7th of 2023,” she said. “Hamas' brutal terror attack against Israel was part of their declared goal of destroying the state of Israel, but it was not only an attack on Israel. It was an attack on humanity, on peace, and on the belief that peoples can live alongside one another in mutual respect.”
Several pro-Palestinian protesters also attended the press conference to show their solidarity with people in Gaza and the West Bank.
